Redesigning a small piece of the FedEx experience
Caveat — I never got a working gig with FedEx but my small bit of product re-design did get me a meeting with a senior leader who was pleased with my efforts.
This is the story of a missing package and how I went from rough wireframe scribbles to a meeting at FedEx HQ. Hopefully it will inspire those freelancers who wonder if they can break into the big clients. While only partly successful its an approach that is healthy for both your own development and clients looking for new ideas.
Let’s start at the beginning..
A customer in Dublin ships an item to me in France.
Unfortunately part of the address was missing. I was notified by FedEx that there was a ‘delivery exception’ and that the item had failed to be delivered.
I was asked to contact FedEx to provide the correct information.
Clicking on the contact us page I was greeted with an array of contact options depending on use case.
I struggled to find English support in France. The FAQs went on forever but like we’ve all experienced, never seen to cover the question you need help with.
I ended up trying a chatbot only to realize it was just another build of the FAQs. I then ended up emailing france@fedex.com and uk@fedex.com. Seemed a bit strange to email an entire country with my request but I gave it a go.
So what’s wrong with the overall experience?
- Overwhelming support options.
Contact us button gives me too many options with limited guidance on most suitable channel given issue, location and customer context.
2. Confusing support use cases.
Should I select ‘Shipping’ or ‘Tracking’ for support? There was no delivery option?
3. Non-localized support content & unnecessary FAQs.
Despite FedEx knowing where I am I’m offered global options that aren’t relevant. I’m shown information relating to freight which doesn’t apply to me.
4. Low capability chat & email fall back.
Chat that struggles beyond replaying FAQs. Email that goes into a black hole with no notifications or updates. You end up thinking like it’s 1992 — did they get my email? What’s happening with my issue?
After days of frustration I finally got hold of my item. I then spent a few hours imaging how different it could have been.
I started with some Design Principles that would guide design and execution.
Here they are…
Consider customer context — The customer is in France but the item is shipped from Ireland. Names do not indicate nationality or language preferences. Allow for translation and provide locally relevant content with suitable language support.
Design experiences built to resolve issue types — An incorrect address and failed delivery is a common issue. Design experiences that resolve such issue types quickly and efficiently without the customer having to search for solutions and help.
Have human or Bot assistance on hand — Move away from FAQs and low fidelity virtual assistants. Replace with real-time live agents that can handle multiple contacts, co-browse and view CRM. If technology allows opt for supporting agents with high powered natural language bots.
Always confirm and reassure — Take the customer on a resolution journey and reassure at each step and action taken. Leave the customer in no doubt that FedEx is resolving effectively.
So how could the experience have looked and felt?
Allow translation of flow. Enable self-serve address change. Allow sending to somewhere else. Enable local drop off at third parties to allow for pick-up when addresses are difficult to locate.
Enable live address checking. Confirm delivery attempts after allowing user to select best time. Offer live support throughout experience.
Enable capability for user to have item delivered to another third party. FedEx could leverage partners to bring down number of failed deliveries.
Continue with real-time tracking but enable automated notifications to confirm at every step of the way.
The quick re-design I did took only an hour or so. It was a fun exercise to see how I might adapt the user experience based on my own. The great thing about FedEx is the amount of data and user feedback they could use to design something really amazing.
At Strategy Activist we help clients redesign user journeys that take into account a world where users want elevated and instant support. To learn more about how we can help your business visit us at www.strategyactivist.com or call us on +44 7786063053.
