1. Marc by Marc Jacobs Brodie Scarf
I think I could basically live in this December through March.
2. Miz Mooz ‘King’ Boot (Nordstrom)
Have you flossed today? Need a reminder?
So I’ve been thinking a lot about user experience-not only in regard to web design but with other activities like work, getting shoes for my upcoming wedding, or buying a bike and a new phone. A lot of different elements add up to create a good or bad experience including needs, expectations, and support.
Like with any job, in addition to positive experiences like learning new tricks, feelings of accomplishment or receiving bonuses, there are the less favorable aspects that contribute to the overall experience. Things like a long traffic-filled commute or having to answer the phone only to have such irrelevant distractions on the other end like “Is this Planet Fitness?”, “Google, yes, Google…”, and “This is Yellowpages confirming your listing…again”. But when it comes to making a purchase you want everything to be right.
I had a great experience buying a bicycle, and lucky for them I told maybe 4 or 5 other people about it and now I’m telling you. When I started out as a marketing major in college one of the things I found interesting was that word-of-mouth is one of the strongest marketing channels available and that has only been proven 10-fold in the explosion of social media use and consumer review sites. Anyway, I went on a Friday afternoon to buy a bicycle in Norwood, MA. I used to live over there and remember there was bike shop near where we used to get supplies for the g’pigs.
Before I got there my experience was this: Did some reesearch online on the ‘popular’ mass retailer sites (read: Dick’s Sporting Goods, Sports Authority) and visiting their stores to see products up close. I did see one bike that was on sale but it was raining, I was an hour and a half from home and with someone else. I wasn’t about to try to maneuver it into my car at that point and assumed that I would be able to get the same model at the location closer to my home. Turns out, I was not able to do that. So anyway that’s how I ended up at Landry’s. I was met by a very friendly approachable employee who helped educate me on the different bike features and the things that would need to be a part of my bike – proper wheel height for example. He even let me take a few out for a spin in the parking lot and handled my purse (to secure it while I rode). He added a kick stand, took it for a ride himself when I mentioned the brakes were noisy and fixed everything on the spot and educated me about continued support (tune ups). I left happy and they made a sale.
I’m happy to recommend them because I feel like this is how they approach all their customer interactions. Although the price was higher than the sale bike I had found earlier, it was O.K. because I felt like I got a better bike and a place to go if anything ever went wrong.
I bought a new phone. At least I think I did. Here’s what happened: I got an e-mail with some promotions from Verizon saying I can call, visit a store, or go online and the price will be reflected in checkout. So the phone should have been $99 but the price online was reflecting $149 so obviously the additional promotional discount of $50 was not being reflected. Oh look, a live chat button right on the website – great – let’s do that. So I open up a chat with an associate who only repeats back to me the problem I’ve alerted her too. Seriously to the point where I am typing something like, Yes I know, that is the issue I’m contacting you about. So she talks to her manager and reports back to me that is only the price for telesales. For what? Sounds like internal company speak. Oh telephone sales? Like I have to call the company in order to get the price? That doesn’t seem right. I look back at the promotional e-mail. Yup right here says it’s ok to go online. Hmm… O.K..
The associate makes it clear that she has no authority to credit the account or give out a code that will fix it but gives me a number for customer care. Folks, if your promotion says you can go online and the proper price will be reflected, then it should be. She says something about there being a $100 rebate that comes with the phone which is confusing because it doesn’t say anywhere on the promotional e-mail that part of the discount it a rebate or Visa gift card or whatever. In fact it breaks it down into $100 online discount (For buying the phone online?) $50 New Every Two (for being a good customer and renewing your contract) and $50 company anniversary promotion. So if the phone is coming up $50 over, where did the $100 come from?
So anyway, I call the number on the e-mail for sales and explain how I am trying to buy a phone online and what I’m experiencing and she brings up my account and repeats the steps until she realizes that in fact the price isn’t coming up correctly and gets authorization to correct it and confirms the price with me over the phone and my e-mail address and notifies me that the phone will ship mid-July because of high demand, which is fine, and that I will get a confirmation e-mail and and e-mal when it ships. Great, so it is being billed to my account. I hang up with her, give her my thanks.
Only, then a couple hours later, I still haven’t got a confirmation e-mail. And nowhere in my account does it have any sort of order history, proof of purchase, anything. It’s my expectation that like with any other online shopping site you get your confirmation e-mail immediately. So I send an e-mail to support with my question and looking for a confirmation number or something to bring up proof I ordered the phone. They respond and give me a number. When I go online to plug it in, the number isn’t found. Reply to support -mail and only then does a now fourth person tell me the order won’t be in the system for 72 hours (was I supposed to know that?). What was weird was that my phone call with them and the two e-mails were all peppered with consumer care speak – fluffed up with things like ‘thanks for your business’ ‘why are you buying this phone’ and things I didn’t read or care to answer because I wanted to get in and out and get what I needed. Is that too much to ask? :-/ Other than this, I’ve had a fine n’dandy experience with Verizon and never felt the need to change providers.
I’d like to see someone name their baby “WYSIWYG”…
One of those days where it doesn’t seem like there is enough time to see/read/hear everything I want to on the web. Impossible to be so plugged in and remain human at the same time.
I went to An Event Apart the past two days and am feeling very inspired to learn more!
via: Neatorama via Say Uncle via Herald Sun
A German exchange student in Sydney, Australia was getting beaten and mugged by thugs. That’s when the ninjas showed up:
They grabbed his phone and iPod and kicked him while he lay on the ground.
However, the men were spotted by a member of a nearby dojo.
Nathan Smith told his sensei and the rest of the students at Ninja Senshi Ryu and they rushed out to confront the thugs – all dressed in traditional black ninja garb.
On seeing the ninjas, the men fled, only to be later arrested by police.
“You should have seen their faces when they saw us in ninja gear coming towards them,” the school’s sensei, Kaylan Soto, told the Herald.
Read this book about typography online for a lovely visual treat whilst exploring the joys of typography and tidbits like this:
Q. What does a typographer, a claustrophobic and an astronaut have in common?
A. They are all occupied with space.
via: How About Orange
Today’s link comes to us from Jim who is just trying to make his daughter some cool pancakes.
via: Laughing Squid
