Why does Sparkasse use icons instead of numbers to indicate the queue order? Doesn’t seem very convenient.
September 12, 2024
Why does Sparkasse use icons instead of numbers to indicate the queue order? Doesn’t seem very convenient.
by i-artemy
7 comments
Sone people cannot read or write so well.
Maybe they have different counters for different services and some move faster than the others.
Then you will run into those people who complain that number 10 was before number 8 simply because number 10 wanted some other service than 8.
Long story: As far as I understand, it’s been so for several years already. Sparkasse has redesigned the waiting experience and has decided that it would be a good idea to use pictures instead of numbers to indentify who now has an appointment. Apparently, there must have been some reasoning for that, but I can’t understand and am very curious to learn what problem they have tried to solve that way.
Here is some first hand client experience from my why. She is (sadly) a Sparkasse client and has recently needed to update her residence permit. She came to the office, has taken the ticket from the machine that defines who’s next in line. To her amusement there was a suitcase printed on that ticket, instead of a number, which is the usual practice almost everywhere. Okay, why not. She’s went to the waiting room, it’s been taking a while (like more than half an hour), so she’s decided to do some work while waiting. Some more time has passed and when she has taken a look at the screen, it’s been showing a construction crane. Naturally, my wife started panicing. What comes first — a suitcase or a construction crane? Has she already missed the line? Shall she wait or take another ticket? How long must she wait, is it better to come the next time?
Finally she’s gotten the appointment and everything has been resolved, but overall it hasn’t been a pleasant experience. With the numbers you can usually understand the order in which you’re going to be called and whether you’ve missed your turn or not. So I wonder what they have tried to achieve with the icons.
Maybe to prevent people from walking away because their number is still far away? This way, you have to check every sign or you’ll miss yours.
Because there’s no cardinality between symbols. People don’t get frustrated if crane is called before suitcase, but they are frustrated if 69 is called before 23. And they also get frustrated if the last called person has number 20 and they just pulled 178.
Because people doesn’t learn to read properly. The numbers identificate as symbols …
Same reasons buses do (in my area) because not all users use the same Numeral system [Numeral system – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numeral_system). That and it is designed to minimise frustration at a perceived sequential order system (as others have pointed out)
7 comments
Sone people cannot read or write so well.
Maybe they have different counters for different services and some move faster than the others.
Then you will run into those people who complain that number 10 was before number 8 simply because number 10 wanted some other service than 8.
Long story: As far as I understand, it’s been so for several years already. Sparkasse has redesigned the waiting experience and has decided that it would be a good idea to use pictures instead of numbers to indentify who now has an appointment. Apparently, there must have been some reasoning for that, but I can’t understand and am very curious to learn what problem they have tried to solve that way.
Here is some first hand client experience from my why. She is (sadly) a Sparkasse client and has recently needed to update her residence permit. She came to the office, has taken the ticket from the machine that defines who’s next in line. To her amusement there was a suitcase printed on that ticket, instead of a number, which is the usual practice almost everywhere. Okay, why not.
She’s went to the waiting room, it’s been taking a while (like more than half an hour), so she’s decided to do some work while waiting. Some more time has passed and when she has taken a look at the screen, it’s been showing a construction crane. Naturally, my wife started panicing. What comes first — a suitcase or a construction crane? Has she already missed the line? Shall she wait or take another ticket? How long must she wait, is it better to come the next time?
Finally she’s gotten the appointment and everything has been resolved, but overall it hasn’t been a pleasant experience. With the numbers you can usually understand the order in which you’re going to be called and whether you’ve missed your turn or not. So I wonder what they have tried to achieve with the icons.
Maybe to prevent people from walking away because their number is still far away? This way, you have to check every sign or you’ll miss yours.
Because there’s no cardinality between symbols. People don’t get frustrated if crane is called before suitcase, but they are frustrated if 69 is called before 23. And they also get frustrated if the last called person has number 20 and they just pulled 178.
Because people doesn’t learn to read properly. The numbers identificate as symbols …
Same reasons buses do (in my area) because not all users use the same Numeral system [Numeral system – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numeral_system). That and it is designed to minimise frustration at a perceived sequential order system (as others have pointed out)