parallels desktop should re-think their checkout procedure and what UX people always should have in mind
Totally web-like: First the findings.
As UX-people you should repeat those following bullet points like some mantra:
- Think of yourself as a user.
- Speak clean english (or whatever mother tongue you speak - for me that would be German)
- Be nice to your users
and
- be aware that they are not reading or looking properly.
So here's the story:
I wanted to to upgrade my Parallels installation to version 5.
300% faster, 64-bit code - I'm with it. Maybe the processor of my mac now finally will stop sounding like a jet.
As an honest guy I bought it.
<click>
That's the screen before checkout:
All things are to be found on the screen: amount, product name, price, total etc.
Filling in the "returning customer" info and push "login"
filled out my credit cart details and that's a wrap.
The result:
As I watched the reciept.
I bought the upgrade as wanted, but also an additional 12 month download option.
Dooo'h!!
The analysis of the checkout process.
The whole thing is totally upselling driven:
I just ordered the upgrade and got two other options put into my cart.
As there was one unchecked, I didn't realize that there was this other option still checked.
That's not user-friendly!
And:
I didn't realize the "Delete"-option was marked by an "X"-symbol and that it is a button that could be pushed.
Instead it looks like some fine printing on your phone contract.
But IMHO it should be never be added automatically to the cart!
Let the customer decide. Just make offers!
Upselling is OK, but think about the wording.
How about something like:
For just 7 $ you can extend your download to 12 months.
Or to mask a bit add some marketing blahblah:
For just 7 $ you'll receive a premium membership.
That would've been much more straight forward and the customer wouldn't feel somehow 'betrayed'.
Conclusion:
As a company these days, I wouldn't want something like this post out there - there are to many competitors out there offering nearly the same functionality.
They started me thinking, if I won't use some Virtual machine like Fusion or the free VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org/) or no virtual machine at all - because all I need I get on my Mac or the Internet ...
What bothers me, too: I do conceptual work for those things all day long and yet I fall into traps as a user, that I should know the best.
The guys from Parallels seem to be hungry for the dollar, I think. Or why is it that every 6 to 9 months there's a new version for another 40 bucks.
