It’s my own fault, really.
Our e-commerce system got attacked recently and the company that runs this decided to implement a CAPTCHA on all the sites. This is one of those where you see some characters and lines and have to type the characters in to get past it.
It’s annoying, but it can help if done well. This one wasn’t. I didn’t see this in action until I was getting ready to launch a new and complicated e-commerce site. I had put a lot of work into this and when I clicked the link, it went first to the CAPTCHA.
Imagine if you went to Amazon.com and had to decipher and type in some characters before you could even see a logo. Not good.
I sent a note to our cashier’s office since they manage our local instance. The subject was: CAPTCHA implementation = terrible
I gave an example, railed against having this as the starting page, expressed outrage at the lack of accessibility, and grumbled at how our users will think this is a mistake and lack confidence in the links.
I wrapped up this gem of an email by asking if I could have the contact information for our rep so that I could scold them.
I have a good rapport with the folks in the cashier’s office and we appreciate the work that goes into these systems and interacting with the users. I figured I’d get a quick note back and I could take it from there.
INSTEAD…
The cashier’s office forwarded the note to the rep directly with all my text intact – who then forwarded it to some regional rep. With my request to “scold” right there above my signature.
Uh-oh.
In a few minutes, my phone was ringing with an unknown number. I was already on a call and I dreaded the voice-mail that was left. And it was the regional guy looking to set up a conference call with us.
He followed up with an email, admitting this was a rushed implementation, and would like to talk to us about the situation. The guy from the cashier’s office replied with, “Anthony is the primary on this one and can take the call, he’ll update me if needed,”
So, instead of UA vs. the e-commerce company – it’s the e-commerce company vs. well…me.
I didn’t really expect it to be quite this dark under the bus where I’ve been tossed.
And yet…
Though my language could have been more professional – and would have been if my flippant note hadn’t been forwarded – I’m not wrong. The CAPTCHA should have been on the payment page to do the most good and the version they are using is old tech and not accessible. I’ve got users that literally get confused if there’s more than one item to choose from – a CAPTCHA on the homepage is going to blow their minds.
So, on Monday, someone is going to get scolded. Might be me, might be them. My plan is to be reasonable, but firm, and express my concerns in a professional and user-advocating manner.
And the cashier’s office?
They are off my Christmas cookie list.
O-F-F.