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On Dec 21, 2006, at 11:35 AM, Robert Rothenberg wrote:
> My favourite hate is when it you go through several menu steps only =20=
> to be
> told it cannot do what you asked (no =A310 notes or it cannot print =20=
> receipts),
> have it spit out your card and start over again.
My current favorite is the neighborhood gas station that, presumably =20
for good, fraud-avoiding reasons, has recently implemented a policy =20
of requiring that you enter your ZIP code when using the automated =20
credit card payment.
The first time I saw this, a couple of weeks ago, there was no =20
signage indicating that they're doing this now, nevermind for what =20
reason[s], so when the question came up my "marketing alert, feed 'em =20=
fake data" reflex kicked in, I put in a dummy value for the question =20
("90210" or something), and it locked into a 5 minute routine of, =20
presumably, querying the credit card company, asking if this is the =20
right ZIP, waiting for the credit card company to mull it over for a =20
bit, wait for the credit card company to pop off for a coffee / =20
beer / piss / whatever, get back a response, tell me that ZIP value =20
is invalid, spend a couple of minutes sitting idly so that I too =20
could pop off for a coffee / beer / piss / whatever, then go back to =20
the first screen so that I could start all over again. Lovely.
Last night it did more or less the same thing again, with some fun =20
variants. For one thing, it was one of the first uncomfortably cold =20
nights we've had, and I was wearing a thin jacket & gloves. I knew to =20=
feed it the honest data this time, but because of the cold, and =20
because the UI for these gas stations system seems to be sluggish on =20
a warm day and grudgingly dragged out of hibernation on cold days, =20
every keypress is only acknowledged 5-10 seconds later, but if you =20
know the drill you should be able to just plunge through. Except for =20
when you make a typo when typing the damned ZIP code. So you reach =20
for the big, promising, yellow "CANCEL" button. And it responds, with =20=
the same 5 minute do nothing, get your coffee / beer / piss / =20
whatever break routine, and you get to glare at it bitterly, =20
shivering all the while, noticing with frustration the pale grey =20
"Clear" button that presumably is this system's term for "backspace", =20=
and you get your chance to spend several minutes contemplating the =20
error of your ways, staring at the clouds of your breath, despondently.
I had previously Hated the new automated checkout systems at the =20
supermarkets: (cons) slow, cumbersome, inflexible, and with a cloying =20=
voice instruction system; (pros) everyone hates them even more, so =20
there's never a line.
But at least supermarkets are climate-controlled.
--=20
Chris Devers=
There's stuff above here
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