DESIGN is Better than another SIGN

May 15, 2012 in Customer Experience, Design, Learning

I am fascinated by service providers who try to shape behaviors with customer-facing job aids (like this one at the Westin Copley Place or this funny one in a restaurant bathroom). Service providers experience what they perceive as a stupid question or a customer not doing what "they are supposed to do," so the first solution they jump to is to create a sign to dictate behavior. Bravo to AMC Theaters which took a more customer-centric approach. Instead of a condescending sign, they added design redundancy on their butter dispenser with three different buttons making it easier and quicker for customers to figure it out.

Next time you're munching on some buttery popcorn, remember to consider design as the first solution as opposed to adding more instructions and directions. Michael Loop states it well in his recent post Two Universes | Design Well-Informed Improvisation.

What other customer-facing job aids or design solutions have you seen?

Calling Out Customer Feedback

December 31, 2011 in Customer Experience

On the most recent update for iAnnotate, they brilliantly called out customers who provided feedback for fixes by name. Not only did they provide recognition to their valued customers, but they reinforced their brand as a company that listens.

No Credit

December 07, 2011 in Customer Experience

Since that visit, there have been a few mornings where I think of that incident, and I think my poor uncle. He never gets credit for putting away the dishes quietly. If he does them quietly, my aunt doesn't wake up, so she never thinks that he did it quietly; however, every time he makes enough noise to wake her up, he probably gets nagged when she stumbles out of bed.