Sir, – It is hardly surprising that consumers are leaving their credit cards at self-service machines in shops in Dublin Airport ("More credit cards are being left behind at Dublin Airport", August 4th).
In user-experience terms, this is a classic failing of what is called a “mental model”. Consumers, familiar with the interaction with a human shop assistant, regard the end of their transaction as the receipt of their goods and not the return or taking of credit or debit cards. So they walk away once they take their purchases and forget their cards.
It took retail banks decades to grasp the concept of user experience mental models and why consumers left their cards in ATMs. Hence it is now the norm for users of ATMs to receive their card back before their money, and not the other way around. The savings for all concerned are obvious. Retailers in Dublin airport and other locations, take note.
Understand your users’ mental models. In simple terms, replicate a normal expectation about the experience of shopping. – Yours, etc,
ULTAN Ó BROIN,
Dublin 8.
Sir, – When I recently passed through the WH Smith in Terminal 2, I found the best approach to these machines was to pretend to have no idea how to use them. A helpful human introduced me to the machine and took me through the whole process, scanning my items and selecting all the necessary payment steps on the screen. She even handed me my card back and we had time to exchange pleasantries.
The whole process was stress-free and I will certainly continue to feign technological ignorance when I encounter these machines again.
You never know, maybe the idea of “human checkout assistants” might actually catch on again. – Yours, etc,
PAUL CARROLL,
Clane,
Co Kildare.