Give me a place to put what I messed up with

Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 9, 2022


A Service Design Principle for cleaner services.

I'm in the Migros supermarket in Biel, Switzerland. Before I can buy the bananas, I need to weigh them on the provided scale. I do so. I press the number corresponding to bananas and get a barcode that I can use to pay at the cashier.

Nothing fancy until here. Then I look right above the balance and notice something smart. There I see a little sheet of paper. On it, I read: "Stick the wrong labels on this sheet of paper and try again". This is smart because it recognises that we all make some errors from time to time. For example, instead of typing 53 for bananas, I might have typed 35. Then, when the sticker prints out, I see that I got it all wrong because the label says: Apples.


In this supermarket, when the customer messes up, he doesn't have to find a creative way to eliminate his messiness. Instead, a spot is already prepared for him to put his wrong label.

So let me ask you. What'sWhat's a moment or spot in your service experience where people often mess up? How can you help people at this moment?

Footnotes

The first draft of this Service Design Principle was adapted in more understandable English by the lovely Joanna Bienz. Thanks, Joanna!

Daniele's personal notes

  • This is the second draft of this Service Design Principle.
  • I've reduced the length of this principle by 3% 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.
Like
Deirdre Malone
Oct 15, 2022
This isn’t related to errors but is to having somewhere to put something so I’ll share it. In the bank today (Saturday) transaction receipts were all over the floor. I didn’t have my phone or would have taken a picture. I realized when you’re standing at the machine you can’t really see the narrow little bin on the floor. Still I cannot imagine so many people simply throwing the receipt on the floor so some may have missed the bin. If there were a hole under where the receipt comes out it would be much better (like an internal bin in the machine ) so the receipts wouldn’t have to fly down missing their target! 
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 16, 2022
Thanks for the additional example Deirdre, that really helps 😉

It reminded me of how the same super market handled the receipts at the self service paying station. Right below the place where the receipts come out there is a trash bin. 

If you don’t take the receipt, it will just land in the trash bin once the next is or printed.  

So indeed we have to remember that not everybody has the usage for that automatic piece of paper we produce. 
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 29, 2022

The third draft of this Service Design Principle

I'm buying bananas at the Migros supermarket in Biel, Switzerland. I weigh them on a scale. Obviously I selected the wrong number and get a barcode that says "apples" instead of "bananas". What do I do with this sticky barcode now?

That's when, above the balance, I notice a piece of paper that says: "Stick your wrong labels on this sheet of paper and try again". Smart.

The supermarket recognises that I mess up sometimes and gives me a way to get rid of my mess. So let me ask you.

What's a moment or spot in your service experience where people often mess up? How can you help people at this moment?

Footnotes

The first draft of this Service Design Principle was adapted in more understandable English by the lovely Joanna Bienz. Thanks, Joanna!

Daniele’s notes

  • This is the third draft of this principle.
  • I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 39 % compared to the previous draft.