Experience Design is People!
by petermeThe bulk of effort and discussion in the field of experience design revolves the design of systems to support people in what they want to do. We talk about touchpoints, and how to coordinate between the Web, the phone, and in-store. We talk about the importance of consistency in labeling. We talk a lot about the design of interactive systems, largely because those interactive systems are meant to serve in the stead of people (we just finished an in-store kiosk project whose primary purpose was to help people find merchandise in the store, because there simply aren’t enough staff to go around).
But any sufficiently involved service experience will involve interactions with staff. There will be questions, unexpected needs to coordinate, or just general confusion that can only be addressed by other people. And, as Adam pointed out in his excellent essay on experience design, it’s those interactions with staff that usually end up torpedoing an experience. Surly staff, clueless staff, aggressive staff, obstructionist staff — we as customers have dealt with them all.
That’s why I really appreciate this piece on what it’s like to work on the front lines of retail. That is where the experience design rubber meets the commerce road (excuse the extended metaphor). And as with so many things in this space, Apple gets it. I think the key is actually in the very beginning — Apple (and the Container Store) make sure that people have a true passion for the product. If you hire the wrong people, all the training in the world won’t make them right. Not to dismiss the importance of training — Apple seems to do an excellent job there, too.
Anyway, understanding the role that staff play in delivering a customer experience, and how to design training for that staff, seems like a huge untapped opportunity for experience designers.
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November 19th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
I agree that huge parts of the sell for Apple are their throngs of “believers”, their stores and their staff. I wrote about my “switch” from Windows to a Mac when joining AP back in June.
November 19th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Last weekend in Boston, I visited an Apple store to sort out a Hard Drive crash. I was impressed with the “time” the Genius took to look at my problem. He was not able to help but I did not feel rushed or like a number as part of the Customer Support process. There was some “value” attached the time we spent together which made a stressful situation easier. Training and knowledge make a difference.
November 19th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I fully support the idea that experience design transcends the boundaries of physical products… but I found myself despising the essay by Adam Greenfield.
I THINK the ideas he’s presenting are relevant, but his assay comes across as a jumbled mess of academic-speak. I found myself unable to navigate through the ego-laced drivel, leading me to a sense of bore. I do wish people would outright say their point and support it. There is no need for an encyclopedic sized article that is empty.
November 20th, 2007 at 10:19 am
One of the fast-growing firms in this genre is LRA Worldwide, in Pennsylvania. There are counterparts around the world. Customer experience as a motif has roots in retail that long predate designers’ catching on. But I think designers can add a lot to the methodology mix, which to date has been rather seat of the pants and jumbled.
January 9th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Stan, I’d take your opinion much more seriously if you were able to write a single English-language sentence that did not contain a spelling, usage or punctuation error. ‘Cause at the moment, cowpoke, you’re zero for five. : . )