I bought a hat a couple of years ago. It was a great hat and I loved it. What I wasn’t happy with was the customer experience that surrounded it.
On the day of the order, I received a marketing email.
I didn’t remember being asked if I wanted to be added to a mailing list – a requirement under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its post-Brexit UK successor. But it was at least easy enough to unsubscribe via a link in the email.
Within a few days of receiving the hat in the post, however, I received my first catalogue in the post – a hefty, glossy thing that must have cost a fortune to produce and send.
Quite apart from the fact that I didn’t need a hat, because I’d literally just bought one, I was irritated at having been added to yet another mailing list against my will.
I don’t like wasting paper, and I don’t like wasting my time processing junk received in the post.
“Perhaps it’s a one-off, though,” I thought. It was not. I continued to receive catalogues, rather frequently, for several more weeks.
Unlike email, there’s no easy way to unsubscribe from hard copy marketing bumph.
I eventually had to read one of the covering letters, find an email address, and write to them asking them not to contact me again.
Why make it so difficult? Because they wanted to keep me on the mailing list, of course, and were hoping that writing them to would be too much trouble.
It’s a version of what Harry Brignull has called the ‘roach motel’ deceptive pattern, which makes it easy to sign up but very hard to cancel.
The hat continued to please me but my attitude to the supplier soured. I began to think of them as sly, sneaky, pushy, cynical, and other words you don’t want associated with your brand.
When, after a year or so, I needed a replacement hat, I dithered about ordering from them.
Sure, my head was cold, but I couldn’t bear the thought of being snuck back onto the junk mail distribution list.
When my partner also considered buying from them (as I’ve mentioned, it was a nice hat) I also advised her against it, because she’s less tolerant of junk mail and of the abuse of personal data than me.
So, that’s two sales they lost in 2023 because someone decided that harvesting data was more important than respecting customers.
Eventually, in the recent cold snap here in the UK, I decided I really did need a new hat and cautiously revisited the website in question.
This time, I was vigilant, looking out for a chance to opt-out of marketing. It turns out I needed to be very sharp-eyed indeed.
The opt-out was in plain view, technically, but hidden in a block of small print at the bottom of the screen. There were several links to click which added to the confusion.
The underlined ‘opt out’ option was behind undescriptive link text that read ‘click here’.
This is a mockup with paraphrased text, not a screenshot, because I don't want to get into public beef with this specific company. But it should give you an idea of what I mean.
I have no doubt that they were hoping people wouldn’t notice it, or would be unable to find it.
When I did ‘click there’ I was presented with a pop-up window that asked me to select the types of communication I did not want to receive. This required a little cognitive energy to process: “You’re telling me I have to opt in to opting out?”
Here's another mockup which is similar to the interface in question but not exactly the same.
In user-centred design, we’d consider this a flaw, and fix it. Instead of selecting to opt-out, why not select to opt-in, with opt-out as the default? That’s probably what most customers would prefer.
And why not put these three checkboxes on the main checkout screen, rather than forcing users to make another click to see them?
Well, we know why. In the sinister world of deceptive patterns, it’s quite desirable to leave users befuddled.
The common description of a deceptive pattern is a design that’s intended to make people do things they don’t want to do, or that might not be in their best interests.
For example, they can be used to trick you into subscribing when, actually, you just wanted to make a one-off purchase.
You can learn more about deceptive patterns in a previous post I wrote for this blog.
These particular deceptive patterns, it must be said, are at the less noxious end of the scale. Receiving a catalogue in the post or the odd marketing email isn’t the end of the world.
From a customer experience (CX) perspective, however, anything which leaves people feeling tricked, manipulated, or overwhelmed is bad news.
As my colleague Kerrie Hughes often says, CX is about how people feel towards your brand. Logically, I know it’s not a big deal; emotionally, it left me feeling negative.
Let’s assume this vendor had done everything right, making the process totally transparent, and making it easy to opt in or out at every stage.
The chances are that most customers wouldn’t notice, and they certainly wouldn’t thank them. It would just feel normal and right.
You should not expect a pat on the back simply for treating your customers with respect.
What you will get is another contribution to the cumulative warm glow you want your customers to feel towards you.
To make them come back for another hat as soon as they need one.
To recommend your hat shop to everyone they know.
To look forward to shopping with you.