The customer experience of Black Friday

As is often the case this Friday I find myself mostly working alongside the majority of the adult population of the UK. What this means on Black Friday is that my online buying is likely to be curtailed by the daily chores of work that will be getting in the way of my interweb purchases. This distraction doesn't seem to have affected the retailers who seem to be bombarding my inbox with email reminders about the merits of today while I have zero opportunity to act upon it.  If these emails are intended to result in a call to action for me to pick up my credit card and start spending then they are mistimed. If these reminders/prompts/aids were timed for this evening when I am not consumed by all this work related then I might have some chance to take advantage of them but given the volume of these emails by this evening I will have lost the need. Filing up my inbox so I have an excess of Mail while a work will not help conversion rates but irritate me by their volume. 

The customer experience of a tour of Wembley stadium

Wembley stadium plays host to major concerts and sporting events including home of the English national football team. There are cues to the past of English football throughout with Bobby Moore represented with his own suite and statue. The stadium itself is vast and modern in its architecture and fittings having replaced the previous Wembley towers in recent times. When the venue isn't hosting tens of thousands of spectators for a major event it makes its money hosting conferences and providing tours to members of the public. The tour takes you into the underbelly of Wembley where you are shown the route players and celebrities tread including a chance to venture onto the pitch although not onto the hallow turf. The tour guides are passionate in delivery and extremely knowledgeable about all things to do with the current ground and its history. A tour takes less than an hour but is a great insight into such a spectacular feature of the London skyline. Epic. 

The customer experience of Zee messenger

Messaging services such as WhatsApp and Zee continue to take market share from standard SMS services on phones. The messaging functionality goes beyond 121 messages and gives better 1 to many services including video and imagery to bring to life your messages. The issue with Zee and others is the invasive manner in which the apps are trying to grab market share. To retrieve a message you have to provide your email, phone number, access to your contacts, access to your photos and essentially a route into your personal space. The app then messages your contacts on your behalf without requesting permission so a random message is fired off to your unsuspecting contacts. Very dirty tactics for getting a broader customer base. These services seem to be sidestepping the Apple application sign off process which formerly was strict on this sort of behaviour but seems to be allowing such functionality. I'm sorry Zee but this is an epic fail. 

The customer experience of handsfree phone calls

Using your mobile while driving is well established as a driving offense and generally frowned upon in social circles as we have been made aware of a number of high profile media stories where deaths have resulted from such actions. As a result of this choices are to switch off when in the phone and let voicemail pick up the strain or use a hands free solution to keep in touch with all those vitally important communications such as what to have for dinner that evening. The difficulty comes when using these in how to trouble shoot a problem knowing where to point the finger when you get cut off mid way through the first minute of your conversation. Do you blame your phone, the technology demon you don't understand?  Your network provider, those invisible slackers soaking up your cash and losing you service when you need it most?  The Bluetooth connection?  Bluetooth?  More like witchcraft. Or the hands free phone kit that mocks you visibly from your car?   Because all these elements interact with one another and for most mere mortals we don't have the tools to decipher any problems we are left frustrated and angry at whatever is to hand. Handsfree calls. Epic in their complexity. Epic fail in making a call without some glitch. 

The customer experience of downloading movies through Apple TV

Many TV adverts showcase technology that allows you to throw digital content wirelessly direct to your TV from mobile devices able to wow your friends with your cable free lifestyle. This piece of functionality is something that has been with us for some time with the Apple TV that allowed iTunes users to share content wirelessly with the TV all in glorious high definition. The Apple TV is a beautifully crafted yet simple device that currently gives Apple a route into television interfaces that is likely to see replacement in the future by the long anticipated iTV although could be some naming rights issues there!  One service that Apple TV also offers is the ability to stream newly released movies selecting from a list in a classic movie renting style. You select through various filtered genres the movie you want then agree to the pricing streaming it to your TV paying through your iTunes account so no credit card details required. The movie stays open to viewing and reviewing for 48 hours permitting you to start and stop at your leisure. Problems emerge however when you hit broadband reliability issues and you struggle to get a fluid picture or any picture at all. The movie renting functionality is pretty epic but only when your broadband doesn't start smoking with the stress of it in the corner. 

The mixpixie customer experience

The twin tape deck hi-fi was a must for all teenagers in the 90's having become an established icon throughout the 80's. Creating a mix tape of your favourite tracks and sharing with friends an essential activity of school playgrounds. The mix tape also became part of the courting ritual with couples making the ultimate romantic mix tape to give to their newfound love and show their love through the power of top 40 hits. As technology developed and tapes died out the mix tape was replaced by home burnt CDs but these lacked some of the personalisation of the tape. Mixpixie are striving to bring back this retro feel with CDs created that give more of a mix tape vibe. Log into the site (www.mixpixie.com) and select from over 13 million tracks your choice in tunes then personalise with a bespoke cover with your text and even photos. To add to the home grown flavour you can even add in a voice recording to wow the recipient. All done online and delivered in days it feels more special than burning a playlist onto cd although in reality is exactly the same concept. There is something to be admired though about this resurrection of old school music tapes. Mixpixie. Epically retro. 

The customer experience of no reply

For many services no matter how skilled we may be in a variety of areas there will be jobs that we simply can't do and need a specialist to help. Even the most proud of men must concede that certain jobs go beyond what they can manage. For some this may be as lowly as changing a lightbulb for others this may be as lofty as refitting a boiler. For all of us though there are limits to our powers that see us reach out and request paid help. Taking the step to ask for help may well be painful but when we have made it we expect instant response. We want acknowledgement that our business is important and that our request was justified. When left hanging with no acknowledgement or a friendly reply with prompt timeline we can quickly lose patience with this concept of getting help and either give up altogether on the folly or even worse have a crack ourselves. When sending up the red flag we want a quick reply and that shining knight of support marching down our driveway. No response. Epic fail.