Every morning, I make the same breakfast. I’ll put the coffee on, then make myself an egg bagel. Pop the bagel in the toaster, fry up a couple of eggs, and good to go. Except it’s not.
Every morning, without fail, my smoke alarm goes off. “Adjust the toaster,” you might say. I did, and still the alarm goes off. “Cook the eggs on a lesser heat,” another good suggestion. Which I’ve tried. And still the damn alarm goes off.
Off course, it being a smoke alarm, I can’t adjust the sensitivity on it – too unsafe, right? Or is it? Couldn’t the manufacturers allow for sectioned adjustments, say one at a time until the problem is solved? There’s a big difference between cooker smoke and fire smoke, after all.
That got me to thinking how user-friendly we are to our customers.
Look at the iPod. Officially, you can’t replace the battery on it when it runs out, you need to have an authorized dealer do this. There are plenty of solutions online so you don’t need to go the official route, but why make it so much of a runaround in the first place?
The same goes for some laptops, other consumer electronics, customer queries and more. Basically, we’re not making things easy for the end user – instead, we’re pissing them off. Why?
To me that says, “We’re Company X and we think you’re too stupid to act for yourself. You will always need us around – get used to it.” How can that be good for business?
Look at the recent Zappos sale to Amazon. Zappos are known for having an amazing culture that makes everything easy, from employee satisfaction to customer sales and follow-up service. The result? A whopping $847 million purchase. Ease-of-use encourages success.
We’re smart people. We know when not to mess with things, but we also know what we’re capable of dealing with. If I can use a product, I should (mostly) be able to amend that product’s settings for my own personal use.
Otherwise, is there even any point to your product to start with?
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What businesses can learn from toasted bagels http://bit.ly/TRiLI
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RT @DannyBrown What businesses can learn from toasted bagels http://bit.ly/TRiLI
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Never would have thought of this connection, but it works! RT @DannyBrown What businesses can learn from toasted bagels http://bit.ly/TRiLI
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RT @dannybrown Toasted Bagels and the Art of Good Business http://bit.ly/ZAMA2 (User experience means a ton. @Zappos strategy? Grt CS!)
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Danny,
Didn't mean to laugh, but I did! My smoke alarm goes off every time from shower steam! And every time I grab a towel and fan upward frantically! Ridiculous but funny!
I agree with you about the versatility of products based on individual needs…and yes it matters because, we are the consumers! I have often abandoned product loyalty due to frustration!
Thanks again for an insightful post!
RT @DannyBrown: Next time you eat a bagel, think about how businesses are treating you http://dannybrown.me/gSxQ
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DannyBrown: Next time you eat a bagel, think about how businesses are treating you http://dannybrown.me/gSxQ http://bit.ly/Dilqd
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@dannybrown and the story of the eggy bagel. http://tinyurl.com/l259ze
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My bad – you cook when you work from home.
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yessir
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I cut the power to my smoke alarm in my main entrance hallway for this specific reason. It goes off with toast, too much steam from the hot water in my bucket when I'm mopping the floor, ect.
I agree with you though, things should be much easier to edit/adjust. We're seeing it with wordpress themes – the custom options panels to adjust style, colors, logos, ect. It's a powerful tool for better positioning your business as one that cares – just like zappos.
ok first of all, you do not cook breakfast every morning, it's usually me
and second, if you're going to adjust the heat on the toaster at least tell the freaking wife… no wonder i got stuck with the stale, untoasted bagel that i didn't realize until too late…
oh wait, i'm missing the point… ya it sucks
I love WordPress for that very reason, Rob. You don't need to be a coding whiz to make something look professional. Something more businesses should think about.
My bad – you cook when you work from home.
yessir
RT @DannyBrown Next time you eat a bagel, think about how businesses are treating you http://dannybrown.me/gSxQ
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Toasted Bagels and the Art of Good Business http://bit.ly/v2MJy
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RT @tweetmeme Toasted Bagels and the Art of Good Business | danny brown http://bit.ly/ZAMA2
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Well worth a read RT @DannyBrown Toasted Bagels and the Art of Good Business | danny brown http://bit.ly/ZAMA2
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Me too! It's our Saturday morning ritual. Mom makes bacon. Kids watch mom climb on bar stool and disconnect smoke alarm. Never fails.
It's quite clearly a conspiracy.
The creative title question deserves an answer, in the form of a comparison. The products that comes to mind are the synthetic automotive lubricants and related car car products, ie. air and oil filters offered by Amsoil Inc. When applied to all types and sizes of vehicles and equipment, the appropriate products will reduce operation and maintenance expenses, emissions and increase their life span.
Like the smoke alarm and toaster theme, there can be some comparisons, keeping in mind that there is a context gap. In other words you may think, what do bagels, smoke alarms and synthetic oil have in common? This may be a stretch but the smoke alarm and synthetics is one I'd like to try. For starters, synthetics offer benefits like extended oil changes, reduced emissions and impact on the environment. The product option I'm thinking of can remain in service for as long one year or 35,000 miles, whichever comes first. An oil and air filter also can stay in place without servicing or replacing for the same period. Here's where adjusting it, like the smoke alarm, for personal use comes into play. One may not be wise to drive your car for 35,000 miles with this product because it has perhaps been subjected to conditions that require the synthetic motor oil to be replaced, but it shows the superior quality and level of protection offered in the most important and significant component of a vehicle.
If you think of your car's next oil change when you have your next toasted bagel, I think I will have made my point.
I generally agree with your point that customers should be allowed to adjust / customize their purchase. However, I don’t think this is a “black and white” issue. In this litigious environment, where everyone is suing everyone else, I can understand not giving the customer to much ability to customize when any amount of customizing increases the risk of injury and or death of the customer…. like with your smoke detector…. regardless of how smart the customer is or thinks he is. Remember, not too long ago, McDonald’s was successfully sued because their hot coffee was too hot!?!
Darvin @ Best Ionic Air Purifiers´s most recent blog post …HEPA Air Purifiers
And that’s the problem – the legal system and the litigation hawks have made just being everyday people a lawsuit waiting to happen. We’re creating environments where common sense isn’t needed, because a lawyer and a greedy consumer are ruling the manufacturers…