"Telephones are a pain in the ass to use so why buy one?
If someone has a telephone then fine...its easy as hell to use...But the majority of people on the planet don't have telephones. "
The alternative to a telephone at a time before the internet was meeting up in person. Telephones offered a convenience for the average consumer even during some of their earliest stages.
The same cannot be said for the average consumer that want to use bitcoin, but don't own any. It's especially bad if they don't
want to own any, because they either have to buy bitcoin and wait to get them every single time they want to make a purchase, or they have to buy a good portion and be forced to accept the price fluctuations. Their alternative is a credit card or cash, both of which are much faster and more convenient for the average consumer.