Blink Tags!?

There's almost nothing I hate more than the Blink tag. Why would you make things blink on the screen? It's annoying to users and, like, soooo 1995.

Luckily most sites no longer use such offensive HTML on their sites, so you can imagine my shock and horror to find it today on the the MA Voter Registration form. UGH why why why why? I moved, so I need to update my location for my voter registration - I found a link to request a form online. Granted they wanted to make it clear that my voter registration update wouldn't be final until I mail in the form. But instead of the irritating blink tag taking away my attention from the action I'm trying to perform, why not use a different color text, like red to call my attention, make the text bold (they did that), and make it a slightly larger font size?

But don't believe me... check it for yourself: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elestu/stuidx.htm

How to Piss of your Customers / Users

I decided to set up Poland Spring water delivery service to my home. I drink a ton of water, it's nice to have the dispenser that gives hot and cold, I use less (if any) small water bottles, and I don't have to go to the store and get it. All good stuff.

But try to figure out your friggin bill. Good luck! Here's what the screen looks like with my billing information:



It appears to me that my bill each month will be $31.96. But I look at my credit card and I've been charged $58.70 - UM WTF is going on?

I call and get a representative that tells me - for your first delivery there is a $20 deposit, there is tax on each delivery, and a $2.00 a month rental fee for the water cooler. Ok fine I say, but you should really be more clear on your website. There is NO WAY for me to find out the information what my bill will REALLY cost me. She says yes that information can ONLY be found in the email we send when we first confirm you as a customer. HUH so the only way I can EVER know my full bill is to search and find this email. Wicked helpful. Thanks.

I mean if it's more each month include that on the page with my billing info! Why only show me part of my bill? Then I realized upon further reading (clicking the click here for details) in the pop-up window that there's also a fuel surcharge - which from calculating the charge on my credit card and subtracting the other fees is about $5. The woman on the phone didn't mention anything about a fuel surcharge for each delivery.

Then she kept explaining that there was a $2.00 fee for the cooler and tax. I GET THAT - REALLY I DO. What I am trying to tell you folks at Poland Spring - your site is ineffective. You do not clearly show the user what their bill will be each month. Clicking the more details just says there are fees, but doesn't tell me what they are for my bill.

Wouldn't it be so much easier for me as a customer and user of your website to say here's your monthly bill:
Water $31.96,
Tax $0.10,
Water Cooler $2.00,
Fuel Surcharge $5.00.
For a total of: $39.06.

I mean cuz that would be... um.. USABLE???

Oh and one may think 'hey I will just click on that My Billing link there, that's going to show me my real bill'. If you thought that - you would be wrong. This is what I got when I clicked that link:



I've never actually been able to get my real billing info by clicking that link. All I ever get is an error. Don't know if it never works, or only when I want to see my billing info?

Also BTW I should add the woman on the phone either wasn't aware of the fuel surcharge, or somehow can't figure out exactly what my monthly bill will be (if that is true why is it so variable!??) because she said my bill would be about $35 a month. But by my calculations of the bill I just got for the first one that's incorrect it's going to be $39.06. And why can they only say around, why can't I get an accurate quote of my bill? And I get if I add something to my order one month it goes up, but if I don't and I get my standard order - can't they give me the exact amount it will cost me?

I then log out and go to the website to see if I were to create a new account - would this information all be clear to me? This is what I get - still different amounts than what I was charged - although they do point out tax, deposit, and fuel surcharge.



So then I think where the hell is this first bill that I got in an email explaining all this? I have to search for it because they only send that once. The email to let me know I have a delivery is just that - no billing info is contained in it. So I find it... and shock #2 - apparently it's also a 24 month service contract. That's not on their site ANYWHERE when you sign up... well anywhere one is actually looking for the information!



I found the information at the bottom of the screen, then had to click a pop-up to figure out how long the service agreement is (seriously WHY wouldn't you put this information right where I'm reviewing my order in the same font size!?????) Maybe because you know I may rethink that order if I knew I was locked in for 2 years? I hate those service commitments! However the website says it's only a 12 month commitment!!!! Not 24 like the email says. So which is it!? I want the 12 of course.



I mean I like the convenience of the water delivery and all, but don't make me a detective to figure out what my bill is going to be each month and how long my service contract is!!!

how to make your product unusable

Arrange action icons by color coordination, rather than the action they perform. Ya good move. That's usable. Because color coordination should always trump usability. Because the sign out icon should appear before the search. I mean search isn't important right? YEAAAHHHH

Come up with a design that is so confusing - you can't even explain it to the people you are trying to get to approve the design. Ask the people you are explaining it to, what you meant. Cuz we know somehow.

USPS SUCKS

I really hate the post office. Of course, now that I say that my postal worker will stop delivering my mail. But I just don't get it.

There are many reasons I hate the post office. But here's the few I can think of off the top of my head:

1: Every time I go into the post office- there is one or *maybe* two people working behind the desk. The line is almost out the door. If I am lucky I only wait a half hour.

HOW IS THIS ACCEPTABLE?

Why aren't there more workers at the desk? I can hear people shuffling around in the back, can't they come up and help? When I worked at a grocery store in high school - if they got busy they called people from around the store to come up and help ring people in. Why the fuck can't the post office do this? If I was this unhelpful at my job I'd be fired! People were more helpful at a minimum wage supermarket job.

2: My old postal worker REFUSED to deliver any packages. I used to live in a condo in Brighton. My condo faced the back so I could never see when the postal worker was there. But they had a key to put packages inside the doors. I shop online a lot. I'm online for my job already and I love to shop, so it's just natural that I shop online frequently. I lived there for 5 years. I had the Brighton post office on speed dial because I had to call to complain so many times. This freaking guy REFUSED TO EVER EVER EVER ring the bell to give me the package, or leave it with the super, or leave it inside the locked doors.

I called and left instructions, complained, sent letters, went down to the post office - nothing changed. He would just leave the card "we tried to deliver this and you weren't here. Pick up your package at the post office." fuck you asshole - I WAS HOME RING THE BELL!! My Ex worked from home so there was NEVER a time he could have rang the bell and I "missed it". I told the manager at my local post office that if I sucked that bad and refused to ACTUALLY do my job (which his is to deliver the mail, not slips for me to go pick it up) that I would be FIRED! Why is there no accountability at the post office? I would then schedule a redelivery - once again another fucking "sorry me missed you card". It made me insane. I'm sure this guy did it to fuck with me. And I couldn't do anything. Unless I can force all businesses to ship via Fed Ex or UPS I have to use the stupid USPS.

A search on the Better Business Bureau on the post office turns up more than 200 results. All have "Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the BB due to failure to respond to a complaint". SHOCKING.

One time the bell rang. I couldn't believe it. I ran down to get the package and I said "so you finally started ringing them bell." He said "oh I'm not your regular postal guy, he's on vacation." So I got one package delivered once - by the guy filling in for my guy on vacation. UGH

3: The website is almost unusable. Links don't click to anything - like the "click here for live 24/7 support" nothing happens. That's cool. What's the #1 thing you probably want to do on the USPS website? Complain? Probably. But seriously, I would think it's to buy stamps. That’s on the second level of navigation, 3rd one in. I would think it would be on the top left the first place I look. It took me a minute to realize where it was.

4: When trying to track a package online I get 'sorry we don't know anymore info; please contact your local post office'. Why would my local office know more? Shouldn't the website be able to give me SOME info? I shipped something 19 days ago and it's STILL not there. I paid for insurance.

I called the 800 number. A woman answered and she knew NOTHING. She told me what the website said. UM if you work for the post office - can't you find out anything? How can this package be lost? There is a label number on it - why can't anymore info be found out about it!?

She's said you have to go down to where you mailed it and ask them. Fucking great. I can't wait to sit in another 30 minute line at the post office. I said well if this is truly lost when do I get my few hundred dollars back that I insured it for? She said I can't try to claim it until Nov 3rd because that is still within a reasonable time it could be delivered. Ridiculous. 21+ days to deliver a package within the United States? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Are they using carrier pigeon to ship them?

5: I once sent back something I ordered online. It came with a return address label - so I used the one that came with the package. The To and From were both about the same font size. But I would think one could see the difference between the TO address and From address.

Weeks passed and the company hadn't got my return.

Finally one day the package came back to me!!! The fucking post office shipped it back to me!!!! To the FROM Address rather than the TO address. WTFG. So I had to go down to the Brighton post office AGAIN and tell them to ship to the TO address and REFUSED to pay for that again - it was their fault that it took them 3 weeks to ship the package back to the town I shipped it from. And where was it for 3 weeks? Did it even leave Boston? And WHY did that take 3 weeks? I could have walked to deliver it faster.

And Finally 6: Another time I ordered something online. When the package arrived it had been ripped open and was missing everything that was supposed to be in it. The package looked like it had survived a war. Wasn't the postal worker that delivered it embarrased that it was empty? didn't they notice there was NOTHING inside the package. Oh wait... Actually there WAS something in the almost empty box. OTHER PEOPLE'S MAIL!! Like 10 letters for random other people had fallen into the box - people that didn't live on my street, or my town. I had to put those back in the mailbox and hope they got delivered. I then had to call the company I placed the order with and tell them about the empty box. They re-shipped the package. This time via FedEx (got there fast and all in tact).

The Post office claims they have to raise the price of shipping, stamps, etc because other shippers are taking away their business and costs go up. Perhaps if they could ship packages properly we wouldn't be using other shippers. Now letters get sent fine - they seem to do that well. But I do everything online so I rarely actually send mail. It's the packages that always get screwed up.

Oh shit I thought of one other thing. several times - about 5 times my magazines haven't made it to me. Maybe they get stolen in the mail? Stolen by my neighbors? I don't know, but when I call the magazine companies won't send out another copy- they only extend the subscription. Fine but I wanted the magazine I missed! When I called the post office they knew nothing. I don't know who's fault this one is the magazine? thiefs? the post office? All I know is I didn't get my magazines!

Man I hate the post office they really piss me off!

Annoying Flash Sites

I love cool design. I do. I'm a UI Designer - I hope I like design.

I love excellent design of all kinds: Clothes, Shoes, Handbags, Houses, Cars, Buildings, Websites... you name it.

I think flash can do some really cool things, but most sites that are all flash just annoy me. Why you ask? Because I can't use the fucking back button.

My mental model is that the BACK button should take me BACK to the previous page, not kick me out to the homepage of the entire site. I HATE this about flash sites.

Uniqlo, the site I love to hate, does exactly that. And now I was just on Mazda's site trying to look at the CX-7. I looked at the exterior and wanted to go back to see the interior. What happens when I click back? Well I am back on the freaking homepage where I have to one AGAIN select which vehicle I want to look at. I already DID THAT. I shouldn't have to do that again!

If you want to use flash on your site - great. Find a way to have the back button still work!!

most. annoying. site. ever.

WTF is the deal with this site? How can anyone actually LOOK at the clothes they potentially want to buy??? Clicking anywhere seems to throw you back to the homepage, the back button totally doesnt work becuase it's all flash. ANNOYING! and then as if that wasn't bad enough.. the freaking clothes move back and forth in a dizzying way to show you the close up. Clicking (which I expected would STOP the MOVEMENT or "my mental model" if you will) just brought me to this insane mosiac view where I have to try to decide which item of clothing I want to view. From a mosiac!?? How do I even know where to look? I have to hover to actually have the little mosiac piece even make sense to see the item.

It could be a belt, hat, gloves, shirt, jeans, pants, spin the wheel who knows... wheeeeeeeeeee WTF! And you can't shop online - I guess it's to promote the store... but with this kind of user experience I think I'll skip it and go right on into Bloomies or Saks.

Let's see.. here's the "wicked useful" mosiac view. This is how I usually like to shop for clothes :S


If the site is this crazy - what does the store look like??? Clothes dancing on racks? Strobes lights and blaring club music? Moving shelves?

They seem to have some cute things, but who can tell with this crazy design? I don't even understand how the designer came up with this concept and how once they started building it - they were able to keep track of what they put where. I'd be totally lost. I mean it's pretty. But it's not useful.

Oh and wait... there's more! if you click on a category.. let's say women / shirt - you then see a SEA, and I mean a SEA of shirts scrolling non-stop on the page! 10 across and 8 down!!!! Who the hell can focus. I cannot scan fast enough to see them. And once again the "mental model" (to use the annoying buzz word people seem obsessed with at my company) is broken becuase hovering doesn't MAKE THEM STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they just keep right on moving! I am dizzy. I feel drunk and it's only 11 in the morning.

now picture this stupid thing scrolling vertically, or better yet go to their website and see it for yourself. It's like a slot machine...