Discrimination against the computer illiterate
To the editor:
You’d think that by now, in the year 2016, we would have gotten rid of all discrimination. But recently I’ve noticed a trend by some businesses to extend favoritism to some customers, while charging regular prices to other customers. I’m talking specifically here of discrimination against those who are not technologically savvy, or those who do not own or have access to the Internet.
I first noticed this trend while listening to an ad for a well-known national pizza franchise. The pitch was that if a customer would use their website and place an order for pizza over the Internet, they would pay only about 50 percent of the regular price. Well, I thought, that’s great news for those customers, but what about those who have no computer, smartphone, etc.? For that matter, what about those who don’t know how to use such technology? Would the business extend the same price to customers who mentioned the ad over the phone? What if they mentioned the website? Would that be adequate to get the special price? The person I spoke with inside the restaurant said, “no.”
Now I ask you, “Does this seem right to you?” If you’re unlearned in this regard, your price for the same pizza is almost twice as much as someone who orders theirs through the website. In my eyes, this is discrimination plain and simple and it needs to stop, not just in the food industry but wherever this practice is happening.
Clare Kierstead
Presque Isle
