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A project to make businesses more aware of their customer experience, and how to fix it. By Mark Hurst. |
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Broken: Yourdictionary.com definition
Kathleen Leonardo writes:
I was looking at a definition for "machismo" at yourdictionary.com. I clicked the link to the root word "macho", and I was sent to an unusual definition of "macho" (shown in the screenshot): it's the acronym for Massive Astrophysical Compact Halo Object.
Btw, back on the "machismo" page, when I looked at the previous and next definitions, I saw the more common usage: macho, as in male.
Broken: Rockefeller Center map
Rockefeller Center is a major tourist destination here in New York City. But click "Directions" on the rockefellercenter.com website and you'll see two problems:
1. The map is light-grey-on-white-background. You can hardly see it, like they don't want to show you the map!
2. The map is oriented with north pointing to the right, which makes absolutely no sense...
Broken: (follow-up) London Gatwick
Seth Nelson writes...
This a follow up to the previous This Is Broken post regarding the sign of airlines serving the terminals at London's Gatwick (YUCK! London's other airport is MUCH better) Airport. You know, "The following airlines operate out of this terminal except those listed below...", those signs?I went to that airport a couple weeks ago to return to Dallas, Texas after a three-week trip in England, and the signs were fixed! Too bad I don't have a picture though, but the signs now read: "This is (North/South) Terminal. The following airlines operate out of this terminal" and a list of airlines in that respective terminal would follow. The sign finally ends with "All other airlines operate out of (North/South) Terminal." These signs, of course, are located next to the trains that connect the two terminals together.
Broken: Nuthin'!
Nothing is broken today. We celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving - and so, in the spirit of being thankful, we only look at the positive today :) -mh
P.S. For our Canadian friends, a belated Happy Thanksgiving for your celebration last month.
Broken: Unsubscribe button
Bruce Bookman writes:
Broken: SelfTest's unsubscribe page. Bless the double negative and the Wayne's World language usage. "Please remove me . . . NOT"
Broken: "Lifetime" warranty
Mark Makower writes:
I just purchased an IConcepts Optical Mouse. The package says it comes with a "limited lifetime warranty". However, inside the package, it seems IConcepts defines "limited lifetime" as "two years". See attached scan of warranty details.
Broken: Pedestrian mall benches
Ed Pejack writes:
Visiting in Oxford, England lately, I strolled down a street that was converted to a pedestrian mall. Here is a picture of the benches. A bench usually consists of a flat area for your you-know-what while you sit and relax. What were they thinking of here, a sliding board? A local resident shook his head and offered no explanation. The other side of the row of benches are more tradional.
Broken: Watery car retrieval
Here's a series of photographs showing what happened when a car fell into the lake.
Broken: Health insurance service
Karen Bencke writes:
I am insured by Health Partners through my employer. I tried to use Health Partners new, and highly advertised, online appointment scheduler to set up an appointment with a dermatologist. I did not limit my request with days or times thinking this would result in a larger listing of appointments to choose from. Attached is the response I got.
Four and a half months before there is a single opening? Their best solution is for me to see my primary doctor, a general practitioner? This is from the SAME health care provider that touts "Same day appointments" in their radio and print advertising!
Broken: Everything, in one post
Everything went wrong on this post! I have taken the entry down completely, and I will filter posts more stringently in the future. I apologize for the disturbance. -mh
Broken: Viawest tag line
Scott Palmer writes:
The enclosed company's website tag line is:
Real company
Real relationships
Real internet solutions
The problem is that the first thing on their site that you see is a Flash movie that says "We are a real company." It doesn't really inspire confidence when you put it that way.
[Especially from a telecom company. -mh]
Broken: Sign for employee ideas
Richard Bland writes:
The hospital where I work is not known for its progressive ideas and acceptance of change. This attitude became even more clear after lunch in the cafeteria. A new sign had appeared to instruct those of us that might continue to offer new insightful changes - exactly where to place our suggestions.
Broken: Dictionary.com error
Update Dec. 22, 2004: Alex Burka points out that this problem is now fixed. Nice work to the Dictionary.com folks!
Original post below.
- - -
There's a problem on dictionary.com.
Search on "comraderie".
Dictionary.com replies:
No entry found for comraderie.
Did you mean comaraderie?
Click on that suggestion, "comaraderie", and you get...
No entry found for comaraderie.
Did you mean comaraderie?
Why is Dictionary.com intent on serving up non-words as suggestions? And why can't it suggest the proper spellings (camaraderie or comradery) upfront? Strange behavior, for a dictionary site.
Note that I didn't include the enormous, annoying popup I got when I did these searches. Broken all around.
Thanks to Nicolas Fleet for pointing out this brokenness.
Broken: Amazon.com shopping cart
Ronnie Paskin is "appalled at amazon's checkout process." Ronnie writes:
This is an obvious example. I just placed an item in my cart. Of course, one would expect to see the shopping cart page with the item you've just added, right? However, what you see is a lot of other information like upsells, nav bars with distracting graphics, all sorts of things. My gut reaction is to say "Hey! This is not my cart!" until I notice the cart -- which you had to do a "Where's Waldo" for on the page -- has been relegated to a small box on the righthand side.
I guess thay can pull it off by training the customers to look for that box, but they didn't do what I wanted (displaying my cart) and instead did what they wanted (tell me the other things I can buy).
Broken: Perrier "Sodium Free" label
Peter J. Farrell writes:
Take a closer look at the Sodium content (2.3 mg/200 ml) on this Perrier label, and the notice of it being "Sodium Free". Since when in something "Sodium Free" and still contain sodium? I scanned this into my computer after soaking the label off the glass bottle.
Broken: Scramble pads
Scott Packard writes:
Our company used these things for the last few years I worked there. By swiping your card near them, they randomize the digits on the keypad. This means you can't remember a nifty "memory shortcut" for your 5-digit entry code. You must look at the numbers every time.
They also collect grit from fingers, so everybody gets the same cold that is going around, guaranteed!
And the design of the pads didn't account for the fact that the company would mount them low on the wall for wheelchair access... preventing you from reading it unless you bend over. The ever-graceful "butt protuding into the hallway while you're bent over" position says "kick me, boys!"
Broken: No pedestrian sign
John Butkus writes:
In the town of Malta, New York, we are not permitted to use this sidewalk if we are walking. Perhaps is OK to drive.
Broken: Usability News signup
Update, as of November 11: Usability News has fixed this problem. Editor Ann Light writes, "If you think usability is important, I urge you to support the service - faults and all - by reading it, signing up to it and contributing stories... Budget is limited because it's a charity."
Original post below. -mh
- - -
Zef Estrella Fugaz writes from Wellington, New Zealand:
Signing up for a Usability News subscription, I didn't include my last name. This error is a bit rich:
"Name Incorrect - please enter your correct name"
Broken: Home Depot exit (Silver Spring, MD)
Maggy Sterner writes:
The Home Depot store in Silver Spring, MD (near Washington, D.C.) has signs that point to the way for you to exit the parking lot. The sign is trying to say, "This is the way to exit." Instead, what happens is people drive up, see the sign, can't figure out what they're supposed to do, get confused, and end up incorrectly exiting the parking lot via the entrance, where other cars are coming in.
Broken: Walk sign
Rey Hernandez writes:
This walk sign has the man facing the wrong way. What I noticed was that the sign appears to be built for arrows pointing in both directions and that one of the arrows has been rubbed out. This points to one of two things: laziness on the part of the people who put the sign in, or a lack of inventory of the correct signs.
Broken: Amazon sad-logo
Daniel writes:
Amazon, like Nike, doesn't put their name on some of their packages. But when the Amazon logo lands the wrong side up, their happy smile turns into a sad frown...
Broken: Jabber "Learn More" page
J.T. Grimes writes:
So I'm looking for information about instant messaging software we can use at the office, and I go to Jabber's site to check out their messenger program. There's a link for "Learn More." Turns out that if you want to know anything more about their product, you have to register.
Thanks, no. I'll just be looking elsewhere. These guys might make exactly what I want, but they don't seem eager to sell it to me -- just to collect my information.
Broken: Intersection sign
Todd Stripling writes from Norcross, Georgia:
I took this picture at the intersection of Rogers Bridge Road and Bell Road in North Fulton County, Georgia.
Broken: Copenhagen hotel sign
John writes:
Here's a picture from The Square hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark. I was staying in room 319. Which way?