gotwoody (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} gotwoody) wrote,@ 2008-11-09 21:45:00 |
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Web Inefficiencies
I disagree with websites that require you to fill out an entire entry in their customer database just to get some access. It's one thing for name and email, but anything else -- phone numbers, job position, address -- those should not be required fields. Those are things companies should learn about you through building a relationship, not because they're lazy. Good for them for wanting a thorough database, but they can build that with their sales reps as they build the relationship.
Take YouSendIt.com, for example. It's a website where you can have them send a file that otherwise can't be sent by email. Their front page makes it seem easy: Your name, your email and you attach the file you want to send. But... if you click "add another file", they prompt you to register for a paid account, and if you click "back", you'll find the information you typed has been cleared. Type it again. Click "send", and then it takes you to another page where you have to register for a free account. Fine. Fill out a bunch of stuff that this company will never really use, such as my street address and my phone number entered twice (it happens to have a series of 5's in it) and after they send an email for me to click on in order to activate my account, I then have to log-in only to find nothing in the "sent" box. What the fuck.. I've filled out the file-send form twice now, the site is misleading, they coax you to click a "send" button which actually then makes you get an account, and they never save the file-send request for after you went ahead and filled out the form. My thoughts were that if I filled out the personal-info form and sent it, that they would then send the file. Back to the beginning.
I only went there because I'm having gift-cards printed for Splice and the printing company needs the 50MB file. I've asked for an FTP site from that company. Easier.
I disagree with websites that require you to fill out an entire entry in their customer database just to get some access. It's one thing for name and email, but anything else -- phone numbers, job position, address -- those should not be required fields. Those are things companies should learn about you through building a relationship, not because they're lazy. Good for them for wanting a thorough database, but they can build that with their sales reps as they build the relationship.
Take YouSendIt.com, for example. It's a website where you can have them send a file that otherwise can't be sent by email. Their front page makes it seem easy: Your name, your email and you attach the file you want to send. But... if you click "add another file", they prompt you to register for a paid account, and if you click "back", you'll find the information you typed has been cleared. Type it again. Click "send", and then it takes you to another page where you have to register for a free account. Fine. Fill out a bunch of stuff that this company will never really use, such as my street address and my phone number entered twice (it happens to have a series of 5's in it) and after they send an email for me to click on in order to activate my account, I then have to log-in only to find nothing in the "sent" box. What the fuck.. I've filled out the file-send form twice now, the site is misleading, they coax you to click a "send" button which actually then makes you get an account, and they never save the file-send request for after you went ahead and filled out the form. My thoughts were that if I filled out the personal-info form and sent it, that they would then send the file. Back to the beginning.
I only went there because I'm having gift-cards printed for Splice and the printing company needs the 50MB file. I've asked for an FTP site from that company. Easier.
