Going to the movies
Since I started exploring the idea of the Incidental User, I’ve become quite a nag (though Rachel, my wife, claims I’m usually very polite). When I’m in situations where I could be considered an incidental user I try to understand what information is being kept hidden from me, and why.
My latest exploration was when I took one of my kids to the movie theater. Waiting for his friend to arrive, I had a few minutes to spare and since I had nothing better to do I decided to check out the box-office. The first thing I noticed was the omnipresent monitor back-side, implying "you-can’t-see-what-I’m-doing".
So I approached one of the cashiers and asked what information appears in the hiding screen. The friendly cashier rotated the screen towards me to reveal two main screens: the first showing a list of the movies and the second showing a diagram of the theater for selecting the seats. As a movie-goer, the first screen really isn’t of much interest - only, perhaps, to make sure that I got tickets to the right movie - but I would obviously be interested in the seats I’m getting. In the existing interaction between me (the customer) and the cashier (sales representative) I’m unaware of the available seats and only if I specifically ask for an area in the theater, I might discover that it’s available and actually be sold tickets for those seats.
My latest exploration was when I took one of my kids to the movie theater. Waiting for his friend to arrive, I had a few minutes to spare and since I had nothing better to do I decided to check out the box-office. The first thing I noticed was the omnipresent monitor back-side, implying "you-can’t-see-what-I’m-doing".
So I approached one of the cashiers and asked what information appears in the hiding screen. The friendly cashier rotated the screen towards me to reveal two main screens: the first showing a list of the movies and the second showing a diagram of the theater for selecting the seats. As a movie-goer, the first screen really isn’t of much interest - only, perhaps, to make sure that I got tickets to the right movie - but I would obviously be interested in the seats I’m getting. In the existing interaction between me (the customer) and the cashier (sales representative) I’m unaware of the available seats and only if I specifically ask for an area in the theater, I might discover that it’s available and actually be sold tickets for those seats.
When I order tickets from home, I do get to choose the seats I want. In fact, I HAVE to choose the seats before I can close the order.
So, from being an active user when I’m at my home computer, I became a passive customer who isn’t able to choose seats or even be aware of the possibilities. This lack of transparency results in reduced trust - am I really getting the best seats? Now imagine that instead of looking at the back-side of the monitor, after telling the cashier what movie I want to see, I was able to see a monitor positioned in my direction, showing the map of seats - letting me say where I prefer to sit. Even if my choice turned out to be less than optimal, I would still feel I had more control over the situation.
So, from being an active user when I’m at my home computer, I became a passive customer who isn’t able to choose seats or even be aware of the possibilities. This lack of transparency results in reduced trust - am I really getting the best seats? Now imagine that instead of looking at the back-side of the monitor, after telling the cashier what movie I want to see, I was able to see a monitor positioned in my direction, showing the map of seats - letting me say where I prefer to sit. Even if my choice turned out to be less than optimal, I would still feel I had more control over the situation.
What if the screen were presented like this?
Labels: examples
posted by Ohad Inbar @ 8:07 AM
2 Comments
