Your mother

Didn't your mother teach you anything? I understand that if a lot of people are doing something a certain way, it catches your attention. But after that, you need to evaluate what's really going on before you "drink the kool-aid."

Ask questions

All it takes to decide whether some craze is worth it for you is to seek out honest answers to a few questions.

Who are the people jumping on this bandwagon?

Is there a specific set of people doing this? All men? All white people? All teenagers? All accountants?

What exactly is this craze?

Is it a product? Is it a movement? Is it a personality?

When it comes to technology, for instance, it can be difficult to determine whether a craze is related to hardware, software, the internet itself, or a company. (Smartphones mix everything... high-profile, nearly-religious companies, sexy hardware, sexier software, cel-phone networks, wi-fi networks, GPS signals, on and on.)

So, what is it exactly that people are flocking to?

Why are people jumping on this bandwagon?

For each of these sets of people, can you understand why they are doing this? Does it promise them money, fame, security? Does it appeal to their spirituality? Is it just so they can fit in?

What is the benefit these people are receiving, or expecting to receive, by going with it?

Specific Benefits, Specifically for You

Now, really think about it. Does this craze, this product, this service, this religion, this movie trilogy -- really appeal to you? Will you get some benefit from following it? Are you indeed following it for a benefit, or just getting in line like some lemming?

Recently, I've heard over and over how "I think we're on the right track" regarding some web technology, some product design decision, some creative direction -- and all there is to show we're "on the right track" is that several other people or organizations are doing the same thing.

This is a sad mistake. Don't make it.

Good day.

No thanks.

So, I figure I can just go turn that feature off, right? Wrong.

Check out this screen shot of the "Manage Features" page:

That screen shot is after I've tried 5 times to successfully fill out the form. I've meticulously gone through every field on the form I can possible click or complete, and I keep being told to "Please select a feature to add or remove."

AT&T, this form tells me you don't really want me to remove features. I'm willing to bet this if I clicked even one single "add-on" field, though, this form would work well, and work quickly.

Fix this form and do some testing from the consumer's point of view, please, AT&T.

Take care,
Paul

The Saga Continues

After writing this post, I attempted to use the "Send Email" option via the "Contact Us" section of AT&T's site, but I keep getting a notice that "due to inactivity, you have been logged out." That happens even if I just logged back in less than a minute before.

AT&T, you're shutting more doors in my face, and I do not like it. I'm a reasonable customer. Just let me in, okay?

The Human Connection

Now I'm on the phone with a polite, helpful support technician. She has made AT&T look a whole lot better to me now. However, AT&T can help customers and help themselves by making that online form easier to use.

P.S. - Don't try to text me anymore... it won't work.