Blog
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Good vs. evil
July 18th, 2008
What makes an experience good? Meet and exceed expectations. Allow the user to complete a task so efficiently that the system is almost unnoticeable. Here are two contrasting examples from recent excursions to Houston:
1) Good: Renting a Car
As we deplane we easily find and follow signs to “Rental Cars” and locate
the correct shuttle bus. We arrive at a mall that houses all of the rental car companies under one roof. Arrows point us to the right company, and to our surprise, touch screen kiosks! Within seconds we enter our confirmation number, swipe a credit card and a driver’s license, and print our contract. The kiosk instructs us to proceed to the lot to pick any car we want — we’ll find the keys inside. Like excited children allowed to pick one toy at the store, we ask, “What about this one? Oooh! I like the red one!” We drive our car to an attendant at the gate where we sign the contract and drive off.
Why was this a good experience? I was exhausted, hungry and dreading the idea of a slow shuttle ride, long lines, and a lot of paperwork. Not only did we accomplish our task, but the ease of use exceeded our expectations and even elicited a few “oohs” and “ahs.”
2) Evil: The Vending Machine
I’m in the hotel. There is not much within walking distance. I’m in desperate need of a sugary snack and head for the vending machine. With years of vending machine experience, I am prepared for the most likely pitfalls: A) my dollar bill won’t be clean, flat, or green enough, causing the machine to repeatedly spit it back out, or B) after paying for my snack, it will remain hung up in its circular stand. My expectations are low.
I choose a snack that costs $0.85. The machine is trying to tell me, “Exact Change Only.” Each quarter I enter immediately drops into the coin return. I try again and again, and it rejects them all. I decide to try a one dollar bill accepting that I may not receive $0.15 in change. The machine refuses to accept any of my dollars, and not because they weren’t crisp and new. The machine mockingly responds by blinking its “Exact Change Only” message.
The real bummer? Nothing in the vending machine cost an even $1.00.
Kristin Hodgson
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