Tim C's blog

Ask the right questions

2009-11-04T17:39:19Z

I spent the better part of my evening so far on the phone with the support service of a company. About 15 minutes after I hung up they called me back. They wanted to know if I was satisfied with their service. I ran through each of the automated five questions.

1. Are you satisfied with the employee who assisted you? Yes.
2. Was our employee friendly? Yes.
3. Has our employee given you a good rational to their descision? Yes.
4. Are you satisfied with this answer? Yes.

Looking great so far huh? Where did they go wrong?

5. Are you satisfied with our service? No.

Then the nice computer told me "kthxbye".

Turns out I was satisfied by the answer, the employee, the friendliness, the lot. But I wasn't at all happy about spending an hour and a half on friday and another 45 minutes today on the phone waiting to be serviced.

Holding a customer survey? Great. But ask the right questions...

Truvo: Lies, damned lies & statistics

2009-09-22T16:05:54Z

Now before I begin my rant: it's important to remind you that what I write here is my own personal opinion. On to the good stuff.

Some corporations are lucky. They've found a nice little way to make a lot of money without doing much in return. Publishers of the Yellow Pages fell into that category until the end of the nineties. The Internet started to boom and search engines prevailed over the phone book.

With the money cow not producing much anymore these publishers need to refocus. Some, like Truvo, see an opportunity in the Search Engine Marketing market. No problems or qualms there. But let's fast forward to a press article on Truvo "announcing" their intentions. Here's a translated excerpt.

"Everyday people wander down the Internet looking for new products and services. 54% Of them use a search engine. 32% use the Gouden Gids (Yellow Pages) Online." - From Truvo press response.

That's just total bullshit. There's simply no other word to describe this. I take care of several sites that advertise on the online version of the Yellow Pages and If 32% use the Yellow Pages, I can only assume that our analytics packages aren't tracking thousands of visits.

I'm certain that there is some truthiness in these numbers. I don't think Truvo would be so stupid as to pull them out of their ass. They most likely asked respondents if they've ever used the Yellow Pages and then simply ran with that. There's simply no way, based on the numbers I've seen, that 32% of the Belgian Internet population uses the Yellow Pages Online.

They've just made themselves tens of times bigger than they actually are. What's in a word or a number? What does it say about your corporate integrity when you blatenly and knowingly deceive like that?

I ran a quick survey here at home. Of the people who used to frequently use the bookversion Yellow Pages (ages 50 and up), neither can recall an active visit to the online version in the past year. To add insult to injury, one of them said: "I wouldn't even know where to find them. I'd have to google them."

32% my ass...

On first, second and third base

2009-09-14T17:08:20Z

The official Formula 1 started to embrace online video's last year. I guess the millions of YouTube ones were a dead give-away that online video was about to make a major brakethrough.

The video's are of an awesome quality and they're used as a way to connect to fans and plant a seed for them to buy tickets. That's where I run into a problem.

Using the videos as a way to sell your stuff isn't a bad idea. In fact, it's a great idea. But the step between watching a free video and buying a 500 Euro ticket is too big. The tickets are third base, while the relationship between the site and the viewer hasn't even been to first base yet.

Reduce the size of the steps someone needs to take. For example:

Ask them to sign-up for a video newsletter. This gives you the oppurtunity to build a long term relationship. Bringing them back and, with a bit of luck, convincing them to buy something from your store. Bringing us to second base.
Ask them to buy a less expensive item like a cap. If everything goes smoothly, you can even convince them to take that step to spend more money.

There aren't a lot of guys and gals out there that'll go straight to third base, but it's worth keeping that option on in addition to the other two. Just in case.

Mobile phones for seniors? Now there’s an idea!

2009-09-12T09:27:00Z

I'm a technology geek. I like my phones and toys with a lot of options. I'm luck that todays manufacturers focus on two things: creating phones with a boatload of features and making them as small and as light as possible.

My grandparents on the other hand aren't as lucky. They just want a practicle phone with which they can call and be called. Until recently it was impossible to find a mainstream phone that allowed just that.

Manufacturers either ignored this audience completely, or assumed that all old people were demented and made phones with five set numbers that could be called. These mistakes opened up a nice niche that Doro have taken in.

Doro's PhoneEasy doesn't focus on cameras, office tools, and image-editors. It focusses on big buttons and text, and doing less than the rest but doing it better. Sounds a bit like 37Signals' Build Less!

With the baby boomers on the way to retirement, Doro might have a winning strategy. All I know is: My grandparents finally have a mobile phone that doesn't make them feel like they're out of touch.

Delivery dates: Stick to them!

2009-09-08T18:17:58Z

Eleven days ago I ordered something (a set of in-ear earphones, should you ask) on the Dutch discount website 1DayFly. Over the past few days I've seen at least two, and most likely three different dates on which my order should have been shipped.

Today, 264 hours after I placed the order I'd had enough. It's one thing to sell a product that you don't have in stock (a big no-no, but forgivable) it's a whole different thing to screw with your delivery dates.

Had I been informed of the fact that the item wasn't in stock, this whole mess would have been easier to swallow. If the delivery dates hadn't changed on a daily basis I wouldn't have been so angry. If the promises made by the store had been kept, I would have just accepted it all and wouldn't have thought twice about ordering from them in the future.

I'm just no longer inclined to spend anymore money on this website. Sure, they have some great deals, but in the end I will have had to wait two whole weeks to get my stuff. The trouble certainly wasn't worth the same as the discount.

The lesson: Don't make promises you can't/won't intend to keep, and provide clear information on any delays. You may miss this sale, but you certainly won't miss the next.

Review: Predictably Irrational

2009-09-02T17:49:34Z

Dan Ariely’s book Predictably Irrational takes us into the wonderful world of the human psyche. He takes you on a journey through dozens of experiments he and his colleagues ran. These are often small in scale, but have surprising results. We don’t always go for the most rational option; there are a lot of factors that guide us towards an irrational choice.

From the influence the price has on an experience to the way we behave when something is free. Why we cheat, and how taking a few small steps can minimize the risk. The book is full of richly told stories, and provides insight in how human behaviour can be influenced.

If you are already familiar with behavioural economics or psychology, this book will seem shallow. So don’t expect an academic book that dives deep into its material and provides detailed analysis of the experiment outcomes.

That being said all of the information pertaining to the experiments is available at the back. If you are interested to learn more, the book certainly makes it easy.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Predictably Irrational. I found it to be a very entertaining, funny and yet eye-opening book. Dan Ariely’s passion for what he does combined with the amazing way in which he tells his story make it one of my favourites.

Predictably Irrational (Amazon | Website)
Dan Ariely, released February 19, 2008

Jakob Nielsen proof password masker

2009-07-05T20:15:09Z

Ok, I’ll admit a lame name for a piece of JavaScript but it does describe what it does. A few weeks ago Jakob Nielsen shocked the web design community by advising to no longer mask passwords. In most situations ~~visitors~~ users would be alone behind the computer and masking the password would cause more confusion than it adds security. Makes sense.

Nielsen did offer one last bit of thought: “Yes, users are sometimes truly at risk of having bystanders spy on their passwords, such as when they’re using an Internet cafe. It’s therefore worth offering them a checkbox to have their passwords masked; for high-risk applications, such as bank accounts, you might even check this box by default.”

Since I’m in an experimentation phase with JavaScript I thought I’d write a simple little script that does just that. Things got a bit more complicated once I tried it in IE7. Turns out older versions of Internet Explorer don’t support setAttribute(‘type’,‘foo’). The only way around this was to copy the entire box, and replace the original one.

Without further ado, here’s the script & a demo of the script:

<script type="text/javascript">
window.onload = function(){
	var hide = document.getElementById('hide'); // Change this to match the ID of your mask or unmask checkbox
	hide.onclick = function(){
		var passwordBox = 'password'; // Change this to match the ID of your password checkbox, probably best to use the same value for your name attribute
		var password = document.getElementById(passwordBox);
		if(password.getAttribute('type') == 'text'){
			try{
				// Smart browsers can use this code
				password.setAttribute('type', 'password');
			}catch(e){
				// Special needs browsers (IE<8)
				backupValue = password.value;
				newBox = document.createElement('input');
				newBox.setAttribute('name', passwordBox);
				newBox.setAttribute('id', passwordBox);
				newBox.setAttribute('value', backupValue);
				newBox.setAttribute('type', 'password');
				password.parentNode.replaceChild(newBox, password);
			}
		}else{
			try{
				// Smart browsers can use this code
				password.setAttribute('type', 'text');
			}catch(e){
				// Special needs browsers (IE<8)
				backupValue = password.value;
				newBox = document.createElement('input');
				newBox.setAttribute('name', passwordBox);
				newBox.setAttribute('id', passwordBox);
				newBox.setAttribute('value', backupValue);
				newBox.setAttribute('type', 'text');
				password.parentNode.replaceChild(newBox, password);
			}
		}
	}
}
</script>

If you’re using SitePoints Core library, grab your Core version of the JavaScript mask/unmasker.

A word about planning

2009-04-22T21:29:09Z

I’m not too fond of detailed schedules. Some people spend most of their days planning things numerous months or steps ahead. They love their Excel sheets and their schedules. They go absolutely berserk when they’re a minute behind.

Society calls those traits “planning”. I disagree. To me it’s obsessive compulsive behavior and you notice that when something doesn’t go according to plan. People just freak out.

I witnessed an example today at the supermarket. Someone in front of me payed with meal vouchers but fell about 4 Euro short. He apparently also didn’t have any cash on him. All of this was happening 18 feet from the customer service desk.

The cashier saw the long cue and wanted to appear as if she was handling the situation. She picked up the phone and called her supervisor at the service desk (18 feet away). She walked over. Now we had two people “handling” the situation.

They continued to argue with the customer about how big a problem they were facing. Meanwhile, I’m desperately looking for a fiver just to get things moving again. The usual plan fell apart and instead of taking care of it at the customer desk, they were creating a bigger problem so they could get back on schedule.

That’s a lack of planning. You receive flowcharts, processes, Excel sheets, project plans and other paperwork. None of these have anything to do with actually planning a project. They aren’t set in the real world, they exist only on paper.

Real planning is creating a mindset to take on problems head on. There’s no Office tool that will translate that into a schedule. If there was one, you’d most likely abandon it five minutes into the project.

Wifi rant

2009-01-30T09:19:35Z

I’m sitting in the conference room of one of the most exclusive hotels in Brussels, Le Meridien, and I’m writing this in a word processor. The reason? There’s no internet access here. Well, there is internet access but turns out that you’ve got to pay a hefty sum of money to get access to it.

Let me ask you this question: Why can I stroll into any fast food restaurant on the planet and get free internet access, but not in one of the worlds finest hotels?
In a final irony, if you want internet access you’ll need to buy a pre paid card. At least the airports I visit allow me to use a credit card to get access.

It’s 2009. Offering wifi to your customers and visitors isn’t an exclusive additional service anymore. The internet is a vital tool of business, giving your guests access to it should be the most normal thing in the world. But hey, at least they’ve got a wifi network set up. The last hotel I stayed at didn’t even have one.

Blogmark: Zeldman on growing older

2008-12-30T21:30:09Z

Made me smile

What can and can’t you read and see?

2008-12-30T20:29:25Z

If it were up to the governments and various industries a large amount of websites would be blocked. The mere concept boggles the mind. How can democratic governments — many who criticise China for blocking parts of the web — even think, let alone talk about this.

The French surrendered (no surprises there) to a music industry that has failed to realise that the way it used to run its business isn’t the way its going to have to run its business in the future. A Belgian cabinet-member wanted to forbid blogger to talk about certain subjects after a blogger caught him drunk, singing and swinging at the tax payers expense. A British minister now wants to ban certain sites that have content that no-one should need to see. It simply boggles the mind.

The Internet has opened up the world more than the telephone and television combined. I can talk and listen to people all over the world, explore new, exciting ideas and view points. The only way this experience is guaranteed is by leaving the damn thing untouched.

I don’t care that you haven’t figured out that charging a ridiculous amount for a CD isn’t working anymore. I don’t care that you will find it harder to lie to the people who elected you. I don’t care you haven’t realised that people can decide for themselves what they will or will not read and see.

All of these are freedoms that are at the very core of our society. Freedoms that came at the cost of millions of lives and that are now, apparently, taken for granted

Telenet: You don’t seem to want my money…

2008-12-09T18:37:13Z

I’ve never been a fan of the way Telenet treats its customers and potential customers, but today was the last straw. After spending over one hour on the phone - thankfully spread out across several days - I’m told that: “their computer-system is down right now due to an upgrade and I should call back later”.

Don’t get me started on forcing your customers to waste an hour on the phone doing nothing. You’re a telecommunications company for Pete’s sake! Set up a system that calls me back when you’re ready to take my call.

Why do you hide that contact us form on your site? It’s nearly impossible to find ways to contact you directly on your website, it’s what I wanted to do after I couldn’t find anything on your site except marketing mumbo jumbo.

I might as well not have taken the time to discover that hidden form since it’s been 24 hours now and except that automated “Thanks for e-mailing us” message I haven’t heared from you at all. I can understand why, I only wanted to buy another service. Upselling’s a bitch…

I’m estimating that 99.9% of the general population knows it’s a bad idea to upgrade a support-system while said system should be functioning to help customers. Congratulations on hiring people that think out of the box and allow such an upgrade during operating hours.

I appreciate the fact that you made a joke when I called your technical support a few weeks back (maybe that’s why it’s a paid number). I did find it hilarious that your computer told me to check your support-site when I already selected the connection issues menu.

I’m sure all of these issues would disappear once the telecommunications industry in Belgium gets some real competition. The two current providers obviously take their positions for granted.

Google Chrome: The mini review (with screenshots)

2008-09-02T19:51:52Z

Just got my hands on a copy of Google Chrome and immediately took it for a spin. I was amazed at the small download size (less then 500kb) but then again it may download stuff for the installer.

Here’s what I noticed first: the interface is very similar to IE8, which was a surprise considering they announced it as a completely new interpretation of a web browser. OK, the tabs are on top but that’s not really a new interpretation.

Like IE8 Chrome highlights certain parts of the URL to indicate what domain you’re on and whether or not you’re using a secure connection. Adding a tab’s very easy to spot, the way you switch them around feels a little mac’esque. Remembering passwords has that trusted Firefox feel to it, also note the FF secure feel the address bar gives you.

The whole thing feels lightning fast, it runs through Gmail and Analytics like a breeze. Website Optimizer (runs a little slow on Firefox) loads instantly.

What's really cool though is the autocomplete in the addressbar. This shows you popular sites and search queries, plus recently visited sites, as you type. They used their technology and data to improve Firefox' awesomebar a bit.

Seems like they took some of the CSS3 support out of Webkit though, text-shadow’s gone and box-shadow is poorly implemented. So does it stand up to the dreaded Acid 2 test? Well, not exactly because our little guy seems to be blindfolded. Didn’t anyone give them the memo? Even IE8 passes the test (with some help). In case you’re a standardista: it scores 77 out of 100 on the acid 3 test.

All in all, Google Chrome is an OK browser. It’s not the revolutionary browser promised by the comic book, but it’s not bad either. I’ll play around with it some more but for now I guess I feel a little bit let down…

Validation is worth diddly-squat

2008-07-17T21:17:00Z

Let me get the cat out of the bag: Validation just isn’t important at all. There, I’ve said it and by now the validationistas among you will have steam coming out of their ears. W3C Guidelines or death and all…

When I first found out about the W3C validator and web standards – somewhere around the year 2000 – I was hooked. Every project I worked on needed to have that little button in the footer. It was a pride thing for me. The truth is that I’ve never written sloppier HTML code than I did in those days.

I made sure I closed all my tags and used the proper attributes. Then I’d run the code through a validator and it would call it “valid”. All 17 tables (non-nested, of course), 35 redundant divs and 43 onmouseover attributes. In my hunt for perfection I forgot that validation should only be used as a tool. It should never be a goal.

Think of it as writing a text, making sure you’ve spelled each word correctly and then placing them randomly on a page. The spellchecker will pat you on the back, but no-one will be able to read the text.

Stop focussing on creating valid code. Write great code instead. Structure your document so that you’re able to logically find the different areas with styles turned off. Don’t use redundant tags or attributes. Simple and clean code is better code. Validation is nothing but a distraction.

Twittering

2008-07-02T20:00:00Z

Something that’s always struck me as kind of useless has, for reasons that are still unknown, convinced me to give it a shot. I’m talking about microblogging platform Twitter.

I often run into something I want to

~~share with the world~~

rant about. Most of the time these things aren’t worth a whole blogpost, but I feel as if they could still be valuable in one way or the other.

I’ve loaded up my browsers with Twitter plugins, added it to my Gtalk contact list, got my Twitter.com bookmarked, in short: I’m ready to Twit. You can find my Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/TimCbe. Twit twit.