When self-service goes horribly wrong

Customer self-service systems can be helpful in situations in which customers genuinely do prefer to help themselves. But far too often, these systems are implemented not out of a desire to make the customer experience smoother, but to cut costs. A prime example can be found in many supermarkets, where self-checkout machines might save the store money but tend to frustrate customers, not to mention the store's own employees.

McDonald's used to have a hamburger called the "McDLT." The peculiar selling point of this burger was that it was served in a two-compartment Styrofoam container that "kept the warm side warm and the cool side cool." The diner would then put the two halves together.

I was blissfully unaware that warm tomatoes and lettuce were causing a crisis in the hamburger world. I can remember venting to friends: "Hey, look! They've figured out a way to charge you more for the honor of putting together your own hamburger!"

That's still the way I see a lot of customer self-service efforts. All too often, they aren't conceived with the customer in mind -- they're done not as a cheesy gimmick, as in the McDLT, but as a way of cutting the cost of customer service.

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