If You Build It, They Will Complain

There’s an old saying about innovation: “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.” It is derived from an Emerson quote that reads: “If a man has good corn or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs, than anybody else, you will find a broad hard-beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods.” In this way, the saying is an example of itself; the ‘mousetrap’ variant is shorter, snappier, and conveys the exact same meaning, thus it is the one most often used.

The implication here is basically if you build it, they will come: you’ll have lines around the block, people from all over frantically waving their bills in the air demanding the latest in mouse-entrapment technology.

The truth, we know now, is a bit different.

The world, upon beating a path to your door, would say, “This mousetrap is smaller and more humane than the previous mousetrap, but now I’ve decided I want a mousetrap that is smaller and more humane.” Or, “I have no mice in my house, but many spiders, and this mousetrap did not catch a single spider, which is a bit of a disappointment.” Or, “Excuse me, I have some ideas for how you might make this better mousetrap–which is a good start–into an even greater mousetrap, despite the fact that I have never myself built any mousetrap.”

And so it goes with the Wahl Ceramic & Gel Hot and Cold Pack. You can put it in the microwave if you need heat, or you can put in the freezer if you want it to be cold. The ceramic beads heat and cool with the gel, providing a nice texture, which one Amazon reviewer says, “makes for an easy massage.” But the title of that review–“slightly different than the norm”–is telling. It implies that the incorporation of a heretofore never used component is something slight. Innovation, people seem to believe, requires a total redo.

Yes, some reviews expressed issues with durability. That’s understandable to call out. A few wished it would be more pliable when frozen. Again, fair.

But then there are the other “complaints.”

One says: “The only drawback I’ve seen so far to this item is its size. For the most part, I don’t think the size will be an issue because it’s probably rare to treat an area larger than 6x10”."

Just so we’re clear: the only issue this reviewer could foresee would arise in a scenario that they couldn’t foresee arising.

Another–in a review titled “Does the job but not much better than competition”–claims: “the problem is just like every other reusable gel back I’ve ever used: they simply don’t remain truly hot or cold enough for long enough to do a good job. They’re more warm or cool than they are hot or cold for much longer.”

To put it differently: the biggest problem with this product, in this reviewer’s experience, is endemic to this entire product category, not just this product, and relies upon a universal tolerance of hot and cold temperatures.

The point of all this is to show that people will always find things to gripe about. And maybe they’re right. Still, it seems like the best case scenario is that you really love the texture of the ceramic beads inside the gel, and the worst case scenario is that you get three of totally passable hot/cold packs for $18.

Now, get yourself into the forum and complain all you want!