Re-design: Costco Checkout
Filed under: Customer Service, Uncategorized | Tags: checkout, costco, design, re-design, rfid
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Even though we don’t buy that many things in bulk, my wife and I love Costco. The one part that stinks is checking out.
Checkout at Costco is like sitting in a traffic jam, especially on Saturday morning. Costco employees try to check people out quickly, but most people have large carts filled with a lot of items.
Recently, I realized our local grocery stores and libraries have electronic self-checkout, but Costco does not. In fact, the local library is only self-checkout now.
The library, in fact, uses RFID instead of barcode scanners. With RFID, each book has a small, embedded sensor. Instead of scanning each book, you simply stack all your books on top of the checkout stand, and the computer immediately recognizes all the books you have.
Imagine a Costco with RFID. Instead of having to lift each of your items onto the conveyor belt (and then have the cashier put them back into your cart), you simply push your full cart past a sensor, and the computer tallies the items and recognizes the new RFID member card (included in your $50 annual membership) in your pocket. You pay the cashier and take your cart out to the car.
RFID technology is a little too expensive to put a sensor on every individual can of soda and pack of gum, but RFID has been used for years to track large palettes of product as they’re shipped on ships, trains, and trucks.
Since Costco deals mostly in bulk items (large cases of soda instead of six-packs), perhaps the economics of RFID can work for them.
Scrabble Misses the Boat…Again
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: scrabble, scrabulous, social gaming, hasbro, words with friends
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Hasbro, the makers of Scrabble, one of the most beloved board games of the last century has missed the boat twice on social gaming online.
First, they sued and killed Scrabulous, which let you play Scrabble with your Facebook friends. Now, Words with Friends lets you (and John Mayer) play a Scrabble-like game with friends and relatives across the world on your iPhone.
Board games help bring people together. With the Internet, you no longer have to be in the same room as your friends and relatives to play. What are the folks at Hasbro doing? How many other classic games can be brought onto new platforms like Facebook and iPhone?
Three Questions Every Company Should Regularly Ask
1. What can we do this week to delight some of our best customers? 2. How can we improve our customer touch points?
3. What can we do to stand out more from the crowd?
Google’s Data-driven Redesign
Old and New: Google tested the shade of its logo and whether to use a drop-shadow.
Earlier this month, Google made a dramatic change to the design of their search results pages.
Design is always an iterative process with multiple prototypes and revisions. Usually, selecting which prototypes to use is done by an expert designer. But at Google, the users decided.
In a blog post detailing the re-design, Google explained that Google designers came up with different options, and then they tried each out to see which was the best. In the past, Google has tested small things like what shade of blue to use for link color. (If you’d like to run similar experiments on your site, you can use Google’s free Website Optimizer tool.)
In this case, the “best” meant which design produced the fastest click-throughs. Faster click-throughs mean (1) people are finding what they’re looking for faster and (2) Google can display more search results and AdWords to a person in a day.
This is the design model for the future. Human creativity creates prototypes, which are then rigorously tested in an iterative process using randomized experiments to arrive at the optimal solution.
Two things that make Google’s process successful: randomized experiments over statistically-significant numbers of users and a clear definition of “success” that is the same for the business and the users.
Your Office Chair is Killing You (Business Week)
Business Week has an article about the latest research that shows that sitting in a chair (any chair) for hours each day is harmful to your health.
Excerpts from Business Week’s "Your Office Chair is Killing You":
Hamilton, like many sitting researchers, doesn’t own an office chair… The data back him up. Older people who move around have half the mortality rate of their peers… The best sitting alternative is perching—a half-standing position at barstool height that keeps weight on the legs and leaves the S-curve intact. Chair alternatives include the Swopper, a hybrid stool seat and the funky, high HAG Capisco chair. Standing desks and chaise lounges are good options. Ball chairs, which bounce your spine into a C-shape, are not.
Where’s the Couch? The iPad Shopping Experience is Broken
Filed under: Customer Service, Little Things, Marketing | Tags: apple store, customer experience, ipad, thisisbroken
Leave a Comment While I was at the Apple Store today, I checked out the brand new iPad. I really want to get one to replace the six-year-old Powerbook I have at home. My wife and I both have work laptops for heavy lifting, but the iPad seems perfect for the things we do most on our laptops at home: the web, video, email, and photos.
Steve Jobs demoed the iPad while sitting on a couch. Why does the Apple Store make you use the device while standing?
The iPad is smaller than I expected, but when I picked it up, the device was heavier than I thought. I was also surprised by how difficult typing was while holding the device. On an iPhone, I can type quickly with both thumbs, but with the iPad, I have to hold the device with one hand while typing with the other. And unlike the iPhone which seems molded to my hand, I found the iPad’s shape a bit awkward to hold.
I left a little disappointed, but driving back, I suddenly realized the real problem: Apple screwed up the iPad shopping experience. In the store, I had to use the iPad while standing, but I would almost never use the iPad while standing at home.
Where’s the couch?
When Apple unveiled the iPad at a press event in January, the iPad was not the only thing appearing on-stage for the first time. There was also a large couch in the center of the stage.
Instead of demoing the new product while standing or sitting at a desk like usual, Steve Jobs demonstrated the iPad while seated at a couch. The new iPad TV ad, too, shows people using the iPad while seated on couches. But when you go to an Apple Store to try it for yourself, the iPad is displayed on the same standing tables that display Macs, Macbooks, iPods, and iPhones.
Apple stores should let shoppers use the iPad while sitting, the same way people do in Apple's iPad ad.
Apple should create a lounge in each store where people can sit and use the iPad like they will in their own homes. Or, add some bar stools, so people can at least get an idea of what it’s like to read an iPad while drinking coffee. This will give shoppers a better idea of what it’s like to actually use the product while simultaneously sending the message, “The iPad is different from any other device.”
Using an iPad while standing is clumsier compared to when you’re sitting on the couch. And when used at a desk, it’s best to have the iPad standing in a dock with a bluetooth keyboard or resting at a tilt in the iPad Case.
Desktops and laptops are mostly used on a desk, and iPods and iPhones are easily used while standing up. But if Jobs’ demo and Apple’s own ads are any clue, Apple believes that the iPad is best used as a casual device while lounging on a couch. So, help shoppers use the device like they will at home, and put some couches in the store.
Get a Professional Website for Under $25
Creating a professional presence online has never been easier or more affordable. For naterosenberg.com, I first tried custom-building my site and leasing a webserver, but I’ve learned that in this case, simple is better.
With my own domain name and WordPress, I have a professionally-designed site that is search-engine optimized, can handle as much traffic as I can get, comes with comment spam filters, and many more powerful features without any of the hassle of server or code maintenance. Plus, with Google Apps, I have a professional naterosenberg.com email address that has great spam filtering and works on any device.
You can spend a lot of money on a website designer, servers, and email systems, but for most people, the following steps are sufficient.
Create a professional website and email address for under $25 per year.
- $10.69/yr. Buy your company domain (mybusiness.com) at GoDaddy.com.
- $0 Create a free website on WordPress and choose from one of their many professionally-designed themes. Create some pages (About, Contact) and write a few blog posts.
- $10/yr Move your WordPress site to your domain.
- $0 Sign-up for Google Apps Standard Edition to have professional @mybusiness.com email addresses. An advanced email system with great spam filters, Google works with any web browser, Outlook, iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.
My New Favorite Shoes Are Not Shoes
“These Are Not Shoes. They’re Sandals.” That’s the tagline for the Sanuk line of Sidewalk Surfers. If you love wearing sandals all-day like I do, go buy a pair of Sanuks immediately.
When I first saw them at REI last year, I thought they were great. The bottoms are like flip-flops, but they have a canvas upper to cover your feet. They’re shoes that feel like flip-flops. But even though they seemed great, I did not buy a pair until they made an important addition this year.
I saw them again a couple months ago at a Huntington Beach surf store, this time with a fuzzy liner to keep your feet warmed. Genius! Winter sandals!
I have worn my Sanuk Vagabond Chills for a couple months now. They are incredibly comfortable even after being on my feet for hours. They keep my feet warm even without socks. They look great with a pair of jeans.
In the summer, I wear flip-flops. In the winter, I wear Sanuks.
Nate’s Birthday Getaway to Dog Beach
Do you ever just need to get out of town? After the excitement of Christmas passed, Shannon and I began to get antsy. So, we decided at the last-minute to pack up the car and take the dog on a two-day trip to the beach for my birthday.
North of Huntington Beach, CA, there is the world-famous Dog Beach, one of the few places anywhere in the country where a dog is free to runaround leash-free on the beach and splash or swim in the waves. Maverick is a huge fan of swimming, so we wondered how he would like the ocean.
December 30, 2009: Nate’s Birthday
We found a room at the pet-friendly Balboa Inn in Newport Beach, notified everyone that my birthday plans had changed, and hit the road. Maverick slept in the back of the SUV for most of the way. When we stopped for a bathroom break and snack at In-n-Out, Maverick got out to run around and have a bathroom break of his own.
We arrived in Huntington Beach in time for an afternoon stroll along the beach (no dogs allowed on the pier?) and a late lunch at Wahoo’s. I picked up a new beanie and my first pair of Sanuks at the local surf shop before we loaded up again for the quick drive down to Newport Beach.
The Balboa Inn is right on the beach near the pier on the peninsula. Our room was beyond small but perfect for the three of us. It began to rain as we arrived, so we spent the rest of the afternoon reading in bed (and in Maverick’s case, napping on the floor).
As dinnertime neared, the rain let up, and we all got in the car for a quick trip south to dinner in Corona del Mar at Bandera. My dad, sister, and step-mom met up with us for my birthday dinner. We shared a couple bottles of merlot and plates of roasted chicken, ribs, pork tenderloin, lamb, skillet cornbread, and plenty of sides. Well, I never did get a bite of Thayer’s lamb sandwich…guess it was really good. Honestly, we were all beyond full, but I had heard the banana dessert was amazing, so we all shared one. And it was.
After dinner, everyone came to the car to meet Maverick before we said good-bye and drove back to the inn.
As we pulled in, the air was still and the moonlight cast a dim, silver light on the beach. Maverick, Shannon, and I enjoyed a peaceful night walk along the beach path and even ventured onto the sand for a bit where Maverick happily discovered a buried ping-pong ball. We slept with the window open that night and made sure not to set an alarm.
December 31, 2009
I awoke to a cold, foggy New Year’s eve morning and a dog happy to see someone else was up. After throwing on jeans and a hoodie, Maverick and I headed down to the beach for some frisbee in the fog. It took him awhile to realize he couldn’t run to catch the frisbee quite as quickly in the sand as he could at home on the grass.
After our morning game of frisbee, everyone was ready for breakfast, and on the last morning of 2009, that meant pastry and coffee.
When I was growing up in Corona del Mar, the neighborhood bakery was C’est Si Bon. My sisters, my parents, and I had all told Shannon about it, but she had never been. Sadly, the Corona del Mar location has long been closed, but the original store in Newport Beach is still going strong. Though they don’t have as extensive a menu as they did when I was a kid, I am happy to report C’est Si Bon still has great pastry. We shared croissants, cinnamon rolls, and an apple walnut roll. We took a couple more croissants to-go and picked up an almond croissant to take back to my mom in Las Vegas.
We then met up one last time with my dad, step-mom, and sister for coffee at Peet’s, and headed up the coast highway for the day’s main attraction: Dog Beach.
Suffice it to say, New Year’s Eve 2009 may have been the best day of Maverick’s life. Dog Beach is over a mile of beautiful, flat, sandy coastline where dogs happily run free chasing frisbees and tennis balls on the beach and in the water. For over an hour, Maverick raced other dogs to catch the balls Shannon through in the water. He and I swam together through the whitewash. And after a quick water break, he was ready to do it all over again.
As the day came to an end, we dropped Maverick off at Petsmart for some grooming while Shannon and I went to Wahoo’s a second time. On the drive back, we stopped at In-n-Out again for dinner, but this time Maverick was less interested in running around to stretch his legs and more interested in returning to the car to continue his nap. We arrive back home at 11 p.m., just enough time to unpack and watch the fireworks go off before falling asleep for the first time in 2010.
Dear iTunes: Please Add Album Gift Cards
Dear iTunes: Please let me mail cards like these as presents.
Last week, I bought a physical CD for the first time since high school. Now, high school wasn’t as long ago for me as it is for others, but it’s still been a long time.
I was an early convert to iTunes, ripping all my CDs and selling them at a garage sale when Hansen was still on the radio. I was ecstatic when the iTunes Music Store made it easier to buy music and amazed when the iTunes Store on iPhone debuted.
But last week, I wanted to buy the new Jack Johnson En Concert album for my step-mom’s birthday, and I’ve always had a problem with iTunes when it came to gift-giving.
Some of the best presents I ever received were a Winton Marsalis, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Connick Jr., and Benny Goodman CDs from my parents, aunts, and uncles when I started listening to Jazz or the mix CD my sister made specifically for me. Though not that expensive, those presents had a lot of thought put into them and were very personal.
iTunes offers the convenience of emailing gift certificates, but I’ve never been a big fan for holidays. I e-mailed my cousins iTunes cards for Christmas, but the fun of opening presents disappears when there’s no box or envelope to open. So, I buy physical iTunes cards at the grocery store or Target instead, but they are very impersonal, only a step away from cash. Sometimes I’ve included a note to say the card is for a specific album, but that’s awkward.
Last year, iTunes added a Gift This feature to send specific albums, videos, or audiobooks, but you have to e-mail them or print them out. I want iTunes to mail them in a nice envelope for me like they do with gift cards.
What I’d like to see is something like the iTunes Album cards that Starbucks sells. I use Gift This to select an album. iTunes sends a nice envelope for me as a gift and inside is a heavy stock or plastic card with the album’s cover art and the code to redeem the gift. Even better would be if I could create a custom mix with cover art of my choosing.
