http://www.experiencesolutions.co.uk/blog Customer Experience Solutions Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:50:23 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en You only really notice the usability of a product when it's not there. It's very easy to come up with examples of poor usability, but for the most part, people don't usually know the reasons for why one product is easy to use, and one is difficult and frustrating to ... http://www.experiencesolutions.co.uk/blog/2008/09/15/the-10-most-common-reasons-for-poor-usability-part-1/ I paid for a train ticket over the counter yesterday. As I completed the transaction I nearly walked off leaving my Debit card in the PIN machine. As I turned back to the machine to retrieve the card the chap behind the counter said something along the lines of, “That ... http://www.experiencesolutions.co.uk/blog/2008/09/05/small-changes-can-make-a-big-difference-to-customer-experience/ Let us introduce you to some of the top customer experience blogs we've been reading lately. We've found some inspiring stuff here in the past couple of months so we thought it was only fair to share with you. Here's what we've been enjoying in no particular order:   Work. Play. ... http://www.experiencesolutions.co.uk/blog/2008/08/27/top-customer-experience-blogs-we%e2%80%99ve-been-reading-lately/ One of our major supermarkets does a great pizza, which they make for you whilst you wait. I must say, they do taste good. If you order your pizza at the beginning of your shop, ten minutes later when you’ve picked up your other groceries, it is ready to take ... http://www.experiencesolutions.co.uk/blog/2008/08/23/rigid-process-can-hamper-customer-experience/ In recent months I have experienced behaviour from restaurants which I can’t quite fathom. When I receive the bill a service charge has already been added. And not just at my usual 10% rate, which I thought was standard in the UK, but at 12.5% or even 15%. A tip should ... http://www.experiencesolutions.co.uk/blog/2008/08/07/forced-restaurant-service-charges-can-damage-the-customer-experience/ We’ve been trying not to talk too much about the ‘credit crunch’ on our blog because quite frankly we’re sick of hearing about it in the headlines every day. But, if it’s something our clients are worried about, we felt we should provide some ideas on what to do during ... http://www.experiencesolutions.co.uk/blog/2008/07/30/5-reasons-to-improve-your-website-customer-experience-during-a-downturn/ My girlfriend and I always seem to have real trouble finding a holiday, mainly because the brochures never seem to tell us what we actually want to know, like is the resort likely to be full of Brits abroad, Irish Pubs and McDonalds or can we find a bit of ... http://www.experiencesolutions.co.uk/blog/2008/07/14/why-don%e2%80%99t-high-street-travel-agents-inspire-customers/ According to a recent article I read, there are over 5,000 people employed in the UK online gambling sector today. Judging by my recent experiences, few of them have ‘user experience’ in their job title. What amazed me was how most of the sites I looked at were clearly ... http://www.experiencesolutions.co.uk/blog/2008/05/27/the-online-gambling-user-experience-fails-to-support-%e2%80%98newbies%e2%80%99/ We’ve all been there, in an electrical retail store buying a TV, DVD player, Hi Fi, or similar. Just when you’ve found the right product, in stock, at the right price, the pleasant sales person starts twitching and suddenly transforms into the Werewolf of insurance. Run for the hills. Customer goals ... http://www.experiencesolutions.co.uk/blog/2008/05/21/staff-incentives-can-impact-retail-customer-experience/ Within the retail market there is a lot of talk about Multi-Channel, where services are provided via multiple touchpoints. Most commonly, this refers to a website and a shop floor. So it was interesting to see that one of the UKs largest retailers is still experiencing gaps between what it ... http://www.experiencesolutions.co.uk/blog/2008/03/20/multi-channel-retail-experiences-dont-live-up-to-expectations/