SiteCrafting Blah Blah Blog
Dec. 7, 2006 at 11:36am
How My New Car Can Help Your Website
I just got a new car - a Volvo 240 Wagon. I can't wait to take it on a road trip. This is the first time I've gotten my own car, and so I've been dealing with all the licensing, emissions, and insurance paperwork that goes along with buying a car. I've learned two important things from buying the car, and I want to share.
Explanations are essential
My first priority once I had bought the car was to get it insured. So I called up the agents that my family has relationships with, and asked what it would cost to get insured. Of the two agencies, I got two very different responses to that question. The first one told me what insurance I had previously been on, and explained what each part of it was. I don't understand the legal insurance mumbo jumbo, so hearing stuff like "Personal Injury Protection pays for medical bills of your passengers" or "Comprehensive coverage protects against theft, fire, ..." and so on, was a very helpful thing. The other agency just said "What kind of insurance do you want?" Granted, that agent didn't know what kind of insurance I had before, but how am I supposed to know what is available, and what their terms mean? Don't assume that your customers know all the idiosyncrasies of your business. When I'm talking to someone who is an expert in a field I'm not, I want them to tell me what I need to know, and then what I should know.
Telling me what the insurance was, and what it covered was a very helpful thing, and it made me think that the agent was looking out for me. She told me what I had been covered for, and then asked if that was what I still wanted. The other agent gave off an air of detached professionalism - get the job done and then get the client out of the way.
This can help you two ways: first, explain what you're asking on website, and why you need that information. Second, being more open in this way helps your customers feel better about doing business with you.
Information ASAP
I also need to get my emissions checked because Pierce County has problems with air quality. I went to the Department of Licensing website to find hours of operation, and found live webcam feeds of their testing stations. (http://www.emissiontestwa.com/waittime.aspx) I can see right away how long I'll be in line to get that task taken care of.
Instead of just giving me the information I needed, they gave me more information that I might find useful, and it really is useful. I can plan my trip better, and if wait times are too long at one location, I can pick another. Kudos to the State for taking the effort to do a job right. For you web designers, remember to give your visitors all the information they need, and then what they can use to make their experience better.
Posted in Critiques, Testimonials by Dave Poole
Comments (3)
Mark says:
I, too, have been very impressed with Washington State's licensing system. I am amazed at how connected a seemingly low-tech location like an emissions testing facility is. I logged on to the site to renew my license, only to find out I needed to get my emissions tested. So down I drove to the facility where I passed with flying colors. By the time I got back to my house and logged on to the State's site again (maybe 15 minutes), the system already recognized the fact that my emissions testing was completed!
Immediately available information that ties white-collar and blue-collar facilities together makes life run so much more smoothly!
1 | Dec. 8, 2006 at 4:59pm
The Washington wait time page is now located at http://www.emissiontestwa.com/waittime.aspx
2 | Left by Steve | Feb. 5, 2007 at 10:01pm
Dave says:
Steve -
Thanks for the update. I've changed the link in the article to match.
3 | Feb. 9, 2007 at 10:14am