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Saving the Customer Experience (CX) from the dark side

Stormtrooper Diary

Stormtrooper: "Dear Diary, I applied for a different position with the empire. First I had to upload my resume. Then it asked me to fill out a form with my entire job history. Come on, I had just uploaded my resume." CX Jedi: "When you ask for redundant information it feels like you are not paying attention and do not respect the value of customers time."

Stormtrooper: "Dear Diary, needed to request a new weapons system today. I filled out the form on the web page, hit submit, and got an error that said “invalid entry” in an angry red font at the very top of the web page. It left me to figure out which field was ‘invalid’. Now I have to go back and check every answer to figure out which one they meant." CX Jedi: "Make error recovery as easy as possible, young Jedi. Be certain to put the error message near the fields or area that need the customer’s attention and tell them exactly what they need to do to get on the right path."

Dear Diary, I called the Empire support team today. I gave one of the staff my contact information and then was transferred to another staff member, who asked me for the same information again! CX Jedi: "Don’t burden your customers by requesting the same information. It makes your organization feel disconnected and disorganized. It is frustrating and shows a lack of respect for your customers."

Stormtrooper: “Dear Diary, Mom needed help again today. She tried to fill out an online form for the empire. The fields were pre-filled with sample data as a ‘helpful’ hint. She didn’t realize that she needed to put her own information into those same fields. She just kept clicking on the next button expecting to get a blank form.” CX Jedi: "Research shows that many customers mistakenly believe that fields with sample data don’t require their input. Test your form design to be sure customers know how to fill them out."

Stormtrooper: "Dear Diary, needed to fill out a vacation request form on the Empire site today. The labels for the input fields were inside the fields. When I went to enter the data, the label disappeared. I kept forgetting what was supposed to go in the field. The stupid label was gone so I had no way to know." CX Jedi: "Padawan, form labels need to always be visible so that customers don't have to remember what goes inside the field."

Stormtrooper: "Dear Diary, the new flat design of the Empire's web site is horrible. I have no idea which things are buttons now." CX Jedi :"Young, Jedi, you need to give your customers visual cues to let them know what they can click on.

Stormtrooper: "Dear Diary, I filled out my timesheet for the Empire again today. What a confusing mess. It took me a half hour just to log my 8 hours. Billions are spent trying to crush the rebellion and they can't afford to make their time tracking software easier to use?" CX Jedi: "If you want information from your customers, you need to make the process as simple, painless, and rewarding as possible. Disgruntled customers won't supply you with good data but only with whatever it takes to escape the process.

Stormtrooper: "Dear Diary, if the questions in the FAQ are asked so frequently why does the Empire hide them away in some obscure pdf. Please just put the information where it would be useful when I need it." CX Jedi: Don't add to your customer's frustration and confusion, Padawan. Make answers easy to find at the moment they will be needed.

Stormtrooper: "Dear Diary, apparently, if you can still remember your password it isn’t strong enough. I bet the "forgot password" link is the most used Empire log in button.” CX Jedi: Remember Padawan, your website is one of many your customers access each day. Having to remember numerous complicated passwords is challenging. Make sure you help your customers recover easily.

Stormtrooper: "Dear Diary, why must the Empire ATM ask my language every time I want to complete a transaction? I'm not going to suddenly decide I want to complete my business in Wookie." CX Jedi, Remember the important details about your customer. Don't treat them like strangers and ask them redundant questions.

Frustrated Stormtrooper: "Dear Diary, I went to the Empire website to request new armor. It took seven clicks to find what I needed, when I clicked the "order now" button it asked me to sign in. After signing in I was kicked back to the home page and had to start over. Who designs this?" CX Jedi: Time is valuable to your customers. Make sure your designs don't waste it.

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Saving the customer experience from the dark side