And by design, I am referring to ease of use as well, which must be the product of careful, thoughtful design.
Tonight I had dinner with Steve. We had talked about going to the Outback Steakhouse but decided on another location, with which we were familiar, for steak. I had been to the Outback Steakhouse at least nine months ago, but haven't a clue where it was.
As we sat down, Steve pulled out his new Blackberry touch-like thing to look up the location of the nearest Outback Steakhouse. He fiddled with it for about 15 minutes trying to figure out how to use the VZ Navigator. I got so frustrated watching him, I got out my iPhone and in a matter of seconds had a map up on the screen, ready to guide me turn by turn. I was represented by the blue pulsing dot that moves in real time. The Outback Steakhouse was the red pin. A line connected the two. Easy.
Steve, not to be outdone, was determined to figure out how to get the VZ Navigator to work so he could find the same Outback. An hour and a half later, he gave up.
As fate would have it, and more than two hours after the ordeal began, he learns, after reading the book I bet, that the VZ Navigator is an additional feature with a monthly service charge that he hasn't purchased. (Or maybe he waded through Verizon's million layer telephone verbal prompting system to wait 30 minutes to talk with the next available customer support provider in India that doesn't speak English too well. Oh, and I especially love how their telephone system repeatedly apologizes to you for the inconvenience and tells you how they value your time and want to provide you with the same quality individual attention they are currently providing other customers. Bull%$@&! Can you tell: I've been in that cue from hell?!)
Bad design. Rotten service plans. Needlessly complicated. When will corporate America ever learn?
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