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Glossary Anxiety
08 Aug 2003 by
We take it for granted that we can track packages over the web. UPS takes us for granted when they use industry lingo that their customers aren’t familiar with. This lingo was originally developed for internal use, but now that the internal stuff is public stuff, they really should make it easier for their consumer customers to find out what it all means.
In order to find out what these different “scans” mean, I have to click on the help link in the left sidebar then find “What events are recorded about packages?” inside the “Tracking Number FAQ” which is listed among a sea of links.
Now, I realize that some of activity descriptions aren’t that hard to figure out, but if they do define the terms elsewhere, why not make it easier for their customers to find them?
We recommend three simple solutions:
1. If you must use unfamilar lingo, define the lingo (“Activity” terms in the case of UPS) on the same page where I can track the package
2. Again, if you must use lingo, provide a
direct link on the tracking page to the part of the FAQ where the terms are defined.
3. Don’t use lingo. Replace the lingo with terms or phrases we can understand. For example, instead of “PICKUP SCAN” say “We’ve picked up the package from the shipper.” Or, for “ARRIVAL SCAN” say “The package has arrived at our Chicago-area hub.” Each item should be linked to a “more info” page where detailed descriptions of what proceeded and follows a particular step can be explained.
And, finally, why isn’t “Destination Scan” defined anywhere?
8 comments so far (Post a Comment)
08 Aug 2003 | pb said...
I can get past that beacuse generally all I care about is when it gets close to my location.
What annoys me about UPS is 1) that ups.com goes to a P"Pick Your Country" splash screen, 2) the extra check box to agree to some terms and 3) that the first results page is a summary and you have to click again to get the details (which I do 100% of the time and can't see any situation where a user wouldn't).
Although I will give UPS props for finally putting tracking on the (not quite) home page and making the site aesthetically pleasing.
08 Aug 2003 | Benjy said...
Does anyone know whether data exists that can correlate "glossary anxiety" to lost sales? We've had ongoing discussions at my company between marketing and merchandising regarding whether the customers can decipher all the tech specs shorthand that makes it into product descriptions. We in marketing believe they need to be cleaned up and written in consumer english, but the marchandisers continue to list them with the jargon they use with their vendors. Neither group has the resources to handle this currently, so we'd need to quantify the ROI to add resources.
08 Aug 2003 | Don the Mechanic said...
I don't need the system tweaked, I just need to see everything that i want to know about my parcel written out clearly on in plain English on one single page.
If I've gone to that page, I've gone to find out about my parcel, so ... JUST FREAKIN TELL ME.
I thought you guys were into simplification, yet you're making this a multistep process. If there is a need to explain what the terms are then THEY ARE THE WRONG TERMS and they should use TERMS THAT PEOPLE CAN READILY UNDERSTAND. Don't improve the glossary system, improve the language used in the first place.
Sheesh, is it so hard to be simple?
08 Aug 2003 | JF said...
Don the Mechanic, I was actually modifying the original post to include this suggestion. Hang tight, it will be up in a few.
08 Aug 2003 | hurley #1 said...
Does anyone know whether data exists that can correlate "glossary anxiety" to lost sales?
Well in UPS's case this isn't an issue since you've already paid for delivery before you discover that their tracking system is unintelligible, and I don't think it's enough of a turn-off to make someone swear they'll use the Post Office or FedEx next time.
I haven't seen any data on the effect of jargon on sales, but I'm sure it has a measurable effect. A few months ago David Pogue was reviewing WiFi base stations in the New York Times, and he picked Microsoft's base station as the best model on the market entirely because it had the easiest-to-understand user's manual. The Linksys base station is more powerful, but he hated the user manual. You can bet that his review resulted in a lot of sales for Microsoft. In fact I bought one myself (instead of the Apple Airport base station I'd been planning to get) based on that review.
Speaking of Apple, they do a predictably good job on their Web site of sweeping most of the geeky jargony stuff onto a Tech Specs page. So you essentially have one page for people who understand the jargon and another for people who don't, satisfying both the marketing department and the engineers.
08 Aug 2003 | brian said...
I honestly don't think the lingo is that confusing, it makes sense logically.
what i don't understand is why i ordered something once from wva, i was in va, and they routed the order through texas, or another time a package going from PA to va went through new jersey? that is where they must be losing money, right? not in some user getting aggravated by their tracking page.
08 Aug 2003 | Jon Gales said...
Well at least UPS has tracking that works. Ever try to track something from the USPS? Same bad "all caps lingo" but it never updates. Just like when it leaves, and then a few hours after you got it that you got it. Useless.
14 Aug 2003 | Adam said...
In fairness to the USPS, they don't advertise their service as a "Tracking" mechanism. I believe they call it "Delivery Confirmation". It's mostly a way to move the old return receipt process online and allow a sender to know if and when a package has arrived at it's destination.
