by Sue Horner | May 29, 2009 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Random petty annoyances in the usability world: When a web site makes me log in, but has nowhere for me to log out. When a site makes me log in more than once (for instance, once to enter a members-only section, and again to comment on a discussion forum). When my...
by Sue Horner | Apr 16, 2009 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
A card arrived yesterday the old fashioned way, in the mail with postage stamp and all. It was from my friends at the local Honda dealership. Since I have just closed the deal on a new car, I thought it might be a “thanks for buying our car” type of card....
by Sue Horner | Apr 15, 2009 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
My recent car-hunting experience made me think. Why don’t companies follow up? It all began when I brought my car in to the dealership for routine servicing. The service advisor called to say the mechanic had suggested some additional work, some of it fairly...
by Sue Horner | Mar 12, 2009 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Have you noticed that companies seem to be deliberately managing our expectations downwards? I’ve run across this a couple of times lately : When I traded in loyalty points for lift tickets for a recent ski trip, the web site said it would take about two weeks...
by Sue Horner | Jan 29, 2009 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Is the way your company operates thinking of the customer first? Or at all? I have recent examples of two companies that did a good job and two that did not. The surprising instances of customer appreciation: Bank of Montreal: My husband and I have banked with BMO for...
by Sue Horner | Nov 26, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
This week, I received what I consider to be a threatening e-mail from my Internet service provider: “In the next couple of weeks, when you log into your Bell Mail [an aside: always known as Sympatico; are they changing it?] using your Internet browser,...
by Sue Horner | Aug 6, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Remember when flying used to be glamorous and exciting? You’d look forward to your trip. Flight attendants were cheerful and helpful, and gave out blankets and pillows so you’d be more comfortable. On long flights, you’d get a hot meal chosen from a...
by Sue Horner | Jul 24, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Can you explain to me what on earth I was thinking? When I packed my bags for a visit to Calgary last week, I deliberately put a bottle of wine for my cousin in my carry-on bag, for safekeeping. That’s right. A container with more than 100 ml (3.4 oz) of liquid....
by Sue Horner | Jul 11, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
While catching up on my reading after being away, I ran across an interesting article in Saturday’s Toronto Star. In “The tyranny of residual media,” freelance writer Ryan Bigge talks about the iPhone and how consumers chase the new and improved. As...
by Sue Horner | May 24, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Dave Traynor’s post on customer service on Sunday reminded me of another customer service experience of my own the other day. Son #2 wanted to get his G1 license — that’s what used to be called a learner’s permit, his license to learn how to...