The cash machine at my local Co-Op used to be run by the Co-Op Bank. Then, this banking bit of the Co-Op had an encounter with a capital shortfall somewhere in the region of £1.5bn, and has since been restructured and rehabilitated.
As part of the restructure, the Co-Op group own less of the bank, and most of the cash machines which aren’t in a branch have been sold off to a commercial operator called CashZone, as part of a cost-cutting exercise.
It still gives out money, that’s fine. It’s the getting to the point where you get it which is frustrating.
The menu system is a paragon of terrible UI design. Here’s an example…
You tell it you want “Cash Only” from the list of options, and it asks you if you want to see your balance. No! If I’d wanted that I’d have pressed “Cash with Balance”. Likewise, if I’d wanted a receipt, I’d have pressed “Cash with Receipt”.
If I press “Cash Only”, I think it’s fairly safe to assume that I only want that.
Most of all, the “circular questioning” of the CashZone menu system seems to seriously confuse some folks. It’s clear that the transactions are taking longer since the machine was converted. It frequently has a queue of 4 or 5 people in front of it, where as it seldom had a queue of 1 or 2 before.
How is this supposed to be an improvement in service? Well, it isn’t. It’s a step back.
The CashZone menu system is an example of a terrible user experience, designed by someone who probably never has to use the damned thing.
However, Co-Op have made £35m out of wasting our time, so that’s okay, I suppose?
Update: One of my twitter followers @jamesheridan pointed out that CashZone may receive a micro-payment for showing a balance enquiry. Still doesn’t make it any less slower or sucky.
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