2A - Bug List

1. Vehicle turn signals don’t signal for making a U-turn.
1. Why it exists: It would take up too much space to add another turn signal light on the back of a car.
2. Ceiling fans only have standard speed settings and can’t be adjusted to in-between speeds such as lights with dimmers.
1. Why it exists: It’s an easier electrical setup with standard speeds.
3. Toys for kids don’t come with replacement parts.
1. Why it exists: Toy companies want new toys to be purchased to replace broken ones so there are more sales.
4. The letters D and S are next to each other on the keyboard, causing me to accidentally type aSS instead of aDD all too often.
1. Why it exists: The original design of the keyboard was probably done so based on letter usage.
5. Toothpaste dribbles down my toothbrush sometimes while brushing my teeth and gets on my hand.
1. Why it exists: There is no barrier or rim to catch the dribbling toothpaste.
6. The hand railings for the steps in my apartment complex are always wet and dirty.
1. Why it exists: The stairs and hand railings are not covered so they are always exposed to the elements.
7. The Power Rangers swords I bought for my son are both made for right-handed kids, so he can’t hold one in his left hand without it being backwards and ineffective to use.
1. Why it exists: Most people are right-handed, so toys are designed for right-handers.
8. Crayons break too easily.
1. Why it exists: They are wrapped in thin paper instead of a protective layer.
9. Bathtubs are slippery.
1. Why it exists: The materials used to make bathtubs are designed to have minimal friction to encourage proper water drainage.
10. “Reply All” to an email does not come with a warning to confirm you wanted to reply to all on the original email.
1. Why it exists: It would make sending this sort of email a slower process.
11. Google Sheets does not automatically spellcheck.
1. Why it exists: It was designed to be primarily used for numbers and not words.
12. New iPhones don’t come with a car charger.
1. Why it exists: To force customers to spend more money by buying a separate car charger.
13. The Publix where I shop puts the slowest cashier on the Express lane.
1. Why it exists: They may feel it makes sense to put the slowest cashier with the least amount of groceries to ring up.
14. My windshield wipers on my Toyota RAV4 do not cover the entire windshield.
1. Why it exists: They are designed to clean the normal lines of sight for the driver.
15. Dunkin’ Donuts does not offer Stevia as a sweetener option.
1. Why it exists: This would create another option for customers, causing a longer decision time.
16. Waist sizes for the pants I buy only come in even sizes.
1. Why it exists: The store would not be able to hold enough inventory for every size.
17. City Furniture salespeople in Boca Raton stalking me when I am looking at furniture in their store.
1. Why it exists: They are paid on commission, so they want to ensure another salesperson does not take the sale.
18. Comcast is the only company I can use for internet in my apartment complex.
1. Why it exists: The apartment complex probably gets a kickback from Comcast for not allowing other internet providers as options.
19. The smoke detectors in my apartment do not have a digital battery icon to show when the batter is low.
1. Why it exists: They are old and designed much differently than today’s electronics.
20. The Amazon Echo device I bought comes with factory settings that allows it to hear my conversations even when I am not using it.
1. Why it exists: Amazon can collect more customer data.

Reflection:

In full transparency, the actual list of the 20 bugs was easy to come up with. I have discussed a lot these bugs before with friends of mine, and we shared stories of how they impacted our lives during the moments we encountered them. The difficult part was providing a succinct answer of why it exists and not why it bothers me. I feel with anything, it can be difficult to remove emotion from the situation and truly think logically about the root cause. I am a solution-oriented person and my job as a Sr. Talent Acquisition Advisor for a multi-billion organization reflects this. In my role, I am continually looking for “bugs” in my company’s interview processes, candidate capabilities, and long-term talent planning. Once I identify these “bugs”, it is my responsibility to act as an internal consultant to figure out the root cause of the issue and then develop a plan to overcome the identified “bugs”.