What's that smell?

Lies, damned lies, and marketing

login screen for Heathrow Express free Wi-Fi requesting name and email details with the following statement: “We need this to get you up and running with Wi-Fi. We'd love to send you the latest Heathrow updates by email, including information about new services to improve your travel experience and fantastic offers on airport shopping. Please let us know if you would like us to contact you by selecting one of the options below.”Travelling from London Paddington to Heathrow Airport, I thought I'd avail myself of the complimentary Wi-Fi service. I'd already done so at Paddington station, where connection to the internet is simply a case of selecting Wi-Fi service provider and accepting the T&C.

But, in order to log onto the Heathrow Express' service, you also have to supply contact information. According to the blurb: We need this to get you up and running with Wi-Fi. This is clearly bollocks, since none of the information is needed to allow access to the internet. It might be collected for marketing purposes; security; resale; or simply to comply with their T&C, but none of it's needed to establish a Wi-Fi connection. And if it's required to comply with the company's T&C, then it should be made transparent, not veiled by a lie.

I think they think we're all morons. (mad)