I understand the frustration but all these problems should be familiar to someone who has been playing since 2020.

The process to purchase and install the PC standalone license is notoriously bad. It is one thing that gets overwhelming agreement from players. Unfortunately, it lies outside of the developer's responsibility and rests with other departments within SE.

The Mogstation can take up to 72 hours before a newly created character and other changes will reflect on an account (though usually it happens in less than 24 hours). Lodestone also has a delay (but not as long) as it is updated in batches, not in real time. Again, something outside of the game developers' control and in the hands of others within SE. Yes, SE should do better.

Why isn't the cash shop in game? Because YoshiP is smart. He doesn't want the cash shop intruding on the game experience or making players feel pressured into spending additional money on top of their subscription. It's not that difficult to use a browser to visit the cash shop while playing the game if you want to buy something.

If this is a friend, why are you asking them to spend money on a story skip and job boost to catch up to you instead of you using NewGame+ to join them in experiencing the game as intended? There is no cost to you. You can suspend NG+ when your friend is not playing or doing things other than MSQ then resume when they go back to MSQ. You could even create a new character to play with them. I get that not everyone is interested in the story but I would also question recommending the game to someone who isn't interested in it. The endgame isn't anything special compared to the endgame in other MMORPGs where it is a focus instead of just a pause in the story.

The game keeps players because players enjoy the game despite those other problems. Not everyone is deterred by an hour of inconvenience when something they can enjoy lies beyond it.