Sometimes it feels like an insult; we to stand in a queue that does not seem any shorter than it was before the manned tills were replaced, and we have to scan them ourselves, only to be told there is an “unexpected item in the bagging area”, which is an item that we scanned just seconds ago...

Continue reading "Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrison's, they all have them: Are self-service checkouts really the future of shopping?" »
I visited my local Argos at the weekend, when collecting my product there was a customer feedback terminal positioned on the collection counter (see image). There were five questions on the terminal, each were quite wordy questions, with 5 ratings per question. I was only at the counter for 6 secs just to pick my product up; I didn't even have time to read the first question before I was on my way out the door (although I did have time to take a quick snap!). I was curious to see if other customers would have the time and interest to use the customer feedback terminal, so I waited and watched 8 customers go to the counter and collect their products. Not one person even took a second glance at the terminal.
Continue reading "'The customer is always right' - but are they bothered?" »
I was lucky enough to be invited to the Gorillaz concert at the O2 on 16th November, and it was interesting to see there were a variety of different Gorillaz inspired interactive activities available around the arena to entertain fans before the concert began.
Continue reading "Gorillaz go interactive" »
I
recently ran the 10km Bupa run in Central London and I
couldn't have completed the run on event day or done as much training as I did
without my Nike+ device.
This device comes in two parts; one that plugs into the end
of your iPod and the other part is a sensor that fits onto your shoe. So
it is basically like a pedometer that you can control through your iPod. This is a fantastic device that records your distance, time,
and calories burnt and other pretty useless but fascinating information about
your run whilst you listen to music to spur you on. It even has a
congratulations message from Tiger Woods when you record a personal best – feel
free to take that as a positive or negative feature!
However, there are aspects of the Nike+ device that irritate
me. These are usability defects that probably would only occur in a running
situation, but given it’s designed to be used in just that way it doesn't
really bode well!
Continue reading "Nike +… pain or gain? " »
My family
recently acquired 6 tickets for the Ryder Cup in October – this is great news!
However, Ryder Cup organisers require all people attending the event to upload
a passport photo to their website. Obviously this is for security reasons, but
it seems they haven’t taken into account the age range of people that will be
attending the event.
Continue reading "Ryder Cup misses the mark" »
During the campaign for the 2010 Election voters will be
able to search the parties websites, read their blogs and contact them via
Facebook and Twitter.
So its no wonder the press are dubbing the 2010 election as
the “first election of the social network age”, but how much will the Internet and social media shape the
election and campaigns?
Continue reading "Election 2010: Britain’s first digital election?" »
After being fined billions, Microsoft has announced that it is to offer Windows
users in Europe a browser choice screen. This choice screen which the Guardian has named the “browser
ballot”, will make it easier for users to choose an alternative browser. This is
required as a settlement agreed with European Commission’s competition
department in December 2009.
Picture credit:
Mashable
Continue reading "Microsoft offers a choice to Windows users" »
Mobile Phone Expert, www.mobilephone-expert.co.uk is a mobile phone comparison site that prides itself on offering users a simple process to find a new mobile phone and tariff. The site aims to do this by providing users with fewer results based on their preferences so they don’t have to scroll through pages and pages of phones.
Continue reading "Mobile phone comparison site is launched" »
Facebook has released a test version of the
new stripped-down Facebook site. Facebook Lite (http://lite.facebook.com) was initially focused on providing a faster
and more accessible version for users in countries with low bandwidth and
slower internet connections. Now it seems existing users will be given the
chance to switch to this ‘diet’ version, allowing users to write on friend’s
walls, look at photos and share content without all the additional
applications.
Continue reading "Facebook shedding pounds" »