As much as I would like to see a reduction in packaging, there is still an need to tightly bind products that get jostled on freighters on their way to stores or to your home. So as much as I would like my new electric toothbrush to be package-free, it’s unreasonable to assume that it can be shipped intact with nothing to protect the integrity of the product. However, there is hope on the horizon as the New York Times reports on an “era of non-hostile packaging” that is being ushered in by Amazon et al that will not only reduce “wrap rage”, but be friendlier on the environment too.

I recently used an online printing site (that shall remain nameless) to order some personal business cards. The site has one of those wizards which steps you through a selection of fonts, images, and paper stock as you build a card. Once you are satisfied with your design you can order a proof or place the order immediately.

After some fiddling with file formats (TIFF instead of GIF for a background image) and doing some adjustments to get my card just right, I was eager to place my order and be on my merry way.  I placed my order and expected  that I would need to enter contact and credit card details in order to complete my transaction.

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened.

Instead, I was put through an unending series of “special offer” pages– leather-bound card holders, personalized calendars, pens, et cetera.  I found this annoying since I simply wanted to pay. Isn’t that the point of ecommerce? Why stuff a bunch of screens in my face? I just wanted to pay and move on.

Anyway, I breezed through these screens since every selection was opt-in so there was no need for me to deselect as I clicked the “next” button repeatedly. After six or seven of these opt-in screens, I arrived at a magazine subscription page which was formatted differently. It had radio buttons instead of check boxes, and the behavior had changed to opt-out. However, I was on auto-pilot and so accustomed to breezing through the flow that I automatically clicked the “next” button instead of deselecting  the offer– even though I registered this change. Once I noticed this, I clicked the browser’s back button to attempt to return and deselect but all I got was a blank screen.  Anxious to move on, I impatiently clicked “next” and arrived at an order summary page.  I assumed I would be able to see any “special offer” including the magazine subscription as well as my cards and thus be able to delete the subscription (as most shopping carts interfaces allow.) Since there was no mention of a subscription as part of my order and therefore nothing to delete,  I assumed everything was hunky dory and went ahead a completed my order.

Once the order was placed, I called the company’s 1-800 number just to verify that no subscription was placed. Much to my dismay, an order was placed for “Field & Stream” no less–incidentally, I am a vegetarian– and yet, I had no proof of this on my order summary.  After roundly criticizing the user experience of the shopping cart to the customer service person, I was told I could cancel by sending an email to subscriptions@example.com so I went ahead and did so…

2 months and counting and I just received my third issue of “Field & Stream”…Arghh!!

What to take away from this experience? How could this company enhance their bottom line without alienating paying customers?

Best practice would be to limit the amount of offers for paying customers. The folks looking for a freebie would expect to have to jump through a zillion offers, but paying customers should be treated with more respect. They should also use consistent controls (radio buttons or checkboxes) and, more importantly, make the behavior consistent: either opt-in or opt-out.  Whenever you change the control or behavior you have the potential to trip up a person’s mental model. In the specifics of this scenario that kind of trip ip can lead to the user to accidentally selecting items that he or she had no intention of buying.  This is a subtle form of bait and switch and can compromise a site’s trustworthiness and lose a customer forever.

Case in point, is the universal design poster-child –the curb cut-out. A curb cut-out is a ramp in a sidewalk that allows a person in a wheelchair to access a sidewalk. Curb-cut outs were designed for a specific population in mind yet we all benefit from this sidewalk fixture. Whether you are rolling a suitcase down the street or a stroller, we all look for cut-outs to make the transition from street to sidewalk smoother and safer.

Yet another example of design improvements that are specific to population but is beneficial to all, is the notion of getting a business certified as “Elder Friendly”. Certain shops in my community have the signs posted in the windows notifying area seniors that they meet certain criteria that makes shopping or dining pleasant for specific age group. This means that aisles are wider to accommodate walkers or canes. The lighting is brighter and price tags feature larger print for the sight challenged. This certification also includes the customer service by rating the helpfulness of the staff whether in person or on the phone. Improving the quality of service for a specific population naturally improves the lives of all who patronize an “Elder Friendly” business. You don’t have to be of a “certain age” to like helpful staff or find wider aisles easier to navigate.

The thing that kills me about most of these PDF links is that the payoff, if your browser doesn’t crash, is usually disappointing. Most of the time it is text that can easily be converted to HTML or it’s a bloated brochure with lots of pretty pictures. This colleague recently forwarded me a newsletter from an Irish customer experience guy named Gerry McGovern who wrote on this very topic…Check it out: http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2007/nt-2007-02-05-pdf.htm

These plastic “truncated dome” inserts are known as detectable warnings which serve as a means to notify the visually impaired about the boundaries of street and sidewalk. The visually impaired rely on environmental cues such as texture underfoot, ambient sounds, and physical objects that can be sensed with a cane. Detectable warning systems, such as truncated domes, allows the independent visually impaired person an added measure of safety. There are other ways to make these boundaries detectable by using other textured materials such as brick, or grooved pavement but these methods were deemed not as effective as the truncated domes due to similar surface textures on roads. The DOJ (Department of Justice) in conjuction with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) therefore deemed the truncated dome to be the standard in detectable warnings because this material provided optimal detection underfoot or with a cane.

You might ask, why are these always yellow? Because people with low vision can perceive the color yellow due to the color’s high chromatic (light reflecting) properties more so than any other hue.

I pulled out and old T-Pass from 2005 to compare with the Charlie Ticket. At first glance, the Charlie Ticket is a fun homage to the old Kingston Trio song “Charlie on the M.T.A”. But as far as using the thing, it is kind of a pain because you always have to be concerned with orientation to make sure the train conductors can read the card and make sure that a) the card is for the current month, and b) to make sure you have the right zone or fare for the ride. So if you are fumbling for your pass you not only have to dig it out, but make sure you show the correct side, whereas with the old pass, you didn’t have to care about the orientation because all of the pertinent information (April 2005, Zone 1) is on the front as well as on the back of the card. So the cute Charlie illustration gets annoying real fast because it takes up space and has no useful information. The old cards have oodles of useful information about fare rates, including information about admitting a free guest on weekends, and which other modes of transportation the pass is valid for. The designers of the Charlie Ticket apparently thought this information was unnecessary enough to omit it from the design.

Related Links:
badtransit.com
| 3mote.com | T-rage.com

Spurred by the processing advances allowed by the Check 21 legislation, intelligent “No Envelope” Deposit technology enables checks to be inserted directly into the ATM. This gives the customer an on-screen image of the check for immediate verification, and a printed image of all checks will also appear on the customer’s ATM receipt. Deposited cash can be immediately credited to the customer’s account and is tallied and listed on the receipt by denomination as proof-of-deposit.

In Paris
Immediately upon entry to the exhibit, the visitor is greeted with the sites of Paris circa 1860. A large map of Paris takes up a whole wall to set the theme. The paintings are of Paris street scenes such as the flower markets, cafes, the Luxembourg Gardens et al. The colors are vibrant and the city almost comes to life save the aromas of patisseries and the bustling city sounds. From this room, you enter a small hallway with portraits of artists living as bohemians or “flaneurs” from that period. This sets the tone for the lifestyle that the Americans abroad were seeking.

The Salon
From the streets of Paris to the characters that comprised the art scene, you enter a gallery space much like the galleries that many of these painting were shown. The focus of the room is Arrangement in Black and Grey, AKA “Whistler’s mother”, as the rest of the room follows suit with subtle lighting and earth-toned walls. On the opposite wall is Whistler’s “Girl in White”. The room has other fine masterpieces but they seem to fade away by the anchoring of the two Whistlers which have a magnetism of their own. From this gallery we enter another salon with rejects from the traditional art salons known as the Salon des Refuses, which is distinguished by its Bordeaux colored walls and a large velvet bench. This room is anchored with a couple of stunning Sargent portraits, including Madame X. This room has a rich, sensuous and somewhat lurid feel as the unnaturally pale skin of Madame X competes with Eakin’s moribund Christ on the cross, showing more skin than a red light district.

The Studio
The studio is a transition room between the Salon and the interior scenes, which is small and a bit cramped as any artist’s atelier might be. The walls are painted an eggshell white while the lighting is brighter than the previous rooms. The images include paintings of artists painting a model and portraits of artist who painted fellow artists. This room gives you the feeling of what it might be like to work as an artist and hang around other artists, it makes me wish I were born in another time.

Home life
From the studio we enter indoors with paintings of interior scenes such as home life with tea and family. The walls are a dark blue which lends itself to a “closed-in” feeling. This room features the famous Boit sisters by Sargent that displays magnificently amongst the many Cassat portraits of domestic life.

The countryside
The countryside gallery is brightly lit while the walls are painted a light cream color. Walking from the darkness of the indoor scenes into this bright room truly makes you feel as if you have stepped outside–especially when you are surrounded with sunny landscapes filled with rolling meadows and seascapes.

Back home

The transition back home is gentle as the room follows the same color scheme and lighting as the French countryside gallery. The only thing different is that the paintings are of uniquely American scenes through the lens of what the artists learned while abroad such as Childe Hassam’s “Allies Day” of flags waving along Fifth Avenue. After having been to Paris and back already this year, this recent museum trip gave me that experience once again, which is precisely the show’s intention, sans the murmur of accordion street music and the air thick with Gauloise smoke.

Based on my research of older adults and learning, my mom (like many older adults) views technology as an odious substitute for real human interaction. Why learn a simulated task when I already know how to do it in “real life”, as she would put it. As the older adult population increases while computers proliferate as substitutes for cashiers in grocery stores et cetera older adults are increasingly forced to wrestle with the inevitability that computers are here to stay. Older adults are more willing to engage with technology if it seems made for them. For example, the larger button sizes aid the visually-impaired while the rich audio and visual feedback aid the user’s expectations of typical sequences and responses that occur in “real life” interaction. The richer the experience the more confident the user is, thus increasing the willingness to accept computers as part of everyday life. I think this new ATM design is onto something.