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Have you seen the food kiosks at restaurants that allow you to order food without waiting in line? They’re in Europe only right now, but they’re coming to the States, according to the Chicago Tribune. Think about how much that will increase the level and speed of service in those restaurants. A human will no longer take your order and people are actually happy about it.

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Speaking of long lines, have you noticed that lines at video stores are longer than ever? Some of them are longer than the lines at airports. Why don’t video stores start using kiosks so people don’t have to wait in line for so long. We serve ourselves better than anyone else ever could, so why not let us do that when we rent movies too?

When two companies merge, what should you do? It’s become clear that you should head for the hills. Companies say they’re merging to benefit you, but it’s just a line. According to a recent study published in the Chicago Tribune, customers were unhappy 100 percent of the time when a company they did business with merged with another company. And that was two years after the merge happened. It’s not smart for the merging businesses either. Banks lose a quarter to a third of their customers when they merge. So, if you hear that a merger is about to happen, think about switching companies. There will be some hassle in the beginning but it will be worth it. You will experience nothing but customer-no-service after the merger.

Clark talked recently about a technology that allows businesses to listen to your phone conversations before anyone actually picks up. Now, there is another product that allows companies to peg you as a problem customer. Basically, a computer monitors your speech pattern and records the words you use to determine how much trouble you will be for the company. It’s spreading like wildfire in the corporate world, but no one is telling customers about it. These companies are using profitability indexes to determine whether to try and keep you when you get angry. So, if you make them a lot of money, they will put someone else on the phone to try and resolve the problem. The name of the company is Nice and the computer program is called “Nice Perform.” It’s smart for companies to do this because retaining customers is much easier and less costly than trying to gain new customers. Check out which companies are not making customers happy at complaint sites such as complaints.com and epinions.com, planetfeedback.com and thesqueakywheel.com. According to the Sacramento Bee, about one quarter of the population has posted a complaint on one of these sites. And what they say keeps companies in line!

Clark has been pushing for more simplified health plans for many years. He’s also been an advocate of buying pools that can negotiate plan prices with companies. Well, it’s finally happening. People in the pool will be eligible for low-cost health care from a handful of plans. Employees from 60 different companies are in the pool, and policies will range from $5 to $300 a month. Sears, McDonald’s and GE are some of the companies involved. Plans will become available in April. To be eligible, you must be a part-time or temporary worker with no health care coverage, independent contractors, consultants and early retirees. This is exactly what Clark has been hoping for and he hopes more companies get involved.

The state of California now requires that hospitals publish price lists for services and medicines. It allows people to comparison shop because there are big differences from one hospital or another. Clark thinks it’s a great idea. The problem is that there are a number of “charity hospitals” that are mistreating people without insurance. Because they can claim themselves as a charity, they don’t have to pay the taxes. But, in return, they are supposed to provide charity care to poor patients. There are now lawsuits in 22 states against charity hospitals for this reason, according to the Washington Post. The suits state that these hospitals are trying to take people’s homes away for not paying the bills They also charge people without insurance much higher rates than those with insurance. In fact, the typical rate is 600 percent higher. It’s turning everything on its head in the health care industry. Hospitals should provide care to all people.