Free UX advice for AH

Some time ago I wrote about bad UX at Albert Heijn (jul 2010). In short my complaint was that the check out system - on approach - very much emphasized the second step of the check out process. The first and mandatory step in the process is presented very inconspicuously.

Apparently designers at Albert Heijn are aware of this issue but unfortunately they solved it by showing a big red error message if the user accidentally scans his/her bonuskaart before putting the scanner back.

IMO this is the wrong solution for the design problem (being the user has to execute two actions in a specific order). It would be better to change the visual hierarchy of the 'welcome screen' to help users execute the actions in the right order.

Or even better, make it 2 screens; the first saying 'put your scanner back', the second 'scan your card'. I think this would very much reduce confusion and nearly eliminate the need for the big red error meesage.

But the best solution would be to design the system in such a way that the 2 actions don't have to be executed in a specific order. From a user-perspective there is no logical reason why he/she has to put the scanner back before scanning their bonuskaart!

Good UX at BOL

Okay now this is an example of good UX!

Yesterday I complained about the address removal interaction at bol.com by posting a tweet (with a link to my blogpost).

And today already I got a mention from @bol_com, in which they say they understand the problem and will see what they can do about it. Now that is some excellent user experience! They actively approach me and even are willing to try and solve the problem.

Big thumbs up for bol.com!

Bad UX at BOL

Recently I ordered a book at bol.com (Information is beautiful, recommended!). While doing so I thought why don't I change my adress (I moved some time ago). Then I ran into an example of bad design: it was impossible to remove old address directly from my account.

I can see where this is coming from; obviously an account should have at least one address, but unfortunately BOL does not allow me to remove just any address (up until one address is left). 

Apparently the first entered address cannot be removed, which is very illogical because this will almost always be an old address. To make it worse; changing my old address into my new one is not allowed because the address already exists.

So to actually remove my old address I had to first remove my new address and then change the old address into the new one (and of course all the steps above to figure this out). Cumbersome interaction!

Bad UX at Albert Heijn

Since some time Albert Heijn has introduced self-scanning of groceries. When you go into a store you can use your "bonuskaart" (customer card) to grab a scanner from a rack. Although I needed some time to get used to scanning my groceries while putting them in my cart, I like the whole concept. However there's a design flaw in the check out process which annoys me very much.

When checking out the order of things is:

1. First put the scanner back in the rack - the system won't do anything until the scanner is replaced
2. Then scan your bonuskaart
3. And then the rest of the check out procedure follows.

Now look at the picture below, which is what the screen of the check-out-system looks like when you arrive at it.

Why-o-why is the instruction for the PRIMARY and MANDATORY user action - putting the scanner back - so poorly visible???

I mean, first there is a big image and huge dark blue text line explaining the SECOND instruction. And then all the way at the bottom of the screen is a small light blue hard-to-read text line which is actually the most important instruction. In fact it is the ONLY instruction needed at that point. The rest could be displayed only when a scanner is placed in the rack.

To make things worse, there is an auditory instruction every 10 seconds or so saying to "scan your bonuskaart".

Come on Albert Heijn, you can do better than this.