User Centred Design Experiences in Istanbul
I made my research on the subject. However the theoretical approach and practical examples given were not enough for me. I felt the urge to find a way of putting these knowledge in practice with my customer experience in Turkey.
I had to limit my targets with the limited time.
My first intention was to find design initiatives of customers for one of our company's shopping centers. Quickly I discovered that I would need my colleagues time and efforts to contribute and more time to achieve a successful result.
After the information I learned in Avi Alkas Real Estate Center, I have become more aware in my experiences as a customer. In this paper I will show some examples of customer experience designed by various brands and services in Istanbul.
Any retailing product requires lots of effort. We, as customers only see the iceberg's part which is above the sea level.
1.0 Shopping Experience Design:
Comparison of H&M (in Mall of Istanbul) and Aeropostale (in Kanyon)
Target: Buying t-shirts and cami tops for this summer
Desired qualities: Nice looking, cheap, cotton fabric, easy to use, durable
H&M, Mall of Istanbul
First of all I did not choose this store. The store was placed in a central location in the mall. Its large entrance in which good looking t-shirts were placed were calling for me.
H&M brand had an image of selling affordable products. I said "Ok, good looking cheap t-shirts, I shall touch and see if the fabric's quality is good", so I entered the store.
The fabric was good. I picked some of them to try them on. Then I moved towards the changing rooms which were at the far back end. On my way I saw some other interesting garments and picked them to try since I was already on my way to changing rooms. Store was successfully designed to move the customer through the store from front to back. Yes I was hooked with the good looking garments in the entrance, then I was moved at the back of the store where the changing rooms are by passing through other products.
After trying them on, I decided to buy and moved towards the cashier desk. In the payment area there was actually a queue and while waiting at the queue you could also see accessories placed along. Women just cannot get enough of garments and accessories but I didn't like the quality so I didn't buy any. Thanks to Chinese cheap accessory production, I saved some money.
Overall experience: I bought some nice, good looking, affordable t-shirts which I needed. Experience was fun cause I realized that I was in a game and I amused myself. Maybe the mouse in a maze. However, I still managed to get my cheese and move out with my wallet full.
Aeropostale, Kanyon
I do not know why, but this brand had an image of selling expensive yet everyday sportive garments. Probably because of its shop front design in which garments were placed on manikins and in an articulated fashionable manner. I hesitated to enter but after I entered, just at the entrance, there were the cheap and good looking t-shirts in vibrant colours and good quality fabric. Having quickly found what I have been looking for, I checked other products to see if this brand has anything else to offer. Having collected 4-5 pieces of t-shirts (camisoles) and a short I moved for payment.
Cashier told that the 'cheap' t-shirts that I had picked were not cheap at all, and that I had to pay 50% more unless I join their Aeropostale Club Card.
The card form had two options for contact info;
a)by mail b)by SMS.
I said I do not want anyone to contact me, cause I am disturbed by adds and promotion mails. Cashier said that it is a must and that I have to check one of them. So I checked by mail (I will define their mails as junk)
After I finished my payment the cashier handled me a discount paper and added that I can use this discount in only that day for my next purchase. Come on, I had bought everything that I had found. They were giving a discount that I cannot even use.
Overall experience: Blackmailing the customer to give a royalty card and to get their contact information! Giving something which won't be used..is this giving at all? I felt that I was facing a wall.
What to change?
Price label communication can be improved saying that the prices are only for Aeropostale Card Owners.
"I don't want to be contacted" should be added to the form.
Discount should be done immediately if the customer had spend above a certain price level.
Will I ever buy again?
Looking at the quality and design of the t-shirts, despite the bad experience, I will surely buy.
Cause my experiences with the products' usage which is a very long term will probably be very satisfying.
Comparison
Letting the customer interact with the product and with the shop looks like a better choice then having a bad communication.
Loyalty is gained with good experiences, not with bad memories.
A strong product can overcome bad marketing.
2.0 Service Design: Ford Otokoc vs Ali the Mechanist
Target: Getting my Ford Fiesta car fixed. (I had recently burned the clutches.)
Desired service: Good price, a service that I can trust for a secure drive.
Conditions: I have to drive my broken car till the service area, I don't know if I can make it. Since my car broke unexpectedly, I don't want to pay a big amount of unexpected bill.
Ford Otokoc Service, Istinye, Istanbul
Ford Otokoc was my first choice. They constantly fix Ford cars and know the car well. They use original mechanical parts.
After succeeding in getting there, I parked my car and found my way to customer services. We talked about the problem. He said that they have to open a new record for me. I said alright, and waited for him to open the record. He typed my car information. I told him that I already have a record in Ford services, but he wrote it anyway. This was taking more then five minutes so I asked about the price. I said that they shall inform me before writing my records cause after hearing the price, I may not leave my car in their services anyway. He said he will give me a 20% discount.
Then handled me the bill explaining the services. Overall total was 2.116 TL (600£) and 1.610 TL (445£) with discount. That was pretty much. When I checked the price of the clutch, they were demanding 985 TL (275£).
Since I can check the price in internet, and I eventually did, it was about 340TL (110£). I informed the guy that the price they were demanding was 3 times the original price. He said he had doubts about the internet prices since the mechanical part may not be original. I said that the discount that he says that he makes that is 600-445=155£ was actually 275-110=165£ equal to the difference between the price of clutch that he gave and the original clutch in the internet. He was not making a discount at all! That made me lose my trust and trust is crucial when I demand a secure service.
I decided to call my friend who has a service shop in Maslak Auto Industry Zone and who sometimes builds his own motorcycles in Maslak area and asked him if he knew any mechanist that I can trust.
Ali the Mechanist, Maslak Auto Industry Zone
I drove there even though my car was broke. Unlike my expectations the mechanists were educated and gentlemen in attitudes. The shop was about 100 sqm with parking area in front. Inside there were motorcycles and a car waiting to be fixed. Also three street dogs were sleeping inside in the shadowed and cool space of the service area, feeling at home and undisturbed.
I met Ali. He took my car for a ride as I was waiting in the small service area. Then he came 10-15 minutes later and told that he had to make a price research before giving me any prices. He made a few calls, then gave me a small paper with his handwriting explaining the required services to be done. I first checked the price of the clutch, it was same as I had found in the internet. And with the good reference from my friend, trust was established and I left my car in his hands.
The total price was 970 TL (270£). He told me that my car will be ready on Monday.
On Monday, I went to pick my car. He gave me the final bill saying that some parts were in good condition and that he did not change them. The final price was 790TL(220£).
We sat and talked about their real estate problems, about the birds who have recently nested in their shop, our mothers etc. and most importantly about Ford mechanical parts. He said that actually Ford produces only the engine and buys mechanical parts from other providers, then ensembles them. There is no such a thing as 'original mechanical parts'. A certain brand produces almost all the clutch parts for the industry and gives them to Ford. The brand that he had used was the same. He also added that, even though he had a 100 sqm shop, actually he works with other mechanists in Maslak Auto Industry Zone. They are cooperating in terms of mechanical parts and according to their expertise areas.
Now I am driving my car without any problems. The regulation that he made for the clutch made my driving easier.
Comparison
Trust is crucial. Trust is gained with human interaction. Ford services have been doing this 20% discount for sales more than two years. Fortunately customers are changing. We are more aware and demanding. If we cannot find what we are looking for, we just move on. Looks like boutique type producers have their own advantage since the touch points that they have with the customer is more humane. They do not have to limit their interaction with customer to corporate values as the company demands. They are more like themselves. Another important point for establishing trust is the reputation that you get from your friends.
For the third and final part, I want to mention an interesting experience with Real Estate service providers which I have recently visited. This coincidence had shown how much things have changed.
3.0 Supportive Service Design:
Caliskan Real Estate and Cenk Real Estate
Target: Getting information on houses for rent in Yenikoy. Yenikoy is a neighbourhood in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul
Desired qualities: A house with 2 bedrooms in a small and quiet neighborhood, on a calm street with no parking problems, yet central in location.
Price range: 1.500-2.000 TL/ month
Caliskan Real Estate Services
As I was wandering on the streets of Yenikoy, I saw the real estate sign. I was so sure that I would get the same services from every real estate service, I just entered in.
To my surprise, the estate agent was quite old (around 80 years old). He was from Black Sea region of Turkey. His name was Dursun. I introduced myself and told exactly what I was looking for. Unfortunately, Dursun was doing this job from 1980's and had not really changed his sales style recently. So we would take the long way. He started a conversation about himself, then his wife, then his marriage, as he was observing me as a potential client. He was trying to figure out if I was a person who he can trust. He asked questions about my job, my family and so on. I tried to give as much information as I can to continue the conversation hoping that finally I would get the answer of my question about the average rents in Yenikoy. Then his wife came. She had a few questions, too. As I was answering them, I noticed that there were no computers in his office. This meant that the only way to work with him was to come personally to see the houses. I would not get any pictures through mail.
My questions were answered with other questions and I had not got my answer which I was waiting impatiently as one of the busy persons of this century with no time for anything at all.
This coincidence had taken me in a time travel when things were working very differently. Dialogues were much more important, knowing your customer was more important than working with your customer. Time could be found plenty in those days. Unsaid words and attitudes gave away a lot of information and people were more easily categorized. We were part of a group; working for the government, teacher, engineer/architect, worker, house wife...
I took his card and decided to call him later (maybe)
Cenk Real Estate Services
I found a new real estate agent in Yenikoy. Having seen the computer on the desk I felt that I could get my answers finally.
Our conversation lasted for ten minutes. In ten minutes, I got all my answers and they got theirs. I left my email address for future potential rentable houses and left.
Unlike Dursun, the real estate agent had his son to help him. His knowledge in using computer and familiarity with recent customer dialogue methods which are more solution oriented was the old man's chance.
Comparison
Things change. Using more than one channel is important to reach the customer. In this example besides dialogue, brick and mortar shop, it was real estate adds in internet (Hurriyet Emlak), digital photography and mailing.
4.0 Conclusion:
Design is not a discipline limited to designers. In every industry, we design. We design a company, a product, a service, an experience. We can even say that we as customers we also design our lives and our images (our personal brand). Customers have preferences which are influenced and changed with everyday interactions. In this paper my observations were limited to Istanbul, June 2014. They were randomly picked customer touch point events in customer experience design, service design and supportive service design.
The opportunity to write this paper gave me a chance to think more deeply on my experiences as a customer and my role in the world as a designer.
Thank You
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References
Lockwood, T., 2009, Allworth Press, Design Thinking: Integrating Innovation, Customer Experience, and Brand Value
Brown, T., 2008 June, Harvard Business Review, Design Thinking
Verganti, R., 2006 December, Harvard Business Review, Innovating Through Design
