Benjamin P. Taylor4d ago
I managed to get dragged on Threads!
I hired an eTransit van for the weekend. Drove up to London, near my destination a meagre 5kwh lamppost, but it was free, so I plugged in the cable under the passenger seat and left it overnight - with misgivings. Still there (and the cable) the next morning.
Drove c87 miles back to the South Coast. Stopped at Pease Pottage services, 1am, rainy.
None of the dozens of damn chargers fit my van!
Show threadBenjamin P. Taylor4d ago

They all had an extra bit of plug, which didn't match my socket. Pulled out the cable and tried to make the two low-power stations work, failed.

Got back at 55% charge, got up at 6am and charged with the same cable on Lancing Beach Green. Dog was happy, got it to 79% and returned to Europcar without charge.

Show threadBenjamin P. Taylor

Turns out... there's a secret special hidden socket part flap under the main socket!
Can you see it?! I dunno, man - why do they make things complicated?!

Anyway, the best way to learn about electric vehicles is to be Wrong On Threads.

#design #affordances #PICNIC #usererror

Mar 18 at 8:06amBuffer
Show threadDanielle4d ago
@antlerboy Why is this a user error if the design fails to show you these options? 🤔
Show threadBenjamin P. Taylor4d ago
@DanielleVossebeld well exactly - not good design. But the Threads people turn out to be very passionate about their EVs!
Show threadDanielle4d ago
@antlerboy 😅 and they were probably also passionate about being right?
Show threadBenjamin P. Taylor4d ago
@DanielleVossebeld oh yes!
Show threadJohn Hunter4d ago

@antlerboy

First design things so well they can just be used. But if you are changing some basic thing (refueling, turning something on...) and there is any chance of confusion - explain what to do very obviously.

I rented a car many years ago and couldn't figure out how to turn it on, turning the key didn't work :-( I had to ask someone in the parking garage I was sent to. I forget what it was some simple thing but still bad design for rental in my opinion.

Show threadBenjamin P. Taylor4d ago
@curiouscat yup!
I actually had to ask the guy in the hire car place to get it started! I'd done the right thing - power button with foot on brake, push up the automatic gear stick (*dangerously* placed on the right with the indicator on the left - more than once I went to turn and put it in neutral!), but somehow not in the right timing or the right order...
Show threadBenjamin P. Taylor4d ago
@curiouscat Plus it was in 'one pedal drive mode' - the furthest from a petrol engine. Was the setting in 'settings' on the menu? Oh no - it was a special button with a very confusing indicator under the big touchscren, which then flashed up a driving mode menu (on the CarPlay display, not the heads-up driving display), which on the second level had a rado button for 'one pedal drive'
Show threadBenjamin P. Taylor4d ago
@curiouscat we seem to have lost the ability to design things well - even safety-critical things.
And because it's a pain and then you move on (unless, it appears, you are me), these things are hardly noted and rarely remedied!
Car controls *should* be intuitive.
Show threadBenjamin P. Taylor4d ago
@curiouscat (And don't get me started on cruise control - a feature that I love. But it's the same button to turn it on and off, or to restart it after you took control - but oh no! If you go to restart it and it wasn't off but you just took control, you switch it off, instead you have to push the set button which is the same directional button as the 'increase set speed' button,,,)
And try to turn off the airbag because your dog is in the pasenger seat? Fughedabahtit
Show threadBenjamin P. Taylor4d ago
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Show threadJohn Hunter3d ago

@antlerboy

Very true.

On on less important design note, I really like Trader Joe's but they have so many packaging failures it is pitiful. Just many products where opening it is a pain (the top/opening falls apart instead of easily coming off...). And those failures last for years in my experience.

Now a bunch of the products don't fail that way but way too many do.

It feels like the Trader Joe's purchasers don't understand what the customers experience.