Pump Stumper
A good friend of mine related the following story to me last Friday.
After breakfast today, I stopped for gas, and when I got out of the car, the guy at the next pump immediately asked me, “What do you press after entering your zip code?”, to which I responded, “You have to enter your zip code?”
I walked over, assuming that it would be obvious. It wasn’t. I told him I’d try my pump to see if I could figure it out. Here’s what happened:
1. I swipe my card.
2. It asks me to enter my zip code.
3. I press “15143”. The screen shows these digits.
4. I look around, wondering what to do next.
5. I press the big, green “Yes” button.
6. It gives me some “invalid key” error and asks for my zip code again.
7. I press “15143”, and the screen again shows these digits.
8. I figure “No” and “Cancel” aren’t right, so I press “Help”.
9. The screen says something I can’t remember, doesn’t give me help, and then asks me to swipe my card again.
10. I swipe my card, and now another guy (who’s actually pumping gas) asks me if I’m having trouble with the zip code.
11. I say yes and ask what he pressed.
12. he looks at me like I’m an idiot and says, “enter”.
13. I very nearly tell him that there is no such button on mine, but go back to look again just to make sure. Even then, I had to look twice before I saw it.
Happily, instead of feeling like an idiot myself, I decided the designer was an idiot instead.
Wow! First of all, why do they need your zip code? Second, knowing that all zip codes are five digits (and that people don’t generally know the extended form), it should have accepted the code and moved on after five numbers were entered. Third, even if it couldn’t automatically register that a full code had been entered, it should have instructed the user what to press after the zip code. Finally, the “enter” button should have been designed to stand out from the rest of the keypad, and would have been better placed with the other “confirm” type buttons (see the photo below).