Hide my kid if you take care of him

Daniele Catalanotto

Oct 8, 2022

A Service Design Principle to relax both parents and kids.

It’s Sunday morning, so as a family, we go to the Sunday service of the church where my wife works as a pastor. The church does something pretty nice for parents. First, there is a babysitting service so the parents can follow the regular ceremony without worrying about their baby’s cries or needs.

This building has one room for babysitting and one for regular church service. In a wish for more transparency, a window espérâtes the two rooms instead of opaque concrete walls. The idea is that parents can see that their kids are treated well and have fun (1). Sounds brilliant, right?

The idea is lovely, but the implementation has a little bug. Our baby is in a crying and shouting mood today. Normal stuff. And nothing someone who babysits babies hasn’t experienced before. The issue is that I see the baby cry and shout. And the baby sees me look at him.

After a few long minutes where you see your kid cry and shout and ask for you to join him desperately, you can’t just stay on your chair and listen to the pastor explain stuff about love.

So I stand up and join the babysitting team to care for our baby.

I bet this wouldn’t have happened if there were something more opaque instead of a window. The baby would have cried, sure. But I wouldn’t have noticed it. And he wouldn’t have seen me either. After a few minutes, the babysitting team would have distracted him easily as there was no daddy in sight but only cool toys.

So let me ask you.

Is the hidden part of the service that you will show something that sparks interest? Like it’s the case for seeing someone preparing your pizza at Domino’s pizza. Or is it something that will create worry and stress? Like seeing my kid shout, cry and ask me to join him?

Footnotes

(1) It’s a big trend to show the previously invisible parts of a service and make them visible. I even wrote about it a few years ago as I explained that it could reduce frustration while waiting.

Daniele’s personal notes

You just read the second draft of this Service Design Principle.
The length of this principle has been reduced by 31% compared to the first draft.
Once improved even more, this principle could be part of the book “Service Design Principles 201-300.”
As always, feel free to share comments, feedback or personal stories to improve this principle.

Daniele Catalanotto

Oct 31, 2022

The third draft of this Service Design Principle

We go to the Sunday service of the church my wife leads. It’s nice because the church has a babysitting service.

Instead of a wall, a window separates the babysitting room and the church service. So parents can see that the team treats their kids well (1). Sounds brilliant, right?

There is a little bug. Our baby is in a grumpy mood today. Normal. And nothing a babysitter can’t fix. The issue is that babysitters usually don’t work when dad is in right behind the window. I see the baby cry and shout. And he sees me!

After long minutes of seeing your kid cry, shout and ask for you to come, you can’t stay on your chair and listen to the pastor explain stuff about love.

So I stand up and join the babysitting team to care for our baby...

With a wall instead of a window, this wouldn’t happen. The baby would have cried, yes. But after a few minutes, he would have agree to play with the cool toys the babysitter presents him.

So let me ask.

Where could you add more transparency to your service? And where would it make sense to avoid being transparent?

Footnotes

(1) It’s a big trend to show the previously invisible parts of a service and make them visible. I even wrote about it a few years ago as I explained that it could reduce frustration while waiting.

Daniele’s notes

This is the third draft of this principle.
I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 37 % compared to the previous draft.

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Daniele Catalanotto

Nov 6, 2022

Thanks for the additional input Gloriana ;) Indeed that can be pretty smart ;)