Debit or Credibility
In a world of ever changing technology the introduction of new products is imperative to their success. As with most other things in the US we get lazy, especially when the use of the product does not hing on its introduction.
I am specifically speaking about our current credit/debit/half-serve check out registers. It seems to me that this technology is anything but an exact science.
A typical transaction can unfold in several different ways. Typically it is something like this. You walk up to the register with your goods. The cashier or cleck or sales associate scans the items and the total is deisplayed on the screen. This cancels out any communication that used to take place between you and teh clerk, but that is another rant. You take your card from your wallet and look at the machine that is ergonomically positioned in front of you for your use. Then one of the following happens:
1. You swipe you card and nothing happens. The cashier then takes your card and swipes it herself but flips the card over. You have misunderstood the terrible diagram on the machine that is supposed to tell you which way to swipe the card.
2. You swipe the card and the transaction begins. The screen refreshes and the options are ATM or debit. You swiped a credit card and the cashier informs you that she will need to swipe credit cards on her register not on the machine.
3. You swipe your credit card and the screen refreshes with a total and a question. Do you accept the charges? yes or no. You choose yes but nothing happens. The cashier reaches over and hits the enter button which is located in a completely different area of the key pad then the yes and no buttons. Apparently the answer to accepting charges is "none of teh above"
4. You give the credit card to the clerk and then she reaches over the counter and completes the entire transaction from an upsidedown position on the keypad you were supposed to be using.
5. You use the key pad in front of you correctly and the transaction is approved but the cashier needs to take you card and make an imprint, or punch in a security number from it to complete the transaction.
6.You use the key pad in front of you but the receipt prints out from the register and you have to sign that with a regular pen (not a computer pen for the machine) Then the cashier needs to take your card from you so she can match the signatures.
7. everything works perfectly but when you get down the block you realize you were overcharged because you were so busy worrying about the machine you forgot to watch your items get rung up.
8. You swipe your card too early and teh whole system jams up. The clerk needs to take 5 minutes to reset the system by hitting the same key over and over and praying.
I am sure there are more and I haven't even youched debit or ATM cards yet.
It would seem more effiecient if we could streamline these transactions to follow a few rules of thumb.
1. Print, BIG, on the face of the machine what the machine is used for (credit cards, debit cards, atm cards, amex, not discover, mastercard only, etc)
2. If the clerk needs to hold the card in their possesion at anytime during the transaction let them comnplete the entire transaction. That's their job after all.
3. Put 1 more button above the key pad that is 5 times bigger than the other buttons. It should say accept/YES and be the color green. No other button should be green on the whole machine. In fact, nothing else on the machine should be green, stickers, casing, signs, cables, all included. You wouldn't have swiped your card if you weren't going to accept so why do we even have the option to decline.
The one acception to this hodgepodge of hassles is Target. In Traget it runs as smooth as silk. You can put you card in when ever you want during the transaction. Noone needs to look at your card, ever and you can put any card you want in that machine. I even think it would take my health insurance card or a stick of wrigley's for that matter.
So please, technologists. Stop with the naps. If you are going to introduce things to make our lives easier make sure it is easier. We know you make more money with the machines, that is your whole point, but just think it through before dropping it on the country.
I am specifically speaking about our current credit/debit/half-serve check out registers. It seems to me that this technology is anything but an exact science.
A typical transaction can unfold in several different ways. Typically it is something like this. You walk up to the register with your goods. The cashier or cleck or sales associate scans the items and the total is deisplayed on the screen. This cancels out any communication that used to take place between you and teh clerk, but that is another rant. You take your card from your wallet and look at the machine that is ergonomically positioned in front of you for your use. Then one of the following happens:
1. You swipe you card and nothing happens. The cashier then takes your card and swipes it herself but flips the card over. You have misunderstood the terrible diagram on the machine that is supposed to tell you which way to swipe the card.
2. You swipe the card and the transaction begins. The screen refreshes and the options are ATM or debit. You swiped a credit card and the cashier informs you that she will need to swipe credit cards on her register not on the machine.
3. You swipe your credit card and the screen refreshes with a total and a question. Do you accept the charges? yes or no. You choose yes but nothing happens. The cashier reaches over and hits the enter button which is located in a completely different area of the key pad then the yes and no buttons. Apparently the answer to accepting charges is "none of teh above"
4. You give the credit card to the clerk and then she reaches over the counter and completes the entire transaction from an upsidedown position on the keypad you were supposed to be using.
5. You use the key pad in front of you correctly and the transaction is approved but the cashier needs to take you card and make an imprint, or punch in a security number from it to complete the transaction.
6.You use the key pad in front of you but the receipt prints out from the register and you have to sign that with a regular pen (not a computer pen for the machine) Then the cashier needs to take your card from you so she can match the signatures.
7. everything works perfectly but when you get down the block you realize you were overcharged because you were so busy worrying about the machine you forgot to watch your items get rung up.
8. You swipe your card too early and teh whole system jams up. The clerk needs to take 5 minutes to reset the system by hitting the same key over and over and praying.
I am sure there are more and I haven't even youched debit or ATM cards yet.
It would seem more effiecient if we could streamline these transactions to follow a few rules of thumb.
1. Print, BIG, on the face of the machine what the machine is used for (credit cards, debit cards, atm cards, amex, not discover, mastercard only, etc)
2. If the clerk needs to hold the card in their possesion at anytime during the transaction let them comnplete the entire transaction. That's their job after all.
3. Put 1 more button above the key pad that is 5 times bigger than the other buttons. It should say accept/YES and be the color green. No other button should be green on the whole machine. In fact, nothing else on the machine should be green, stickers, casing, signs, cables, all included. You wouldn't have swiped your card if you weren't going to accept so why do we even have the option to decline.
The one acception to this hodgepodge of hassles is Target. In Traget it runs as smooth as silk. You can put you card in when ever you want during the transaction. Noone needs to look at your card, ever and you can put any card you want in that machine. I even think it would take my health insurance card or a stick of wrigley's for that matter.
So please, technologists. Stop with the naps. If you are going to introduce things to make our lives easier make sure it is easier. We know you make more money with the machines, that is your whole point, but just think it through before dropping it on the country.
posted by janello at 10:07 AM
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