My bank recently sent the following breathless announcement:
"Great News! Effective May 2008, we're enhancing Online Bill Payment to offer you faster payments. In most cases, you'll be able to pay your bills in as little as 24 hours."
Well, gee, that was fast. I've been using online banking for about 10 years, and in all that time, the bank insisted on taking 5 business days between my placing an order and their being ready to deliver money to the payee -- just like the old days of the "float" in paper-based checking accounts. Even after the laws required faster processing of actual checks, electronic payments preserved this quaint custom of the 5-day wait!
I always found this frustrating, because back in 1993-94 when I lived in Belgium, it was possible to send instant electronic payments not only to big businesses but to corner shops, friends, and scout den leaders, anyone! -- and the transfer was overnight! Like most Americans, I assumed we had the most advanced of everything, but the silly little country of Belgium was miles ahead! (Thanks to this system, we went from writing 50-60 checks a month to maybe 5 or 6!)
Meanwhile, back in this country, it seems now we are finally able to make electronic payments that actually reflect the technology behind them! Why did it take so long? Presumably because the banks could get away with it -- I wonder who was using that money from the time it left our accounts to the time it reached its destination 5 days later. I'm sure the change from my bank reflects more consumer-friendly practices of upstart customer-centric banks, and the old guard has finally decided to fall in line.
But not without a little self-congratulation: "It's just another way [bank] is working to make banking better for our valued customers." Gee, thanks!
Showing posts with label customer experience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label customer experience. Show all posts
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Monday, December 3, 2007
Magazines & Passwords (Provoking the Opposite)
Last month (November) I received renewal notices for two magazines I enjoy and to which I intend to keep my subscriptions. What drives me nuts is that the subscription are good until May in one case and July in the other!
Why do they do that? Do they think we won't notice that the renewal offer is 6-8 months early? Do they think we'll just say "yes" to every notice that arrives, and with any luck they'll have us signed up for 5 or 6 years before we notice anything?
Well, guess what? Being a person of discernment and taste (and who else would subscribe to such fine rags), I do notice! And I think it's pretty silly to renew in November for a subscription that's good until next July! So, behaving as a rational person, I ignore the renewal offer. When the next one comes, I ignore that one, too. In fact, I'll probably keep ignoring renewal offers until it finally dawns that the magazine has stopped coming! That's when I'll renew, maybe after missing 2 or 3 issues. This seems a perfectly rational way to deal with problem. I imagine the magazine would rather have me as a continuous and uninterrupted subscriber, yet my "reminding" too often and too early, they provoke the opposite outcome.
This reminds me of the problem with changing passwords. Online companies let you set a user name and password and leave it unchanged for years, but the IT departments of most companies insist that employees change their passwords every 2 or 3 months, ostensibly in the interest of better security.
Changing your password every 3 months sounds good in theory -- if you have only one account in world. But what if you live in the real world? In that case, you probably have 50-100 accounts, each with its own password and user name. You can make this plenitude of accounts less onerous by using the same name and password for multiple accounts. But if your IT department insists that you change passwords every 3 months, how do you keep track of them? Most people write them down -- in a file on the computer or PDA, on a white board, or on post-it notes displayed prominently on the monitor for any and all too see.
With so many passwords to remember, this is a perfectly rationale way of coping with the changing-password demand. Of course, it must also be admitted that it has the opposite effect of the intended purpose. Rather than improving security, forcing users to change passwords makes security weaker, since everyone has to find some coping mechanism for dealing with the short expiration. Under the flag of strengthening security, this practice actually weakens it.
Why do they do that? Do they think we won't notice that the renewal offer is 6-8 months early? Do they think we'll just say "yes" to every notice that arrives, and with any luck they'll have us signed up for 5 or 6 years before we notice anything?
Well, guess what? Being a person of discernment and taste (and who else would subscribe to such fine rags), I do notice! And I think it's pretty silly to renew in November for a subscription that's good until next July! So, behaving as a rational person, I ignore the renewal offer. When the next one comes, I ignore that one, too. In fact, I'll probably keep ignoring renewal offers until it finally dawns that the magazine has stopped coming! That's when I'll renew, maybe after missing 2 or 3 issues. This seems a perfectly rational way to deal with problem. I imagine the magazine would rather have me as a continuous and uninterrupted subscriber, yet my "reminding" too often and too early, they provoke the opposite outcome.
This reminds me of the problem with changing passwords. Online companies let you set a user name and password and leave it unchanged for years, but the IT departments of most companies insist that employees change their passwords every 2 or 3 months, ostensibly in the interest of better security.
Changing your password every 3 months sounds good in theory -- if you have only one account in world. But what if you live in the real world? In that case, you probably have 50-100 accounts, each with its own password and user name. You can make this plenitude of accounts less onerous by using the same name and password for multiple accounts. But if your IT department insists that you change passwords every 3 months, how do you keep track of them? Most people write them down -- in a file on the computer or PDA, on a white board, or on post-it notes displayed prominently on the monitor for any and all too see.
With so many passwords to remember, this is a perfectly rationale way of coping with the changing-password demand. Of course, it must also be admitted that it has the opposite effect of the intended purpose. Rather than improving security, forcing users to change passwords makes security weaker, since everyone has to find some coping mechanism for dealing with the short expiration. Under the flag of strengthening security, this practice actually weakens it.
Friday, October 26, 2007
More Wacky E-Z Pass Adventures
I ruminated previously about the oddities of E-Z Pass and their conceptions of customer service as expressed in their computer systems.
Recently I had to make changes in my E-Z Pass account, and once again I was struck by their strange view of the world as revealed in their technology.
I had a simply need. Having recently changed jobs, I no longer needed the "commuter special" for crossing a Hudson River bridge every day, but now I needed to sign up for a discount program for daily travel on the New York State Thruway. All I had to do was cancel the bridge discount and sign up for the Thruway discount. Should be simple, right? Should be able to do both online, right?
Nope, wrong on both counts.
E-Z Pass comes close to offering an efficient and user-friendly means for canceling a bridge commuter plan, but they couldn't bring themselves to go all the way. There is nothing on the website, but on the phone system, you can "suspend" a bridge discount. Not cancel, mind you, but suspend until a specified date. OK, I thought, I can deal with that. I'll just pick a date after I'm dead -- say, January 1, 2082. The system, fussy enough to reject a Start date of yesterday, had no problem committing to resume service 75 years in the future. OK, I thought, if that's the way around it, fine -- at least I accomplished my goal. But as I was thinking this, I suddenly heard the E-Z Pass voice system explaining that my plan would suspended until the date requested OR until the next time I went across the bridge, at which time it would start up again! So, even if you suspend it for 75 years, the system knows better and will undo your instructions if you ever set foot on the bridge again!
On the phone finally with a real person, the E-Z Pass customer service associate found my 75-year suspension amusing but admitted that it was rather odd that you couldn't simply cancel it in the automated system. That required a personal conversation, and she agreed to take care of it.
When it comes to a Thruway discount, however, a mere phone call is not enough. It turns out the only way to sign up for that program is by sending them a letter in the U.S. Mail! E-Z Pass needs no additional information -- they already have my credit card number for replenishing the account whenever their comfort demands it. I can only imagine their rationale: "It's just that, we don't know, with a Thruway, it's so big and everything, somehow a letter seems better." If anyone has a more coherent theory, let me know!
Recently I had to make changes in my E-Z Pass account, and once again I was struck by their strange view of the world as revealed in their technology.
I had a simply need. Having recently changed jobs, I no longer needed the "commuter special" for crossing a Hudson River bridge every day, but now I needed to sign up for a discount program for daily travel on the New York State Thruway. All I had to do was cancel the bridge discount and sign up for the Thruway discount. Should be simple, right? Should be able to do both online, right?
Nope, wrong on both counts.
E-Z Pass comes close to offering an efficient and user-friendly means for canceling a bridge commuter plan, but they couldn't bring themselves to go all the way. There is nothing on the website, but on the phone system, you can "suspend" a bridge discount. Not cancel, mind you, but suspend until a specified date. OK, I thought, I can deal with that. I'll just pick a date after I'm dead -- say, January 1, 2082. The system, fussy enough to reject a Start date of yesterday, had no problem committing to resume service 75 years in the future. OK, I thought, if that's the way around it, fine -- at least I accomplished my goal. But as I was thinking this, I suddenly heard the E-Z Pass voice system explaining that my plan would suspended until the date requested OR until the next time I went across the bridge, at which time it would start up again! So, even if you suspend it for 75 years, the system knows better and will undo your instructions if you ever set foot on the bridge again!
On the phone finally with a real person, the E-Z Pass customer service associate found my 75-year suspension amusing but admitted that it was rather odd that you couldn't simply cancel it in the automated system. That required a personal conversation, and she agreed to take care of it.
When it comes to a Thruway discount, however, a mere phone call is not enough. It turns out the only way to sign up for that program is by sending them a letter in the U.S. Mail! E-Z Pass needs no additional information -- they already have my credit card number for replenishing the account whenever their comfort demands it. I can only imagine their rationale: "It's just that, we don't know, with a Thruway, it's so big and everything, somehow a letter seems better." If anyone has a more coherent theory, let me know!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Coping with E-Z Pass
Computers are marvelous things that bring all sorts of benefits. But have you ever been told by a Customer Service Representative that some perfectly reasonable request of yours cannot be fulfilled because the computer does not allow it? Of course you have - this happens all the time!
At the risk to stating the obvious, computer systems are designed by humans. What a system can or cannot do reflects the priorities and personalities those who designed it and their view of the people who will interact with the system.
For example, take the EZ-Pass system installed on bridges and toll roads over most of the northeast U.S. Now, don't get me wrong: EZ-Pass is a wonderful thing. I love being able to sail through the EZ-Pass lanes on bridges and thruway exits throughout the area. It saves a lot of time, and I'd never give it up.
But there is something one-sided about the way EZ-Pass computers keep track of tolls, accounts, and "replenishments" -- that's EZ-Pass talk for "payments." It seems perfect for collecting money, but not quite as well tuned for the customer experience.
Take the "replenishment" system. EZ-Pass requires a running deposit, presumably just in case you split for the West Coast and never return that little box on your windshield. Staying ahead of cash flow is an understandable business strategy, but unlike most service companies, which bill on a fixed date every month, EZ-Pass deducts more money whenever your balance drops to about 25% of your predicted monthly bill. That's handy for them, since they always have some of your cash. But for us customers, we never know when that automatic withdrawal is going to happen. It might come the day after payday -- no problem -- or the day before, which, if your budgeting skills are like mine, could cause a minor liquidity crisis. If they can do all that fancy predicting, why can't they bill people on the same day every month?
The EZ-Pass website is better than it was. You can now view your account details by logging in with a User Name and Password. When your statement is ready, they can send you an email with a link to the statement, but when you log in this way, you have to enter a PIN number, not your password. Come on folks, make it a PIN or a password, but do we have to remember both?
EZ-Pass computer systems have an acute sensitivity when it comes to recording your charges and collecting your payments. But when it comes to detecting patterns that might save you money, you're on your own.
Somehow I missed the fact that when you sign up for a commuter discount, you have to declare which bridge or road you plan to take every day -- like calling the pocket in billiards. I discovered this fact after changing jobs, so that instead of traversing one bridge 17 times or more each month, I switched to another bridge for my daily ritual. This went on for months before I noticed that instead of 50 cents per trip, I was paying a dollar each time and getting penalized for not using the first bridge! Silly me -- I assumed that going over anything 17 times a month would trigger the discount. But no, if you sign up for one route and then start going somewhere else every day, you have to call E-Z Pass.
Computers are good at keeping track of every little detail. The designers of the E-Z Pass system could have designed the software to detect a change in commuting routine and adjust the discount automatically. I wonder why they didn't. Too much work? Could the loss of unwitting additional revenue had anything to do with it? I can imagine the discussion: "But what if customers complain?" The answer is obvious: "We can just blame it on the computer."
At the risk to stating the obvious, computer systems are designed by humans. What a system can or cannot do reflects the priorities and personalities those who designed it and their view of the people who will interact with the system.
For example, take the EZ-Pass system installed on bridges and toll roads over most of the northeast U.S. Now, don't get me wrong: EZ-Pass is a wonderful thing. I love being able to sail through the EZ-Pass lanes on bridges and thruway exits throughout the area. It saves a lot of time, and I'd never give it up.
But there is something one-sided about the way EZ-Pass computers keep track of tolls, accounts, and "replenishments" -- that's EZ-Pass talk for "payments." It seems perfect for collecting money, but not quite as well tuned for the customer experience.
Take the "replenishment" system. EZ-Pass requires a running deposit, presumably just in case you split for the West Coast and never return that little box on your windshield. Staying ahead of cash flow is an understandable business strategy, but unlike most service companies, which bill on a fixed date every month, EZ-Pass deducts more money whenever your balance drops to about 25% of your predicted monthly bill. That's handy for them, since they always have some of your cash. But for us customers, we never know when that automatic withdrawal is going to happen. It might come the day after payday -- no problem -- or the day before, which, if your budgeting skills are like mine, could cause a minor liquidity crisis. If they can do all that fancy predicting, why can't they bill people on the same day every month?
The EZ-Pass website is better than it was. You can now view your account details by logging in with a User Name and Password. When your statement is ready, they can send you an email with a link to the statement, but when you log in this way, you have to enter a PIN number, not your password. Come on folks, make it a PIN or a password, but do we have to remember both?
EZ-Pass computer systems have an acute sensitivity when it comes to recording your charges and collecting your payments. But when it comes to detecting patterns that might save you money, you're on your own.Somehow I missed the fact that when you sign up for a commuter discount, you have to declare which bridge or road you plan to take every day -- like calling the pocket in billiards. I discovered this fact after changing jobs, so that instead of traversing one bridge 17 times or more each month, I switched to another bridge for my daily ritual. This went on for months before I noticed that instead of 50 cents per trip, I was paying a dollar each time and getting penalized for not using the first bridge! Silly me -- I assumed that going over anything 17 times a month would trigger the discount. But no, if you sign up for one route and then start going somewhere else every day, you have to call E-Z Pass.
Computers are good at keeping track of every little detail. The designers of the E-Z Pass system could have designed the software to detect a change in commuting routine and adjust the discount automatically. I wonder why they didn't. Too much work? Could the loss of unwitting additional revenue had anything to do with it? I can imagine the discussion: "But what if customers complain?" The answer is obvious: "We can just blame it on the computer."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
