Simple.  Make it easy to buy something, but impossible or very difficult to cancel. 

The latest company to do this to me is Topup TV.  Their lines are all open tonight if you want to buy a package, but to cancel you have to call after 9am but before 5pm.

Their service has been awful, their telly-box extremely unreliable and their business model now has an enormous flaw - you have to leave their high-power box on all night for it to store programs, but I don't want to waste power like that any more.  I'm using my laptop to watch TV more and more anyway.

If i was a TopupTV shareholder, I'd sell my shares pronto...

Those of you who know me best will understand why I don't find this Lynx
advert on the bus stop next to my flat very amusing!

I'm going to write a letter to them, suggesting they put a staff member at the door asking people leaving empty handed what they went in for.

here's some examples that I can give you:-

• A non-shiny pair of quality work trousers, dark grey.
• A white cotton long-sleeved shirt, without cufflinks (hate them unless its posh night on QE2!).  No, not out of stock - not available at all!
• Size 9 black leather shoes - any at all - from their Autograph range.

So, once again, I went away empty handed.  Once upon a time M&S was where I went after exhausting everywhere else, and got what i wanted, not any more. 

And they wonder why sales are down??

If I hear this god-forsaken phrase one more time I'm going to SCREAM!

EVERYONE at my work says it, ALL THE TIME!

E.g. "can you change this email to go to Joe bloggs going forward" 

every email, every decision, every action, all have "going forward" either in front or behind them.  "lets make sure we start doing that, going forward".   Its almost always unnecessary, and any other time should be replaced by "in the future" or some other plain English

ARGH ARGH ARGH ARGH!!!!!!