'Customer-in' or 'designer-out'?

A ‘duh’ moment, lots of embarassment, followed by indignation, and one that definitely gave my friends and family a great reason to laugh at my expense for a long time. But as always, got me thinking about customers and the business that serves them.

So here is what happened; we were taking the Amtrak from Bridgeport to Boston. Despite reaching the station an hour earlier, and keeping our eyes glued to the display board for the train information, we missed the train - all due to a natural but silly error. On the display board, the track number changed two minutes before the arrival of the train from 4 (where we were waiting) to 2. We panicked as we saw a large sign saying '2' displayed in the track across (which happened to be track 1). Picking up our suitcases, with no time to stop and ask anyone, we ran down a flight of stairs, ran up another and reached the opposite side – only to see our train pull in and pull out of…..track 4! 

Apparently, tracks 2 and 4 are one and the same. But nowhere in the station, or the track or on any of the displays and signages is this mentioned – everywhere you see, there is a track 1 and a track 4. And no-one could explain what the large display of ‘2’ on track1 was there for – I think it was a booby trap, for unwary commuters like us. Someone must have been filming the dash secretly and selling the hilarious scene for a fortune. 

I felt stupid and wondered aloud to the lady guards at the station if I was alone in making this mistake. They cheerfully told me that this was a common occurrence - if you are not familiar with Bridgeport. Unwary commuters who are new to the station, missed their train due to this confusion, almost every day. When I said I wanted to offer a feedback and suggestion, they explained that Metro-North manages the display signage and train routing and I should write to them. 

Write I did, and it is a different story that apart from the system generated acknowledgement, there is no response or action to date. Obviously, someone there or everyone there, can’t be bothered about small issues such as unwary and non-local commuters missing their train daily.

Let’s get to the gaps in design that causes such failed experience for the customer (in this case, the commuter). As you read each gap, it will be worthwhile to think about similar gaps that may exist for your customers. 

The first is the obvious one – what stops Metro-North from putting up clear signs that show Track 4 and 2 are one and the same? Isnt that what signages are meant to do – help you navigate your way through the station / premises?

Why leave it open to interpretation, assumption, and create a need for the customer to ask someone for help? And maybe even get the wrong guidance? In our case, a Mexican couple saw us running across, followed us and missed their train too! The guy kept giving me dirty looks!

The next is also obvious – if the location is the same, what is the technicality that was being served by changing the track number from 4 to 2 in the display two minutes before the arrival of the train? Isn’t it natural that it will create confusion and lead to missed journeys? This I thought was a great example of serving a process that is internal, to the detriment of customer experience and convenience. And possibly a standard process that works for larger stations, but fails in stations like Bridgeport.

The last which is not so obvious – what was that big display of a ‘2’ doing on what I see as the ‘wrong’ track? It must have meant something – which clearly wasn’t a track number. Who walks the station and observes it through the eyes of the commuter? Whose job is it?

And then the million dollar question - Did the folks who signed-off and approved the signs and designs understand its purpose - that it was meant to help commuters 'find their way' and that was the primary and possibly only purpose. Did they get too focused on ensuring the typeface and color and the corporate logo and all that stuff that they missed the primary purpose?

And the saddest of it all – if I was not alone in my faux pas, and others before me have made the same assumption, where is the system within Metro-North that captures such gaps by talking to or listening to the customer? 

Given my suggestion and experience was ignored even after I sent it through their formal complaint channel, there seems to be an indifference to the customer. I almost heard the unsaid message ‘you stupid commuter, you need to smarten up; don’t waste our time with silly feedback’

Somewhere, the folks who decide on signages and communication, have never walked the customer journey, seen it from the eyes of the new customer, asked themselves and maybe even asked a few customers if their design intent is met or not, if there are gaps that need to be address. They have also possibly not visited each station or at least understood the layout and the constraints. If they have done both then the displays, the signboards would have guided and not confused commuters. 

I don’t know if someone from Metro-North would read this post and if they do, if they would do anything about it. Incidentally, I was on google and realised that there are other stations that cause passenger stress - one being Penn. Mmmmm, Maybe Metro-North owns the signages there too?

But I do suggest you take this as a cue to look at your own design – product, service, policy, process – and ask yourself if it is intuitive and customer-in or created designer-out. Remember you know your flow, customer may not! A new customer is as important as a regular customer who is familiar with your business - and she may not understand what you think is obvious.