This is not an interaction design intervention, but an intervention at the heart of the customer experience. It’s about earning customer trust—the foundation of any relationship, never more important than in the face of a crisis. After the terrible accident of the Costa Concordia, in which at least 15 people have now died (rest in peace), news outlets are reporting this morning that Carnival has a plan to compensate surviving victims: a refund and 30% off another cruise. The ship sank and people swam for their lives. Some did not make ...

Truly brilliant. So much fun. Homeplus, Tesco’s chain of grocery stores in South Korea, wallpapers a subway station with actual images from its store shelves. While consumers wait for their train to arrive, they can shop by capture the QR code for each item and adding it to a mobile shopping cart. Orders are placed on the spot, and are delivered after they arrive home. Consumers are the big winners here: After a long day, they get to look at a beautiful, expansive, mood-lifting wall of color instead of a grey wall. They re-capture other...

My excitement over the recently released version (2.2) of Epicurious for iPhone evaporated when I discovered three things: A fee to sync recipes on the iPhone with those saved in the inadequate recipe box on the website (I had presumed this would be free); An advertisement with a close button that sends people into the App Store, repeatedly; The failure to correct major navigational shortcomings in the app. Let’s take a closer look at why Epicurious mobile has been sent to UX Rehab. 1. A $1.99 for syncing your recipe box I know: itR...

In years of road trips to Delaware, I have never waited in line at the sandwich counter at Wawa. Credit their ordering kiosks, which do a few things: First, the entire premise of the deli counter is a sandwich my way. I’m a “customizer.” I like that. Second, I don’t feel rushed in assembling the perfect sandwich. (My wife might feel otherwise as I deliberate but it’s a moment of time that I control completely, creating just what I want. That’s downright relaxing.) I am not hurried or pressured by someone be...