Comments on: Plugging Holes in the Experience, Sort Of

By: Pete Williams

Pete Williams — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:22:29 +0000

I would suggest that UPS effectively have two tracking numbers, one for the shipper and one for the recipient. This could be as simple as adding a given letter to the front or end of the existing number to identify it as a recipient’s enquiry.

This would allow them to tailor the interface and associated terminology/statuses to the correct audience. As mentioned billing information isn’t relevent to the recipient, so their status would simply say whether it has been received by UPS or not, and if so where it’s got to.

By: Chris Avore

Chris Avore — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:54:32 +0000

I’ve been driven nuts by this ridiculous tracking process for years. While I agree the updated tracking screen is better, I still feel like I’m looking under the hood at some technical process I probably shouldn’t have access to, based on the choice of language, codes and the like.

I’ve taken a few minutes to re-prioritize the layout and posted the new mockup here:

http://www.erova.com/blog/?p=65

Another uhh, interesting, UI choice the UPS guys have made is the Log In button right next to their search box. I wonder how many search logs reveal usernames…

By: erova • UX Remix: UPS Tracking Screen - erova notebook • a user experience blog by Chris Avore

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:46:59 +0000

[...] Spool’s January 3rd, 2009 Plugging Holes in the Experience, Sort Of questions the layout, language, and design (and ultimately the audience) of UPS’s package [...]

By: Michael Zuschlag

Michael Zuschlag — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:30:51 +0000

Looks like a classic case of the content written in terms important to the _writer_ not the _reader_. Getting billing information from the shipper matters a lot to UPS, but not a hoot to the user. What matters to the reader is when they will get the shipment. If UPS can’t determine specifically when they’ll get the package from the vendor, they can at least say something like “[Vendor] has notified UPS that this shipment will be ready in the near future.” Maybe even include text to the effect of “If the shipment is included with the next pickup from [Vendor], the package should arrive at your door on [Date].” That at least sets a lower bound on when the reader can expect the shipment.

By: Gary Franceschini

Gary Franceschini — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:33:01 +0000

The page looks to me to be very close to what I, the customer, need.

However, I *would* remove the text in bold (it was the last thing I read – on the second reading) and change the Status line to read something like: “Verifying information with vendor. Check later for updated shipment status or contact shipper for details.”

By: Frederic

Frederic — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:04:25 +0000

I guess, as a customer, you want to know that something positive is happening somewhere on the chain. Potentially, a simple way to plug this hole would be to have the system say something like: “xxxxxxx has informed us that your order is ready for shipment. We’re taking care of it and you will receive it shortly”

The process is the same but the message is different. That can be the difference between a positive or incomplete experience.

By: Jared Spool

Jared Spool — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:00:16 +0000

@Daniel brings up a good point: “Does UPS care?”

The UPS designers have aimed the new design at their paying customers—the shippers. The recipients don’t pay UPS, so it could be that they aren’t really that interested in making that audience as happy.

However, as @Vivienne points out, this is a touchpoint for a future potential customer. UPS has a big business delivering packages from individual customers. People who receive things are likely to someday be people who ship things. Since the UPS logo and brand elements are all over the status page (which, in itself is interesting—why not brand it with the shippers logo and be invisible?), people will associate their experience with the UPS brand. A bad experience here will create bad juju (the technical term for weakened brand engagement) with these potential customers.

But, wait, there’s more. High end retailers, like Williams-Sonoma and Lands’ End use UPS as their delivery agent. If, in the process of servicing their orders, UPS creates bad juju, some of that juju rubs off on the e-commerce retailer.

@Daniel asked how many calls UPS gets? I’m wondering how many calls the vendor gets when the UPS interface is inscrutable. It could be that if the retailer feels UPS is running up their support costs or hurting their brand, it’s worth reconsidering their shipping partner.

By: Vivienne Woodhead

Vivienne Woodhead — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 04:36:22 +0000

“Does UPS care?” The impact of improving a customer’s experience may not be directly measurable in terms of $¢/time for UPS, but for the customer ease of use is not only a matter of customer time = customer money. Their feeling about UPS being bad or good at understanding and communication affects their likelihood of using it again. A good user experience is like good ads, good Customer Service, it’s a tad touchy feely but it affects a company’s bottom line if they are a pain to do business with, and appear not to care about the customer’s convenience.

By: Daniel Tunkelang

Daniel Tunkelang — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:53:32 +0000

Seems pretty clear that, if UPS intends this page for package recipients (particularly e-commerce customers), it should offer explanations from their point of view, which is basically UPS Awaiting Shipment From Sender. The tool tip could explain that the sender has sent UPS details about the shipment but not the shipment itself.

Bigger question: does UPS care? Is an improvement to this experience likely to have any impact on their bottom line? In particular, will it affect the decisions of ecommerce sellers to use UPS? And can those sellers work around the poor experience by offering customers custom interfaces to track packages?

That said, I wonder how much UPS spends on customer service, fielding calls from customers confused by this interface.