opinion
Five Common Kiosk Mistakes
Acante Solutions outline five ways to improve the customer experience .
By Christine Vincent , Acante
Introduction The most common kiosk mistakes are easily avoidable , so it ’ s frustrating to see them happening time and time again . As soon as any user of an interactive kiosk has to ask someone for help , arguably in that moment the device has failed its purpose . Apart from damaging the customer experience , it ’ s not an effective use of an organisation ’ s money if it fails to use its screens properly . Based on our experience , here are the most common kiosk mistakes :
• Insufficiently Supporting the User Particularly for first-time users of a kiosk , too many options on-screen can be confusing and overwhelming . Moreover , if there is a queue for the screen , the customer could feel awkward about spending a long time reading through all the different options . Besides , if anyone does spend a long time using the kiosk , this could lead to longer queues , the kind of scenario kiosks are designed to limit in the first place . In retail environments , this could potentially lead to a loss of customers and revenue . Where possible it ’ s best to keep the information on the screen limited to single prompts with only a few options to move on to the next stage . Over-complicating the experience or including confusing navigation paths should also be avoided at all costs .
• Not Using Tailored Software Touch-screens are not ideal for desktop browsers – that ’ s why when you visit most websites on your mobile or tablet , you get access to a tailored version that ’ s easier to navigate . Long and wide website pages requiring lots of scrolling are not suited to kiosks . Neither are drop-down menus or small buttons – nor for that matter is any content that requires the user to zoom in . Any content appearing on a kiosk should be adapted so that it is touch-screen friendly .
• Displaying Too Much Text Similarly , text-heavy content will also prove to be unpopular for users . Wherever possible , consider whether it could be possible to use a graphic instead of text to convey a message . This will not only help reduce the amount of on-screen text , but will also help overcome language barriers . It will also help the kiosk look more intriguing to casual passers-by .
• Combining Too Many Functions Single-function kiosks are the easiest to use . Adding too many functions to a kiosk increases the risk of users becoming confused . Apart from potentially frustrating them , this could also lead to longer waiting times to use the machine , as mentioned earlier . Adding multiple functions to a kiosk can also turn out to be more expensive if it will result in additional software or hardware needed to perform the tasks .
• Putting The Kiosk In The Wrong Place We know – this seems like a very obvious and silly mistake to make , but it happens more often than you might think . Kiosks should almost always be in a prominent position . The aims of a kiosk are to improve efficiency and the customer experience . Therefore not putting them in a convenient or enticing location is counter-productive , for both the organisation and the customer . If the kiosk is tucked away in a corner somewhere , it ’ s likely that some customers won ’ t even see it .
Conclusion The most common kiosk mistakes are the ones that defeat the main purposes of them in the first place – to help people in a quick and easy way . Therefore anything that makes the user experience more complicated or frustrating will prove to be a major error .
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KIOSK solutions 31