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RE: Looking for recommendations for really USABLE Support website s
Subject:RE: Looking for recommendations for really USABLE Support website s From:KMcLauchlan -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 22 Nov 2002 11:20:14 -0500
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Marguerite Krupp [mailto:mkrupp -at- cisco -dot- com]
> Sent: Friday, November 22, 2002 10:41 AM
[...]
>
> * If you have NEVER had a good experience with seeking
> technical info
> via a support site, tell me why not (e.g., the results of a
> keyword search
> were about as numerous as the search matches on eBay for
> "glass" or "book"
> on amazon.com).
I suppose good experiences on a web site are much like good
experiences in retail and other aspects of life. They're
nice, but because you are able to get on with what you
needed to do, the experience itself doesn't stick in
your mind. Good service is transparent.
Of course, a BAD experience tends to leave a lingering
foul taste in your mouth, because you did *not* get
to complete your actual task, so you got to stew in
your frustration for a while.
Even so, I don't have any specific sites -- good or bad --
in mind. But, one thing that I absolutely hate, despise,
revile, condemn.... is web-site "search" functions
that turn up nothing but lists of company white papers
and marketing press releases.
I look at the odd entertaining thing on the weeeb
when someone sends me a link, but normally my
primary purpose for visiting a web site is to
get information -- usually technical -- or to
download a patch or driver or other piece of
software that I need in order to accomplish
something more serious and urgent than getting the
latest flash-toon or MP3.
A related bugaboo is when links to "important" stuff
on a site are presented in two or three different,
but exclusive formats. For example, there'll be
a set of big, colorful buttons or a frame with
obvious topic links... and then there'll be some
innocuous text, colored a few angstroms differently
than the background, with a point-size barely larger
that the pixel size (.... sorry, slight.... slight...
exaggeration), that -- if I ever find/recognize it --
might lead to what I actually need from the site.
Thankfully, I note that the bad commerce sites seem
to be disappearing -- the ones where you could wander
around forever, hollering "But how do I actually
BUY something from you!??!"
Ok, I'll stop now, and go pout in my corner.
/kevin
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