I must make an important warning: This is not a reclamation. The idea here is to expose a mechanism (or several) that produced a bad user experience. Or if you prefer a gringo term, this is a UX Design Fail Case.
About context and motivation
Yasmin and I are walking quietly at the mall when we decided to enter the American store to buy Fini candy. Yasmin loves those bullets. Both sugary and sour. Except they're not super-accessible bullets. Would they be expensive because they're good or good because they're expensive? Anyway, that's our wish: Fini bullets.
And for the sake of knowledge, the Americans draw a lot of attention because of truly tempting offerings of candy, chocolates and other items of immediate consumption. It is certainly one of the best places to buy this type of product for a low price. And we knew that, and that's also why we went into the store.
Let us briefly clarify the context and motivation:
We entered the store and immediately went to the bullet industry. It was the first corridor on the left. The offer? Three packs for 11 real! I knew there would be no cheaper place. It was very good!
We came out of the corridor taken by the enthusiasm of the economy and, even before we finished the purchase, we were happy. I thought, "Since we're right here, maybe we'll look at the chocolates." There's no other one! We're faced with an absurd promotion of cockroach: three bars of chocolate Neugebauer for 10 reais. It was gold!
Although much studied by those who research consumer behavior, I am still appalled by the effect that a good offer generates within a store. I hadn't even finished shopping, but I just decided to look at the whole store. I compare this effect to a small talk: that little icebreaker conversation practiced in qualitative research interviews. Well, we, the users of this story, were hooked.
Task and Reward
Here's the box line. It is that path that exists to organize a queue, with several shelves with other small products that sometimes you forget, or did not find, but are there. Batteries, pantyhose, more balls... They're for distractions, so you don't get angry with the delay.
Anyway, nothing new on this front, but it's worth mentioning that there were about half a dozen people after us on that bret. A quiet move to the end of a Wednesday night.
"Free box," called one of the attendants. Great! That was fast. We set out to the cashier to pay for that incredible promotion of Fini and Neugebauer.
Here, then, is the cut that forks this story into two possible journeys:
The first is short: the attendant passes the barcodes, the software sums up the products and applies the discounts. "CPF on the note? Credit or debt? Password!" Products in the bag. "Thank you and good night!" The end.
And the second journey, for which these two users chose, was as follows: "You don't want to lower the app to pay less?", invited the attendant with surprising enthusiasm.
And a brief context here: this account occurred around 8:30 p.m. That is, about an hour and a half for the end of the regular hours at the malls. And even with the cordiality and sympathy of the attending, we couldn't help but notice that she was exhausted. She had tired eyes, which suggests a long work journey and perhaps watered with not so good experiences.
I must reveal here a trace of this user, in this case myself: I have never been a fan of creating loyalty cards or downloading apps of stores. I always thought it was a waste of time. Who works with digital product retention and sales funnel understands what I'm saying. I'm part of that layer of users you buy once and then uninstall. It's the economy of attention. Don't you want to spend it? Uninstall appsI'm sorry. That's what I do.
— No, lady, I'd rather pay for it right here. — I answer without any effort.
— Oh, get down! It's quick. — insists on the attending.
— You didn't have that app on your phone? — Yasmin questions me.
And then, motivated by my date, I decide to look for the app On the phone.
— It's not here. — I answered relieved.
— If you do it for the app — You interrupted the attending. — the three bars of chocolate come out for 5 reais — pointing to an offer glued right under my arm, where I leaned on the counter — Not to mention you help me hit the store.
Ready! I was screwed. It was indisputable, because now I was doubly motivated: I would pay very cheap and would still help the girl in the download goal of app. The tic and the tic on my head were unanimous: "Old man, what are you waiting for? "
— But lady, there are a lot of people in line... — I struggled.
— Relax, we'll wait.
No way out. Not even the possibility of being in the way of other users got me out of this. I'm gonna have to turn that down. appI thought. Important detail for my cell phone charge: 8%.
— Lady, my battery's running out, let's just...
— Wait till I get you a charger. — And there goes the attending leaving her place to get a cable with her colleague next door. — Oh, and to get the discount on the bullets, you'll also need to lower the app — directing the line to Yasmin.
Now we're both screwed up in that thing about charging our phones, putting one down. app and make a purchase that was so close to completion.
— Okay! I downloaded the appWhat do you have to do now?
The attending asks that she may carry out the process on my phone. No major problems, I reach the device, which helps me find the products inside the platform e-commerce and apply a discount coupon from the store. She gives me back the device and guides me:
—Now choose the form of payment, card or pix, and wait for a four-digit code that will appear in app.
I fill out the card details. Confirm. Nubank notification. American Message in WhatsApp, "Wait for the product withdrawal code." The attendant helps Yasmin do the same with the bullets and informs us:
— Now you can wait next door at the cell phone counter... it's quick! — Orient her with a worn smile — When you get the code, just show it to my colleague there and take the products out.
Well, that wasn't so bad, was it? I was even surprised by my own patience. There's no point in me fighting the attending for lost time... Poor girl... she could have just given up insisting on the process. After all, it's almost over. And she still helped me get down and make my whole hand... And I'm only gonna pay $6 for three bars of chocolate!
End of journey, isn't it? Only not.
We're the users, waiting for that four-digit code, but it's not coming. And then it beats fear again: that charge I gave on my phone wasn't enough. I was, now with 2% battery, pulling the screen to update the app And no code. On WhatsApp, no messages...
— Hey, are you guys waiting for the code yet? — addresses the second attendant — Can I have a look at the order?"
And I was already feeling "Yes! Please! Give me those chocolates. I want to get out of here!"
— Bah! Bad news... did you order?
— No, it was the girl from the cashier who helped me. — I answered, already waiting for the worst.
— Your request was placed to be withdrawn at another mall — He explained the attending.
— Shit. — It was really bad luck, I thought — But there's no way to cancel?
— You don't! Because then you'll lose the discount, it can only be applied once a month per number. You'll have to withdraw at that other address in up to five days.
— Bah... What about hers? Look at hers too...
— Yeah. Hers, too. He went downtown. I'm sorry.
The moment Yasmin and I received this news that there was nothing to do, we stopped and looked around to see where the cameras were. Why did that sound like an episode of Seinfeld. But unlike a George Costanza, we react differently: "Okay, let's go and we'll figure this out later."
Honestly, I don't like making trouble. And in that case, I wasn't entirely successful. I'm still gonna take the product out the other day, but it got that weird feeling of paying and not taking anything. We also thought, "Wow, we're very quiet. I keep thinking how many people wouldn't be angry with such a situation?"
This story immediately made me think of one of Jakob Nielsen's main heuristics: giving control to the user. If I had a way to undo or simply modify the drop-off address, everything would be solved. But there was no such possibility.
And I must point out that this story not only talks about the journey of the user, but also about the journey of this attendant. How are we looking at people who have their jobs crossed by technology?
If you liked this story or want to contribute to this discussion, enjoy this article there at Linkedin And comment if you've ever been through this or what would you do in my place?
