At least half a dozen times in the past three days I’ve been so annoyed by the payment process for various goods and/or services that I either didn’t purchase the thing, or had a minor meltdown after the whole ordeal was over.

Why do merchants insist on making it so damned difficult for their customers to get the goods?

A few frustrating examples

Ever been to a sporting event where the beer vendor only accept cash, has no cash-register, and yet insists on charging a partial dollar amount per unit of booze? $6.65 for a beer… really? Just call it $7 and make the math easy for everyone. Or have a cash register at each kiosk. Or, here’s a novel idea, start accepting plastic!

Need to renew your vehicle registration? Just do it online! But be prepared to spend an extra $5 for the convenience of, you know… actually giving them the money now rather than sending a check and them having to pay someone to physically handle the thing.

Two simple rules for making money

If you’re selling something someone wants: make it easy for them to give you their money!

If you’re selling something someone does not want: make them want it!