iPad not Included. The End of Reasonableness.

I'm shopping for a protective case for my iPad.  Almost every ad has a disclaimer at the end that "iPad not included".  No shit!  One of the cases is $49.  Is anyone stupid enough to think a $500+ iPad comes with the case?  Probably not.  The disclaimer is for the violent complainers.  You know who they are, people who bring the picture of the ad or web page to the store and demand an iPad because it was pictured with the case for illustrative purposes.

I'm less worried about the idiots who thought they could actually get a case and an iPad for $49, the Darwin Theory will weed them out.  I'm more concerned about the collapse of reasonableness today.  These complainers are not dumb, they're just trying to get something for nothing.  They will yell and scream, demand to see a manager, and they will threaten to "lawyer up".  They know the loudest complainer will get something.

If I see an ad for car mats, do I need a disclaimer that the car doesn't come with it?  If you buy a bathing suit, does the model come with it?  Sometimes you need a prop to make the product visually meaningful or appealing.  But it ends there.  And if you make the mistake of thinking something else was included and you are corrected, just shut up.

I can't easily categorize these people because they behave this way for unknown or endless reasons.  They may have hit a rough patch in their life, are angry, ill, lonely, or maybe not getting it often enough.  Maybe they do it for sport; if they complain often and loud enough, there is likely an apology and some concession gift that most companies will surrender to make the problem go away.  And with social media and on-line reviews, everyone has the potential of being heard, regardless of how unreasonable their complaint is.  And companies don't want that.  So we must continue to suffer with the obvious not for the benefit of the idiots but to temper the assholes.