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Quick, do the exact opposite of what
you think you should do. |
If you've ever used a credit card at a store, you probably have run into this. After you slide your card, you are usually asked to choose debit or credit. I always use credit because my bank charges me fees for using debit. So after you choose credit, a curious thing happens (99 times out of a 100)—the credit card machine asks you to hit
CANCEL to continue. What? Why? That makes no sense. Designers are supposed to anticipate the mental models of the users of their products. When I want to continue with a process, my first thought isn't to cancel the process. I want to continue. Yet 99% of credit card machines in stores require me to hit cancel.
The funny thing is, everyone knows this (or is used to it) but everyone still asks if they need to hit
CANCEL. I've even been to a lot of stores where there is a piece of paper taped to the machine that says
YES, PRESS CANCEL FOR CREDIT. If the users of your product have to tape a note to it to direct its operation, something is wrong.
That's funny...I think that EVERY time
ReplyDeleteI use it and I have to hit cancel. I always think
why do I have to press cancel?
why not just a button that says
credit or debit?
they make me feel like I made a mistake.
Made by Microsoft no doubt. How do you turn off your computer? Click "start" of course.
ReplyDeleteHaha yes I was just thinking that yesterday!
ReplyDelete