The empty promise of instant delivery

The pandemic has changed how shoppers think about convenience. I ran out of mouthwash this week. That prompted a dilemma: to walk to the drug store down the street to get a new bottle, or to order it on Amazon and get it in a day or two. How cold it is outside (in New York City) and what the line looks like (always terrible after 2 pm) typically will determine which choice I make. What I didn’t fully realize is that the ramifications of [choosing instant delivery are all around me](. In order to simulate the ease of online shopping, self-checkout kiosks have been installed in many stores, which then results in those same stores having fewer employees on a shift at a given time, and then more merchandise will get locked up to prevent self-checkout theft. The more unpleasant a real-life store experience becomes, the more popular instant online ordering will become, and the cycle continues. And now that I know, I can't help but think of all the ways our obsession with instant gratification affects real life … while I’m swirling my mouthwash. —[Alex Abad-Santos](, senior correspondent The empty promise of instant delivery [a delivery person on a scooter]( Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images As a resident of New York City, I face long lines with a sigh of hardened resignation. I don’t question the absurdity of the experience. Instead, I foolishly consider it a mark of stamina, even if getting a Covid-19 test, as of late, means standing outdoors in 27-degree weather for an hour. Recently, while in a lengthy Starbucks line, my patience wore thin. It dawned on me that this wait was a result of my stubborn preference for buying coffee the old-fashioned way — that there was, in fact, an escape from this humiliating cycle. I could simply place a mobile order, and retrieve it at the store without waiting in line. [This kind of frictionless convenience is wildly appealing and seemingly everywhere now](; it’s especially pronounced in transactional spaces, whether it be a Starbucks, the local grocery store, or the airport. But there is a trade-off to resetting our expectations, and it looms large. Customers these days feel so entitled — and they are enraged. People are angrier, meaner, and more prone to throwing childish tantrums in front of service staff, as detailed in a recent New York Times feature titled, “A nation on hold wants to speak with a manager.” It doesn’t help that we’re two years into a pandemic that has burst the country’s bubble of abundance (read: supply chain issues and rampant inflation). [Read the full story »](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Is confidence a cult? These sociologists think so. A new book aims to show why directives to “just be more confident!” are so harmful. [Read the full story »]( The lesson America refuses to learn about Covid-19 and the economy American workers are forced to white-knuckle it once again. [Read the full story »]( More good stuff to read today - [What you need to know about Biden’s free rapid test program]( - [Wordle is a deceptively easy game for burnt-out pandemic shut-ins]( - [Microsoft is buying one of the biggest names in games — if Washington lets it]( - [The intimacy of the TV star death]( - [The true cost of Amazon’s low prices](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=goods). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 11, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved.