Bad customer service: subtle example

Not every instance of poor customer service is an in-your-face 'f* you' to the customer, although I'd argue that Best Buy's not giving you any say in when they'll deliver (and Sears, too) comes pretty close. Some instances are just sloppy, stupid.

I don't particularly want to go to Hallmark; its existence kind of goes against everything I believe in. However, I do have friends, despite what my mom will tell you; those friends do have occasions in their lives that are to be celebrated; and I have found Hallmark to have the greatest selection of the supplies I need to organize celebrations of such occasions. I'd like to hit the one on King Street early, preferably on the walk back from the market, so I'd like to schedule my trip to the market around when Hallmark opens. So I go to the store locator on Hallmark's website. Which does not provide hours of operation. HOW STUPID IS THAT?? Sure, there's a phone number, but that's an extra step. I don't want to pick up the phone and I sure as hell don't want to talk to a person (nor waste my time listening to an automated message-- I'd rather waste my time complaining to you about Hallmark). Let's not push this having-a-soul thing too far: while I'm quite happy to socialize with my friends, the more non-social transactions I can get through without interacting with another human, the happier I generally am.

Anyway, more on bad business models here.