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Jun 18th, 2007 by Irene Etzkorn

Are We Really Surprised That They Don’t Know?

96% of homeowners have it and they spend an average of $868 per year for it. Yet, a new survey shows that they don’t understand what they bought. A 2007 National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) survey revealed that one-third to one-half of homeowners’ insurance policyholders were misinformed about what perils are covered by their policies and how much they might receive if they made a claim.

We shouldn’t be surprised. Policies are lengthy legal documents constructed with boilerplate language that is then modified with numerous notices and endorsements. Even motivated readers who put on their reading glasses are unlikely to be able to relate the significance of the policy provisions to real-world events. Consider the term "actual cash value." Shouldn’t we admit that it sounds like a good thing, not a bad thing? To real people (not lawyers), it sounds like what it costs to buy the item, not its depreciated value.

What’s more, insurers have practically trained customers to be passive consumers. Many policyholders don’t even read the policy because they don’t expect to be able to understand it. So, customers coast along in blissful ignorance until they hit the rare event of a claim and then they understand the significance of what they did or did not have covered. Consider your own circle of family and friends; typically, they will have only one or two homeowners’ claims in a lifetime. As an industry, does it really make sense for property-casualty insurers to rely on ignorance to stave off customer dissatisfaction?

What would change the scenario? A sales process laden with plain English explanations and reality-based modeling would enable homeowners to understand what they are buying. Basic technology such as on-line calculators and scenario builders would help homeowners customize their policies to the risks and characteristics of their location, building type and weather conditions. In addition, examples could help them relate risks to circumstances that they could envision. Homeowners might even be inclined to be less "penny wise and pound foolish" and pay more for better coverage.

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tags: clarity, complexity, jargon, plain English, simplicity, simplification

Mar 28th, 2007 by Irene Etzkorn

The Evils of Faux Simplicity

simple shoes ad

Dante viewed Opportunists as minor sinners, dwelling just outside the first circle of Hell, perpetually stung by wasps and hornets, and we presume, by their consciences. As a simplifier, I view opportunists who use simplicity as a “come-on” even more harshly.

The mere mention of the word “simple” is a hook for purchasers (just ask the publishers of the very successful magazine, Real Simple). For that reason, advertisers and marketers stock their copy with the words: “easy,” “convenient,” “quick,” and “simplified.” The thought of assembling a product sends shivers through most consumers who envision hours of frustration and a few pieces “leftover.” The promise of technology, investing or medicine made simple is alluring.

Of course, if a product or service lives up to its advertising promise, I applaud it. Unfortunately, many do not and yet others really stretch the meaning of Simple. I recently came across a print ad for Simple a nice little shoe companyTM. I looked at their website and the shoes look great; however, how complicated is any shoe? Their link to the notion of simplicity seems to be their statement that “To reduce our environmental footprint we’re changing the way we make shoes by using sustainable materials like recycled car tires, core and bamboo.” For me, this raises the question—is noble virtue akin to simplicity? Is doing something good for the mankind by definition simple? I’d like to think I’m earning entry points for Heaven by toiling as a simplifier but I must say I’m not banking on it.

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tags: clarity, comparison shopping, complexity, simplicity, simplification

Mar 21st, 2007 by Irene Etzkorn

Is Real Estate Jargon for Real?

I recently heard a radio ad exhorting everyone to make sure that their real estate agent is a “Realtor.” I wondered what that meant—would a realtor have a special license and how did it differ from the terms “agent” and “broker”? Then, a few days later, I came across an article promoting the use of a “Certified Buyer Representative.” As though buying or selling a home isn’t already filled with aggravation, apparently there are at least 8 designations of types of real estate professionals: CBR, C-CREC, CEBA, CRP, CBA, CRS, ABR and GRI. You can explore this alphabet soup yourself at www.CBRsource.com. What might the difference be between a CBR: Certified Buyer’s Representative and a CEBA: Certified Exclusive Buyers’ Agent? Don’t look to me for the answer, I’m still confused.

Isn’t this a classic case of industry self-absorption? Who has the time or inclination to find out what each of these is and when to use one or another? Even doctors have the good sense to name their specialties in a recognizable way (orthopedist, ophthalmologist, cardiologist, etc.). Industries that don’t look at themselves from the customer’s perspective risk looking like they are trying to dupe the customer. The idea of a buyer’s agent might be a very solid one but at the moment I’m too busy to find out because I’m looking for a headache specialist.

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tags: clarity, comparison shopping, complexity, jargon, plain English, simplicity, simplification

Mar 8th, 2007 by Irene Etzkorn

Can’t We Do Better than a Bread-Crumb Trail?

Yesterday, two of my colleagues mentioned that changing their addresses when they moved was a tremendous hassle. Forwarding their mail was the least of it. Changing magazine subscriptions was almost impossible since the magazines posted no contact information in the magazines or on their websites. Ironically, even the phone company did its best to hide its customer service phone numbers (heaven forbid a customer should call them). Companies who did provide contact numbers kept them on hold or tangled in endless decision trees for minutes on end.

As I investigated a bit further, I found that this sad tale is very common and in fact it is estimated by some sources that it takes 30 minutes on average to notify each company. I also discovered that it would be a far better experience if they lived in the United Kingdom. To my surprise and delight, I found that www.iammoving.com is a one-stop, free change of address service in the UK, presented in association with Royal Mail (isn’t that clever)? The site claims to be safe and secure and won’t pass along your personal information without your consent. They seem to have thought of everything: you can notify essential services (water, electricity, phone, etc.) as well as charities, subscriptions, memberships, government agencies and financial services. You can even send electronic moving announcements to friends. So, if you are moving anyway, consider London.

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tags: clarity, complexity, simplicity, simplification

Mar 7th, 2007 by Irene Etzkorn

Congress Chastises Disingenuous Credit Card Companies

The U.S. Congress is holding hearings today to shame the CEOs of major credit card companies into disclosing their fees and interest rates in clearer language and perhaps even changing their policies for imposing them. Certainly, they can’t be surprised by this since most Cardholder Agreements are multi-panel scrolls which unfurl to reveal pages of tiny, light grey type bearing the title, “Important Changes to Your Retail Installment Credit Agreement.” Given the title, “Important,” you might try to read it and you’ll find this:

credit card important changes

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tags: clarity, complexity, disclosure, plain English, simplicity, simplification

Feb 18th, 2007 by Irene Etzkorn

Brighter Aisles Reflect Common Sense

Last night, on ABC’s World News Tonight, I was pleased to see that Kaiser’s Supermarkets in Germany has introduced several innovations to cater to older grocery shoppers. Having commented on the wonders of Stop and Shop’s Peapod home delivery service last week, you might think I am obsessed with groceries. I’m not. Actually, what it points to is a brain trust among marketers in the grocery business. They are taking a low-margin, commodity business and re-inventing it by applying common sense to customer service.

According to ABC, Kaiser’s Supermarkets realized that older shoppers spend more on groceries and therefore should be catered to with magnifying glasses attached to shopping cart handles, seats built into the carts for a quick rest, brighter lighting, sturdy shelving with built-in steps to reach higher shelves and a help button that summons a real person to answer questions or provide other assistance. Of course, all of these service features will prove useful to younger shoppers as well. The full video can be viewed at www.abcnews.com.

These common sense adaptations will do more to bring meaning to the company’s brand than ads, slogans, taglines and logos could ever hope to. I can only hope that gas stations are taking notes.

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tags: baby boomers, clarity, comparison shopping, simplicity, simplification

Feb 12th, 2007 by Irene Etzkorn

Duping Cupid is Just Stupid

Apparently, as they say, “all that glitters is not gold.” Last week, I saw a television ad from Zales, the largest specialty jewelry retailer. It consisted of many pieces of attractive diamond jewelry, each described with a full price and then a markedly lower current price for Valentine’s Day. Clearly, the point of the ad was the fantastic pricing. So, I was amazed to see fine print at the bottom of the screen which said: “Original prices may not have resulted in actual sales.”

What does that mean? I think it means that the original price they quoted was a fiction–no one actually ever bought the jewelry at the higher price. They simply quoted a high number so that they current price sounded dramatically lower.

Really, duping the lovestruck seems unnecessarily cruel.

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tags: clarity, comparison shopping, disclosure, plain English, simplicity, simplification

Feb 5th, 2007 by Irene Etzkorn

Don’t Entangle Health Literacy with General Literacy

Jane Brody wrote an article in the January 30, 2007 issue of The New York Times discussing the topic of health literacy. Although she mentions that “health illiteracy” is pervasive because it affects many strata of our society, the misinterpretations she cites will not be rectified by plain language and point to a more fundamental problem. One example—“Medication Should Be Taken With Plenty of Water”—was misinterpreted to mean “Don’t take when wet” and “Don’t drink hot water.” These misinterpretations point to general illiteracy, not health illiteracy. Unfortunately, I suspect that the people who were confused by such simple instructions are barely able to function in any aspect of their lives. They must require assistance to travel, to drive, to work, to dine out, etc.

My concern is that by muddying the issues of general illiteracy and health illiteracy, the medical community will find that solutions are unattainable and give up too easily. If we set a standard of communication for health topics that aims too low, many projects will never make it to the marketplace because the standard will be unrealistic. If someone can’t understand the words, “plenty of water,” it is absurd to think that they will ever understand a written explanation of “a 3% chance of death or serious injury from surgery.” However, many literate, well-educated people cannot understand medical consent forms and would benefit from plain language explanations and innovative information design techniques. The two topics—general illiteracy and health illiteracy—need to be disentangled because the solutions are not the same.

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tags: clarity, complexity, disclosure, information design, plain English, simplicity, simplification

Feb 5th, 2007 by Irene Etzkorn

Grocery Shopping the Old-fashioned Way—Online.

While my mother was very ill and I was her caretaker, leaving the house to grocery shop was a dilemma until I discovered Stop and Shop’s Peapod home delivery service. Those of you who live in the city probably can’t relate to the rarity of delivery services in the suburbs. Finding a service where I could order online, choose a delivery time and have the items carried into my kitchen was a godsend. Since I’m usually complaining about the complexity of goods and services, I thought I should give praise where it is due.

What impressed me most was the simplicity of the process. I could browse the “aisles” online, select from lists of my past orders or search directly for an item. Although I’m not particularly thrifty, I was also delighted that I could compare price much more easily than in the real store. On store shelves, prices are scattered beneath the items and you have to move along the aisle to compare them. Online, similar items are aligned in rows and columns so that you can quickly scan the unit price and pick out the cheapest. Had I clipped coupons, I could have given them to the driver when he delivered my order and had their value deducted from the total. They also advertised their weekly specials but didn’t do so in an intrusive way.

What’s more, when they delivered the groceries, they seemed to have selected the plumpest, freshest produce and carefully separated items when bagging them so that fastidious people like me didn’t have to worry about the bleach touching the bananas. Peapod is a good example of a service that fills a need and is designed with the customer in mind.

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tags: clarity, comparison shopping, simplicity, simplification, uncategorized

Feb 5th, 2007 by Irene Etzkorn

I Used to Love Shopping

I recently bought a new mattress and box spring. Very luxurious, very comfy but very, very high–so high that the delivery men burst out laughing after they put them on the bed. I literally would need to pole vault to get into the bed. After a return trip to the store, I discovered that what I required was a “low-profile” box spring since I had chosen a pillow-top, extra-deep mattress and was putting it on a wood-frame, four-poster bed. What makes this so ironic is that my mattress-shopping experience had already involved more interrogation than an interview at the CIA. The choices and decisions had seemed endless—did I want memory foam, coil-spring, latex, pillow-top, firm, soft, adjustable, etc.? Then, having made a choice, I tried to comparison shop for price—turns out no two mattress retailers call their models the same name so you can’t really compare. So, after all that, I was quite surprised when the bed was taller than I am.

I’m not alone in feeling overwhelmed by all of these choices for household items. One of my colleagues is remodeling her entire house and she is losing her mind choosing hardware, tile, bath fixtures, lighting, flooring and paint. Barry Schwartz, author of “The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less,” is also a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College and he makes the point that unbridled choice is a burden and a source of dissatisfaction. He compellingly points out that too many choices leave us feeling that we missed out on the “best” option and that the time and effort necessary to discern the differences between myriad choices is unrealistic. Ultimately, too many choices lead to inertia as no decision becomes the final decision. So how are manufacturers benefiting? I maintain they are not. They are simply making me unhappy and dissatisfied.

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tags: comparison shopping, complexity, simplicity, simplification

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