Miskeeto

Solving the real problem

A miskeeto byte from Robert Hoekman, Jr. Posted on June 2nd, 2009

I wondered quite a bit today what I’d write this blog post. I needed a good story. One with a solid takeaway. Something lots of people could relate to. I had nothing. Then I went to FedEx.

Almost every time I walk into a FedEx shipping location, I do something wrong. “If you ship by ground, you can’t use that envelope,” the proverbial shipping gods seem to say to me. “If you want to ship by air, you can’t use that shipping bill. You have to use that other one. But you have to use this envelope, or this box, or that box. If you ship ground, you have to buy an envelope. We don’t give those away.”

Today, the guy behind the counter told me there used to be a poster that explained it all. FedEx told them to get rid of it. My guess is that it was making matters worse. So now, invariably, he tells me I’ve used the wrong envelope, or the wrong shipping bill, or that my t-shirt isn’t the right color. The rules are arbitrary, and FedEx does nothing to clear them up.

Go ahead, FedEx — keep your arbitrary rules. Just make sure I can use your service without learning them.

Don’t give me a poster that explains it all. The poster is a band-aid when you need to cure the disease. Instead, organize the shipping materials cabinet into three columns and label them using three signs, each with giant text, that say ”Ground”, ”Air”, and “Really Damn Fast”. Just for good measure, to each one, add a large downward-pointing arrow. In red.

More instruction never compensates for bad design. The solution is always better design. Solve the real problem.

Thanks for the blog post, FedEx. Oh, and by the way — I passed a UPS office on the way to your store. Maybe I’ll go there next time.