Intentionally Inconvenient

Does it ever make sense to make things intentionally inconvenient for your customers?

The answer may surprise you.

When I wanted my mortgage payments to be withdrawn from an account external to the bank where my mortgage is held, my bank made me come into the branch to make this change instead of letting me make this change online or allowing me to make the change by calling the number on the back of my bank card.

The process was intentionally inconvenient.

My bank isn't evil. Well, not any more evil than competitive banks, anyway.

They simply understand that humans tend to take the path of least resistance.

From the bank's perspective, it makes sense for them to make it as inconvenient as possible for me NOT to have my primary account with them.

They don't want to make it impossible for me to pay my mortgage via an external account (not just because that would make me unhappy, but also because that could be construed as tied-selling, which is illegal). But they certainly don't want to make it easy.

Why? Making it more difficult to have my mortgage payments come out from my primary account at another branch increases the likelihood of me deciding the hassle isn't worth it... and that I should move my primary account over to them. 

My grocery store is also intentionally inconvenient. (And so is yours.)

The reason the staple items you probably buy most often (like meat, milk, cheese, and bread) are almost always located at the back of the store is because that placement forces us to walk through the center of the store (where all of the most profitable items are shelved) to get the items you came to the store to buy. 

Grocery stores could make things more convenient for shoppers by putting the most commonly purchased grocery items at the front of the store, but that would have a massive negative impact on sales and profitability. And when you look at it that way, intentionally making things slightly more inconvenient for us makes a lot of sense.

High-end restaurants could increase your chances of securing a reservation (and thus make things more convenient for you) if their locations were larger. That would make securing a reservation less difficult, but from a scarcity perspective, also make the reservation less valuable. Plus, it could negatively impact the ambiance; cozy atmospheres are difficult to achieve with Costco-sized venues. It might be inconvenient when you can't secure a reservation at your favourite restaurant, but you'll be more excited when you can.

The next time you find a service encounter inconvenient, ask yourself if the retailer might benefit from making things slightly more difficult for you as a customer.

Intentionally inconvenient is a strategy that can sometimes make sense.