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67 Examples Of Companies Cutting Corners Until There Was Barely Anything Good Left
“They just don’t make things like they used to!” Sentences like this often elicit rolled eyes from kids and teens, especially if they heard their parents say it. But once you’re an adult, you realize that they’re totally right. Despite the fact that technology is supposedly advancing, it seems like everything around us is getting worse…
If you’re tired of your phone battery draining immediately, the quality of clothing being way worse than it was when you were a kid, and every company cutting corners to save money, you’ve come to the right place, pandas. Here’s a list of relatable (albeit depressing) photos from an online community that calls out products and services that companies have actively made worse over the years.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
EU Huge Step On Protection Of Consumers
RELATED:
#2
Anyone Still Watching The News?
#3
What A Time To Be Alive
In theory, things should constantly be improving. Scientists are always making new discoveries, and doctors are constantly updating their practices to help patients heal faster and fight off illnesses. So why, when we live in such a technologically advanced day and age, does it feel like everything is on the decline?
There’s actually a (somewhat crude) term for it, coined by technology critic and author Cory Doctorow in 2023. He came up with it to put a name to all of the ways that digital services have increasingly begun to dominate our lives, while simultaneously becoming worse and worse over time. For example, remember when Instagram had a chronological feed designed to help you see your friends’ posts? Now, it’s all ads and reels from influencers pushed by the algorithm, making it nearly impossible to see anything that your loved ones have shared.
#4
They're Editing Digital Books To Contain Ads Now
#5
When Digital Menus Randomly Change To A 30s Advert, Making The Menu As A TV Pointless
sturmwesen 1 day ago
I hate those changing monitor menus. I don't want to wait for the menu and I can't read them with sunglasses
#6
Every Platform Speedrunning Its Own Downfall
When it comes to the demise of online platforms, Doctorow writes, “first, they are good to their users; then they [take advantage of] their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they [take advantage of] those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they [are ruined].”
This can happen to anything from a social media platform to an app like Spotify. And often, it begins with companies hooking customers on a good deal (perhaps even a deal that’s too good to be true) while patiently eliminating all competition. Remember when Uber, Netflix, and Airbnb were considered cheap? Today, however, it’s almost impossible for anyone to compete with them, so they can set their prices as high as they want while simultaneously making their services worse.
#7
Enshittification And Corporate Greed Are Coming For Every Industry
#8
He's 76 Years Old Man
#9
Can't Even Do My Laundry Without Dealing With This Nonsense
Of course, the reason behind this significant decline in quality can often be boiled down to greed. Investors expect 10,000% return on their investments, and they don’t care what the company has to do to make that happen. Betraying loyal customers isn’t a concern, especially if they are forced to use the service anyway when there’s no competition left in the market.
“Big tech, perhaps more than any other industry in recent history, has made robber barons out of the same ‘idealistic’ founders who sold us on a vision of a free, open, and bountiful internet enabled by their technologies,” Glow explains.
#10
It Gets Worse. They Posted This And It Turns Out The Guy Gave The Money To The Person Who Lost It
#11
Take A Feature Away And Sell It Back To Me In The Same Email, Really Tivo?
Chaotic Good 21 hours ago
People still using TiVo probably manage their accounts using their AOL email address.
#12
We've Reached A New Low, Ads On The Sinks In The Gym Bathroom
Unsurprisingly, many people around the world are not happy about the way that the internet has been changing for the worse. And in Norway, people are actually taking a stand. Earlier this year, The Guardian reported that the Norwegian Consumer Council launched a global campaign targeting the “gradual deterioration of digital products and services.”
“We wanted to show that you wouldn’t accept this in the analog world,” Finn Lützow-Holm Myrstad, the council’s director of digital policy, said. “But this is happening every day in our digital products and services, and we really think it doesn’t need to be that way.”
#13
Hp Forces You To Replace Your Ink Cartridges After Canceling Your Subscription
nottheactualphoto 1 day ago
My printer has no need for internet connectivity. This is one of the reasons.
#14
Cgi Is Actually Magnificent, As Long As You Allow The Time And Budget To Do It Properly
#15
This Thinly Veiled Gambling Bull Directed At Kids
I know the "collect em all" tactic has been around since baseball cards but these godforsaken balls taking over toy aisle are especially egregious IMO. And expensive.
The campaign urged policymakers in 14 countries to take action against the decline of these services, noting that it is not inevitable but rather the result of policy decisions. In the letters that were sent to officials, policymakers were asked to provide more power to consumers to control, adapt, repair, and alter the items that they already own. They also demanded that consumers be allowed to move more easily between different services.
“It’s not too late to turn the tide,” Lützow-Holm Myrstad said. “Services don’t need to be [made worse] if we have real competition, if you can choose as a consumer which services you use, and if the market will better regulate all these practices.”
#16
They Knew What They Were Doing
#17
The Enshittification Of Our Brains On Chatgpt
#18
Purchased Movies Will No Longer Be Accessible, Thanks Sony!
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 day ago
They have a strange definition of the word "Purchase. "Money can be exchanged for goods and services" Homer Simpson's Brain.
Fighting back against this rapid decline of products and services online can feel futile as a consumer. But if you have to sell products at work, you can definitely make a choice to go against the grain. ProdPad recommends obsessing over real value. Don’t simply fixate on engagement or vanity metrics; consider what your product can actually do for people. It’s also important to track ethical metrics. How do users feel after using your product? How is it impacting their lives? Listen to their stories.
#19
Cottonelle What Are You Doing Babygirl
Left is old TP from another brand, right is new Cottonelle. I wonder if I'd have even noticed unless I saw them side by side like this inadvertently. Good luck to you if you have large hands, some of your fingers may be participating as well.
#20
Sorry I'll Be Late To Work I Had To Update My Doorbell
#21
Electronic Shelf Labels May Use Your Data Profile To Make You Pay Different Prices
Something else companies can do to go against the grain is to simply be honest with their customers. Tell the truth about the downsides of your product or service, and don’t hide the friction and broken promises that you might encounter over time. It’s so rare nowadays for corporations to be transparent, so it will definitely stand out if you are. And if you gain the trust of consumers without betraying them later down the line, they’ll be customers for life.
#22
This Is Painful
Kira Okah 1 day ago
This is the result of a lawsuit against McDonald's, that claimed that McD's was targeting children to make them grow up obese and dependent. They were barred from all directed advertising and appeal to children in their restaurants, s they had to pivot to the adult coffee crowd.
#23
The Visible Difference Between Old And New Pyrex
#24
Has Anyone Else Noticed That Non-Scratch Sponges Start Disintegrating Immediately Now?
DennyS (denzoren) 1 day ago
Yes! Not even two weeks and I have to throw it out..and I'm only home to do dishes at night and weekends so it's not like I'm cooking up a storm.
Is this list filling you with rage, pandas? Keep upvoting the examples of companies making their services worse that you find incredibly relatable, and let us know in the comments if there’s anything else that you’re tired of seeing get worse. Then, if you’re interested in checking out another article from Bored Panda discussing similar themes, look no further than right here!
#26
From "My Computer" To "This PC"
#27
Can We Go Back To The Old Internet?
Fellfromthemoon 22 hours ago
If it asks fot a credit/debit card, I turn immediately back (if not a legit subscription, like a news outlet.)
#29
When Did Hotels Get So Much Worse?
Pictured above- hotel removed refrigerator. I travel a bunch for work, although I’m currently an unpaid intern. I’ve noticed how much worse hotels have gotten in the last few years. Some of the stuff I’ve seen in the last few months include-
$25 charge every time you want to use a luggage cart
$16 a day for Wi-Fi, $20 a day for decent wi-fi
$20 a day for parking in a non-urban area
Removal of ice machines
No ability to do your own laundry on site
I need all of the above- and all of this seems pretty standard for a mid-priced hotel. Apparently not anymore. Now I’m just sad that my leftover Italian food I had for late night work is going to go bad.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 day ago
The USA in 2026 is "MONETIZE EVERYTHING!" It's one of the worst things we could ever do.
#30
Bandaids Look Like They Are Deteriorating After Just A Couple Of Hours
#31
I Can’t Delay Start My Dishwasher Without An App, And The App Sends Me Advertisements
#32
Tyson Chicken Tenders From Costco = More Than Half Breading Bits
#33
Mounds Don’t Even Use Real Chocolate Anymore
#34
Even Reportoftheweek Is Feeling It
#35
Google Search: The Word "Crumble" Is Now Being Treated As A Misspelling Of "Crumbl" As In The Cookie Chain
#37
Imagine If Everything Else Kept Up
#38
I Guess They Could Just Stare At The Wall?
#39
Reddit Now Shows Ads That Look Like Comments
#40
Removed "No Preservatives" And Changed Real Fruit To Whole Fruit Whatever That Means
#41
My Premium Spotify Runs Out Of Audiobook Listening Hours…
#42
$9 For This…
#43
Amazon Enshittification
Luke || Kira (he/she) 21 hours ago
I'd rather shiㅤt in my hands and clap than willingly read an AI-written book. And, as a writer, I'd rather smear myself in lard and walk into a chimp enclosure than publish an AI-written book.
#44
Breyers’ Cookies & Cream Is Not Ice Cream
marcelo D. 23 hours ago
yeah, Ice cream is probably a legally coded category, with specifications of what they must have to be considered ice cream by percentajes, and they enshitted it enough that it fell out
#45
Psa: Rosetta Stone Is "Bricking" Permanent Licenses To Force Users Into Subscriptions
#46
Youtube Is Now Blocking Vpns
#48
Youtube Has Entirely Removed Dislikes On Shorts And Replaced The Like Button With A Heart Button
Kelly Scott 18 hours ago
Trust me I've left a lot of nasty, unhappy remarks over some of the movies I've seen posted on Youtube. If they don't like my potty mouth there, they can bring back the dislikes.
#49
Youtube Is Spiraling
#50
Dickies Has Lost The Plot
#51
Ritz Crackers Now Made With Peanut Butter Flavored Filling Instead Of, Idk, Just Peanut Butter?
#52
Wendy's Interior - They Just Remodeled In The Last Year Or So
#53
Reddit Has Now Entirely Defeated The Purpose Of Anonymous Browsing…
Kelly Scott 18 hours ago
Well, this can be gotten around. I surf the net with a username and then that username is backed up with a fake name that google has. I let google sign me up on reddit and it signs me up under another, anonymous name. It's weird, but it works.
#54
Everything Is A Scam Now
#55
No Way To Pause TV For Details Anymore
#56
Holy Moly Has Google Search Been Absolutely Lobotomized
Kelly Scott 18 hours ago (edited)
Yeah, I'm noticing the first search answers that come up on google now are all AI c**p even if I don't use their AI search, so I'm being real careful making a second check on Bing or Wikipedia before I post anything for anyone to read. I'm to the point where I won't be using google for much of anything anymore.
#57
My Local Panera Removed Almost All The Outlets And Replaced Them With Blanking Plates So You Can't Charge Your Phone Or Laptop
#59
My Car Radio Is Displaying Ads For United Healthcare
#60
Wait…we Are Now Only Allowed To See 8 Cherry-Picked Reviews, And Can No Longer Sort By “Most Recent” Or Filter By Star-Rating? Wtf Is Happening?
#61
TSA Gets In On The Grift
#62
F! Jimmy John’s!!
Robert Trebor 1 day ago
I got a tuna sub from them. It was kinda like a tuna paste smeared on the bread, no actual lumps of tuna, filled the bread up with lettuce and very thinly sliced tomato. Never again.
#63
Dawn Dish Soap Is Now A Runny Cloaca Instead Of A Tight Controlled Dispensing Hole
#64
Mcdonald’s Ending Self-Serve Soda Machines Nationwide
WhyamIhere? 11 hours ago
In Australia these fountains aren't standard, same in the EU I believe. Yes, you have to pay for individual drinks.
#65
Sweethearts Are Barely Legible
#66
McDonald's App Won't Let You Stay Logged In Now If You've Disabled Ad Tracking
#67
Bic Lighters
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Wollstonecraft 13 hours ago
Why do people pay for this site. It is noting more than reposted photos from many years ago. A.I. generated fake stories and tacky negative celebrity rage bait.
Wollstonecraft 13 hours ago
Why do people pay for this site. It is noting more than reposted photos from many years ago. A.I. generated fake stories and tacky negative celebrity rage bait.
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