I continue to believe that we are only “two percent” of the way into what the Internet has in store for us and each day I get another confirmation of this. Some of my colleagues from the industry remind me that the global Internet population is already up to seven percent and that more than fifty percent of the U.S. population is online. Yes, the number of users is growing rapidly and the technology is racing ahead. However, the major challenge remains fulfilling the promise of e-business — and in ways that can simplify our lives. If there is one thing that all of us need more of it is time to do the things we want to do. E-business has the potential to free up more time for us, but in my opinion the number of things that e-businesses are actually doing to simplify our lives is only two percent of what they could be doing. My latest examples stem from what should have been two very simple purchases.

My wife’s cell phone got smashed between the proverbial "rock and a hard place". While on a trip to Fort Collins, Colorado this week, I decided to stop in the Verizon store and buy her a replacement. Upon entering the crowded store, a woman behind the counter made an announcement asking everyone to come forward and "sign in" to get their place in line. She further announced that the store would be open until 10PM to serve those who could not wait. The list had ten people on it already so I followed my initial conviction, which was to order the phone on the web. We took a look at the various phones on display in the store and my wife selected the Kyocera 2235.

I expected Verizon’s homepage would have a button or at least a link somewhere to "buy a phone" but then I quickly realized that Verizon is not in the business of selling phones — they want to sell you their services. There is nothing wrong with that except that in the United States the phones are tied to the various services. In Europe, where there is a single standard — GSM — which enables the customer to buy a phone of their choice and assume it will work with your service provider. I clicked on Verizon’s "products and services" link and then a page after I found I a link that was for people who wanted to buy a phone and already had a service relationship. Perfect.

Finally, I was on a path to actually buy the phone. I entered my zip code and was presented with the plans available. But, I already have a plan! There was no option for that. I decided to proceed as though I was going to sign up for a new plan but the plan I already have was not one of the available options. I felt like I had entered a room with two doors and they both said "no exit". I finally gave up and went to Kyocera’s web site.

There was no link on the Kyocera homepage to buy a phone either but it didn’t take too long to get to the right page. It presented me with a selection matrix where you could pick a price range, weight, and carrier and then click "filter" — presumably to get a list of the products that met your requirements. I tried every combination of clicks and links and after a half hour gave up. I could not find the phone — I could not get a list of *any* phones! In desperation I I called the Kyocera "get connected" store.

A very polite person greeted me after getting through the call-center matrix. He said the web site was working fine — so he says! I told him I wanted to buy a Kyocera 2235. You would expect a response like, "I would be happy to take your order". Instead I got "what is your zip code?". After giving him my zip code he told me that they had phones for Sprint, Cinqular, and AT&T. I told him I was a Verizon customer. He said Verizon does not offer service in my zip code. I told him I was talking to him on a Verizon cell phone (a Kyocera 6035 smartphone) which I got in the Verizon store in that zip code. He said he was sorry but he couldn’t sell me a phone. Google showed 23,900 matches on "Kyocera 2235". I know it is a real phone and that they actually exist because I saw them in the Verizon store in Fort Collins (where I would have had to sign in and then probably find out they couldn’t sell me the phone because they don’t offer phones to Connecticut customers). After trying several sites I finally gave up. I sent an email to a friend at Samsung to see if they have a comparable phone.

I love to buy gadgets from Radio Shack. It seems they always have just what I need for various projects. A few weeks ago it was a digital-display sound-level meter. This time it was a non-contact infrared thermometer. I won’t bore my readers about why this gadget became a necessity but I was really anxious to get the product. I went to my local Radio Shack store (fortunately I know where it is. There is no link on the Radio Shack homepage for finding their stores). There was quite a line of people buying games and gadgets for those on their holiday shopping list. When it was my turn I asked for the infrared thermometer. I didn’t know the product number but I described what I was looking for. The sales person said he knew of the product but didn’t think they had it. He looked around a bit and said they must be out of stock. I asked if they might have it in the back (that is usually where the things I want are). He said he would look except he didn’t know the product number either. I asked if it might be in their catalog. "Good idea", he said. He looked in the catalog and found nothing. He said it was an old catalog and that all catalogs have been replaced by the web site. Ok, that made sense to me. "You are sure you don’t have it?", I asked. He was sure. I headed home for the web.

When I got to the link for the thermometer, the page said "Sorry, this item is out of stock in our on-line store. It may be available at your local Radio Shack store. Click here for the address and phone number of a Radio Shack store near you". I called the store and explained that I had found the product number for what I was looking for, 22-325, and asked if they could take a look. Their inventory system said they had three of them. I was happy to hear the news but disappointed that I had just driven home from the store. I said that the other sales person had told me that it was not in stock. "If that is what he said, then we don’t have it". I asked asked if he wouldn’t mind looking for it anyway. He said they had just one but it had no box or instructions. I don’t need the box and one great thing about Radio Shack is that you can get all the documentation for all of their products from their web site. This is a really great feature and I highlighted it as a model in my book. I said I would like to buy it and asked if they could please put it aside with my name it.

The next day I drove back to Radio Shack. The line was even longer. When it was my turn I asked for the product that had been left for me. "Where was it left?" I was asked. I didn’t know but offered to help look. The sales clerk said it must have been another Radio Shack because there was nothing put aside. I assured him I knew which store I had talked to and urged him to look some more. Then I spotted a small object on the shelf behind the counter. That must be it I suggested. Another sales person chimed in that it was something else. We looked some more and then I urged the person to please look at the object with the paper around it. He picked it up and said, "it says John on it". A few minutes later I walked out with my purchase, went home, and printed out the owner’s manual.

The good news is that the two percent will soon be twenty percent. E-businesses are getting better and better. Those that don’t figure out how to simplify our lives will lose market share to those who do. Our loyalties will shift to those who do a good job of making things simple and quick. In the meantime it can sometimes be really hard do buy something.