Subscribe
Woman v. Drive-up ATM v. Bonus ATM!
Author: Jeannie Walters
November 30, 2007
Chase Bank
To be fair, I’ve used Chase Bank’s ATMs for several years, (if you include when I was a customer of First Chicago, which became Bank One, which is now Chase.) I do like that they keep improving. I remember having to open my car door and stretch to reach the dang thing several years ago. They repositioned them so they are now accessible for this 5’4” woman, both from my low Honda Accord and my high Honda CRV, (yes, we’re a Honda family.) ATM screens are also more glare-resistant, and industry-wide adoptions of phrases like “Fast Cash” now allow for speedier transactions.
It seems like (gasp) banks are listening to customers. Just think about all those wasted receipts years ago. Now, most offer you a choice. Do you want a receipt? It’s a simple question, but one that makes a big difference.
Ok, so most of my transactions at ATMs are withdrawals and I find the whole process really intuitive. It seems that some of my frustrations from a few years ago have been addressed.
Chase ATMs are practically on every street corner in Chicago, and yet there isn’t one very close to either my home or office. In fact, the closest one to my office is in the Chicago Transit Authority building. There are so many things wrong with this location it’s crazy. The ATM is located inside the sales office on the second floor of the building. This means you can only use it during sales office hours. Isn’t one of the touted benefits of ATMs that you can use them 24/7? Also, the ATM is along the wall, right next to the long line of unhappy people waiting to purchase fare cards.
So, aside from that small rant, I’d say these machines are pretty good.
| Machine Tested | Usability Criteria | Score / Grade |
|---|---|---|
| ATM — Deposit and Withdrawal | Orientation / Wayfinding | A: What’s not to love about the linear process? The only drawback is excessive choices on the selection screen. |
| Search / Help Features | C: Hmmm … what would I do if I needed something? Probably just CANCEL and start over. Not exactly user-friendly. | |
| Legibility | A: Chase gets an A for most improved in this category. Remember the days of guessing which arrow to hit? The non-glare screens and large buttons make the selection process super easy. | |
| Intuitiveness | B: Today, ATMs are as intuitive as the telephone, but there is still need for improvement here. How about using the keypad more effectively? | |
| Ease of Use | A: If ATMs weren’t easy to use, you’d still see long lines at the teller windows. Did you know tellers used to be real people? Can you imagine getting money from someone who counted it out for you? How very 1980s. |
And the Jeannie factors:
Cleanliness: D — Yuck. There is often a mysterious sheen on the touch screen that you just can’t let yourself think about too much. What about offering screen wipes and/or hand sanitizer? What about a recycle bin for receipts? I swear I’m not a germaphobe – but sometimes I do reach for the Purell after a withdrawal.
Feeling secure: B — Banks know this is a key factor. Why not put the drive-up ATMs closer to the building instead of out in the boonies? Better lighting at night would be great too.
Convenience: A — This is a resounding YES! I can’t remember the last time I got out of my car to get a few bucks from my bank account.
Environmental Factors: B — This is another dramatically improved area. Today’s ATM layout allows for more comfortable and speedier transactions. You don’t see the lady in front of you falling out of her car to reach the ATM any more.
This was one bank, what about yours? Is Chase ahead of the game?
Next up … Airline Self-Service Kiosks!
Woman V. Supermarket Self-Checkout
Author: Jeannie Walters
November 14, 2007
Jewel Food Stores (owned by Albertson’s)
Self checkouts seem to scare people. There can be a line 20 people deep at the lone cashier’s aisle, and some folks still avoid the self checkout lane like the plague. Why? Unfamiliarity is certainly part of it, but it’s also about not being able to find help when you need it.
So I took my varied items; including three boxes of Gerber’s Baby Rice Cereal, a gallon of milk, two hand-picked onions, a jar of peanut butter and a bottle of wine, and decided to give it a go. I was especially curious about the alcohol, since self checkout seems like an inviting avenue for the under-21 crowd.
To start, I scanned my preferred customer card and began scanning my items. The peanut butter and other packaged goods scanned easily and I had no problems, although it was slightly irritating to be reminded that I saved 33 cents every time I scanned a box of rice cereal. Imagine if I had bought 10 of something? Then I got to the onions. I placed them on the scanner where the friendly machine asked if it was fresh produce. Why yes, it was. Ok – let’s try the basics. Bananas? Potatoes? Nope. So I selected the “other produce” button and selected onions alphabetically. I was then offered a few varieties to choose from. Here’s where it got a bit tricky. Were they Vidalia or Bermuda? Um…I’ll take Vidalia, but I’m not 100% confident in my selection.
Next, I scanned the wine. Some sort of alert must have gone off because the cashier a few aisles over yelled “it’s ok!” She had to yell a few times before I realized she was talking to me. The machine just informed me to wait for a cashier. When I realized she was yelling at me, I looked down at the screen to see the machine was ready to go again. She must have punched a button remotely, after seeing I was (ahem) slightly older than 21.
Now on to payment. At this point, I looked around and realized I was one of the quick ones. Several people, stumped by some point in the process, are frantically looking around for help. A lone Jewel employee stands aimlessly in the self checkout aisle, apparently waiting to help people. You can tell that people don’t want to ask for help, but they’d take it if it was offered. What’s the employee waiting for I wonder?
Finally, I’m ready to pay. The machine wants to know if I’m sure. Have I checked my basket? I like this – it’s a helpful reminder. But, yes, I’m ready! What’s my payment method? There are - no joke - about 15 choices. I’m just trying to find the credit card option. Why so many choices? There is no rhyme or reason to the payment selection screen. There is nothing visually to help me determine one choice from the other; it’s just a bunch of boxes with words and graphics. The “bank card” selection is somewhere in this mess, but not standing out at all.
I selected the credit card option and I am asked to finish at the touchpad to my right. I scan my card, and the touchpad asks me to complete my transaction at the checkout screen. I almost make it through with my credit card, but get reprimanded by the machine’s friendly voice that I tried to take my bag too quickly. So you have to leave your bags until the very end. Don’t try to load up anything too quickly, Missy. Although an annoyance, I understand, because otherwise it’d be pretty easy to shoplift using self-service kiosks. Ooops – one more delay. Apparently any transaction over $50 requires cashier approval which seems very odd. What prompted this requirement?
After getting the ok from the same cashier who decided I looked just a day over 21, I’m out the door. My bags are not well organized. I am definitely not a natural-born bagger and it’s a good thing I didn’t buy eggs.
Literally one foot out the door and I hear my machine thank me for shopping at Jewel. A nice touch, but a little late…especially in the “Express Lane.”
Usability Scorecard Criteria
| Usability Criteria | Score / Grade |
|---|---|
| Orientation / Wayfinding | - B: Overall, pretty well organized. I found what I was looking for and the system guided me from one logical step to the next. |
| Search / Help Features | - D: I didn’t notice any help options. The Jewel employee was certainly there to help, but I got the impression you’d have to be very vocal if you required assistance. |
| Legibility | - A: No problems here. In fact, I found the produce image very intuitive. |
| Intuitiveness | - C: Definitely the least intuitive option, the transition from the main screen to the PIN pad (off to the side) was not clearly described. I was not clear where my receipt would be coming out. Scanning the items was indeed intuitive (and a little fun!) |
| Ease of Use | - B: It was easy, with the main exception around payment. |
Also, the Jeannie factors:
Cleanliness –Everything seemed pretty clean. The bagging system made it easy to transport items directly into the bags. The screen itself certainly had that “used” feel, but also looked like it was cleaned a few times per day. Everything seemed ok here.
Feeling secure –I’m not sure if this really applies here.
Convenience – Convenience comes with shorter lines. The actual act of scanning and bagging myself is probably slower than the experienced cashiers, but the line itself was much shorter.
Environmental Factors –The self checkout aisle is bigger and more open than traditional checkout lanes. It felt clean, bright and cheery. Signs for the self checkout aisle could be better. I saw people who ended up there without realizing it and others who pointed to it from their long line, saying they missed it.
Next up….. ATMs!
Woman v. Machine
Author: Jeannie Walters
November 8, 2007
Today is World Usability Day, a whole day devoted to ensuring that services and products “are easier to access and simpler to use.” In our industry, we talk a lot about usability. We discuss it at length with our clients and regularly apply usability standards when reviewing websites. However, usability is a term that shouldn’t solely be reserved to online interfaces. It’s a term that permeates our everyday lives as we have officially become a self-service nation.
Everywhere you turn these days there are opportunities to (literally) “help yourself.” You can pay for gas at the pump, check in for a flight and check out of a hotel; all without having to deal with a single pesky human being.
As part of the never-ending quest to make our lives easier and more convenient, we as a society agreed to this. We said, “Bring it on!” Who needs a bank teller when it’s faster, easier and, in some cases, more secure to get cash via an ATM? Plus, with self-service, you’re often rewarded with shorter lines and less hassle.
So I decided to commit to a little experiment, to test and examine various self-service opportunities. How many ACTUALLY save time? How many are TRULY easy to use?
I’ll be tackling automated systems with a focus on usability and sharing my experiences here.
While there are obvious differences, self-service usability qualifiers do mimic those used when examining website interactions, namely:
Usability Scorecard Criteria
Orientation/Wayfinding — Do I know where to find things? Do I know what to do next?
Search/Help Features — What if I run into trouble? How do I get help?
Legibility — Are the instructions and information clear and easy-to-read?
Intuitive — I don’t want to deal with reading lengthy instructions. Can I figure it out on my own — and quickly?
Ease of Use — Is it truly easy or easier to use?
These will be my guiding factors as I evaluate the true usability of self-service machines, but since this is also the real world, I’ve added my personal usability criteria.
Cleanliness — This isn’t my safe little laptop. I’m sharing these machines with the world. Are they dirty and gross?
Security — When entering personal information or swiping my credit card, do I feel vulnerable to prying eyes, cameras or general scariness?
Convenience — Are they truly faster and more convenient than the human option?
Environmental Factors — Does the layout make sense? Is there a place to put things down? Was it easy to find the automated option?
I’m looking forward to taking on the machines of the world! Stay tuned and let me know if you have ideas on machines I should tackle.
