Dear Synaptics

Suggestion: Trapezoidal Areas for Laptop Touch Pads

The benefit of this modification: Superior User Experience 

Eliminate accidental touches in the upper corners on each side of the pad by the palms of the hand closest to the thumb by reducing the sensitive areas at the top of the touch pad. Use a trapezoidal shape with the short side located nearest the keyboard.

The corners eliminated by the new shape have led to limitless frustration while typing. Even though the 'disable while typing' setting is activated, I regularly end up with relocated text -- or worse, no text at all -- after accidentally clicking the focus to a new, random area of the screen.

Barring a re-design, perhaps some stylish, vinyl-cling overlays with major NCAA or pro-league affinity designs could be offered.

Thanks,

CWR

99 Days of Freedom

While I get the feeling that 99 Days of Freedom was started as a protest against Facebook's unannounced A/B mood-ring testing, I also thought it was an interesting exercise. To "remove myself" from social media for a period.

I started by logging out. And removing the bookmarks on my browser's toolbar.

And noticed there were a lot of thoughts spontaneously forming with no means of escape. Usually, I choose a forum which seems "appropriate" and dump them.

...just deleted some of those items... seems to violate the spirit of my social media-free lifestyle. Clearly, I need to extend the no-fly zone to cover blogging.

Perhaps there should be an anti-social media site, called /dev/null.

Dear Home Depot

Customer Service Ideas

Suggestion: Expand Role of Garden Centers

Help your Garden Centers become the center of activity for the native plant/natural habitat movement. In the same way you've got the construction side of do-it-yourself mastered, start looking at the gardening equivalent: Go Native & Sustainable

• Develop local recipes to assist clients who want to create sustainable, native gardens and habitats. Mine (north Texas) is: full-sun, drought tolerant, zone 7, alkaline soil loving plants. 
• Combine that with appropriate irrigation strategies. Educate consumers on the benefits of buried drip irrigation vs above ground, highly-evaporative irrigation, ....where appropriate.
• Consider offering rain barrels and installation services where your customers are experiencing drought
• Invite regional growers of natives to offer publications and materials to your clients. They mostly sell wholesale only, so going around your Garden Centers is impractical.
• Use your grounds, where possible, to plant what natives you sell .
• This does not mean making an exclusive decision regarding the sale of natural, organic, and chemical plant and pest control.

Suggestion: Step Up Service for Landscapers

Replicate for landscapers the level of service and attention you provide to construction contractors. Give them a separate, distinct place in the store to conduct business that's friendly for buying and loading.

Dear Goodyear

Customer Service / Product Ideas

Suggestion: Embrace B2C

Would really like to have an online account with you to:

• ...view the complete history of the work you've performed on my vehicle(s)
• ...view the recommended work on my vehicle(s) and a current quote
• ...schedule the recommended work on my vehicle(s)
• ...arrange a tow to your shop
• ...have the opportunity to schedule additional valet services (for additional charges) such as detailing and pickup/dropoff while you have the car anyway

mobile, tablet and desktop friendly over the web - no apps.

Suggestion: Enhance Retail Sales

Think of this as the convenience store concept. Behind the counter, add make-model-agnostic incidentals at premium prices. Generic brands until prove-in, then consider branding.

• Armor All Wipes
• Ice Scrapers
• Tissues

Suggestion: Encourage Early-Day Traffic

Consider serving premium coffee to your early morning drop offs to encourage early bookings for the day and a full set of garages all day long. When the premium coffee is gone, serve the regular stuff.