Can an Application be Too Usable?
August 5th, 2006
Can an application be too usable?
Apparently at Caesars Indiana, we find an extreme example of what happens when a design makes the customer experience a little too good:
BRIDGEPORT, Indiana (AP) — Gamblers raked in nearly half a million dollars over two days on a slot machine that multiplied by 10 the amount of money that players put in, then paid out vouchers without playing, a newspaper reported.
Caesars Indiana lost $487,000 before a player notified officials of the problem with the machine, The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky, reported Friday.
Kathryn Ford of Louisville realized something was wrong July 23 when she and her husband sat down at two of the machines, called Extra Money.
When she put in a $20 bill the machine registered it as $200. She tried another $20 bill and the same thing happened, she said.
Ford said she put eight $20 bills in the machine and received vouchers that could be redeemed for $1,600 in cash — without even playing.
Turned out to be a software problem:
Casino officials determined the machine had a switch set for use in the Philippines, instead of the United States, instructing it to multiply credits by 10.
I don’t know about you, but visiting the Philippines just became a higher priority on my list. I like the way they think there.
