Oh, their blandness

"They also serve who only stand and wait," said the poet. "Not so," said the hotel-keepers, who were actually accountants who had bought successful hospitality businesses. And they did away with staff until the few who remained were in a state of constant movement, and the customers were doing all the standing and waiting.  And the accountants looked and saw that it was good.

Now, people who are standing and waiting could be doing something productive, such as building loyalty, selling additional services or anticipating trouble.  But those activities went out of the window when the staff went out of the door.  So the accountants looked again, and they saw that it was not so good.  And they said, "We need better marketing!"  Because obviously the problem couldn't be the accountants' fault.  They paid no attention to the other poet, who had talked about knowing "the price of everything and the value of nothing".

So wherever you go in the world you will find hotels that are heavily advertised, usually emphasising their low prices. These are the ones I avoid.

And I'm not alone.  After all, the principal reason why I don't like standing and waiting is that I'm not very good at it.  I'll gladly pay someone to do it for me.  You'd think there would be someone to notice.