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A project to make businesses more aware of their customer experience, and how to fix it. By Mark Hurst. |
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Previous: Elevator call button | Main | Next: Heathrow Airport sign
April 28, 2005 12:01 AM
Broken: Elevator... upstairs
John Marsh sent in a picture of a sign at the Continental Plaza Hotel in Seattle. The sign read "Elevator Upstairs", which was strange because it was located in a stairwell. There was even an arrow helpfully pointing up the stairs - the direction to the elevator.
John wrote, "It was strange, and I really noticed it because I had a very heavy suitcase."
Why the picture is missing: I originally uploaded the wrong picture, as 43 commenters pointed out to me, and then headed off to run my annual Gel conference (which went quite well, by the way). The error came at a bad time, because I had no chance to fix the error until after the conference - oh well. Thanks to all the people who pointed out that "This Is Broken is broken" - it's not the first time someone has come up with that quip (about the millionth, I'd say), but an A for effort.
Broken: This post
Say, isn't that picture a bit similar to the one on the last post? I don't see a "sign at the Continental Plaza Hotel" in there anywhere. Unless my calender has changed itself, us on the west coast are still in April 27th, while the post seems to have come from tomorrow, the 28th. This is obviously irrefutable evidence that proves time travel is possible. I smell a breakthrough
As someone who spent over a decade on the west coast before finally getting on over to the east coast, I must agree with Steven. Laid back and relaxed sure...and totally lagging behind the rest of the world. You would be amazed at how much they simply do not offer nor have.
So glad to be away.
Steven:
Yes, the west coast does lag behind the rest of the world. It's because of these things we call time zones...
Wow, I would have thought this would have been fixed by now. It's been 10 hours since I first looked at the wrong image posted here.
Or could it be that because he was carrying a REALLY heavy suitcase, the whole signage experience was completely different, even though it was the same sign?
Are we in the Twilight Zone, yet?
JLC
No, it's quantum entanglement. The pictures were stored on two photons which had decayed from a single photon and when yesterday's image was stored on its photon the other photon took on the properties of the other making today's image the same as yesterday's. Now if I could only figure out how to store information on photons...
HTML coding mistake Mark... I suggest that you fix it unless you want to appear on another "broken" website... (you have a dignity)
www.incenpr.com
alesandro@incenpr.com
I think that the uncertanty principle thing is just a crap explanation and the guy didn't read this is broken before sending in his post. But what's really broken is that it got past the post submission
cheeseman:
1. The uncertainity principle conjecture was a joke.
2. It's more likely that whoever sent it in sent it in correctly, and Mark just accidentally posted the wrong picture.
Oh, and, Alesandro, your website is broken.
I love the advertisements, though: "GAMES! VIRUS FREE!" Here's a hint: When you yell "VIRUS FREE", that usually means there's a virus.
But, really, your website is just full of useless stuff that no one cares about, stuff you have to pay to get even though you can get better quality stuff free elsewhere, stupid flash animations that do nothing but annoy the visitors, and that kind of stuff.
In fact, I just thought of something... Is your site a parody?
Joshua Wood-
I'm thinking the same thing. It's been 12 hrs. since I went here this morning, and it still isn't fixed. o well.
Wow Alesandro that site was very...wow. Not in a good way either.
Here are three things you can do to your site to help it out:
1. Give me a way to stop the music. For the love of God give me a way to kill the 10-second MIDI that loops over and over that doesn't involve bludgeoning my speakers with an aluminum bat.
2. The "VIRUS FREE" games advertisement makes me want to close my web browser, inject a shot of penicillin in my ass, and hide under the covers until someone knocks on my door and assures me that the terrorist threat is over.
3. Get rid of those words that follow my mouse cursor around. I've seen too many "awful site of the day" entries that were created by 13 year old girls who just want to give "shout outs" to people I've never heard of with unintelligible nicknames like "Manderkinz" and "|-|0tti3Bo1", their website littered with animated images of hearts and kittens and those annoying-ass words following my mouse around the screen. It's not professional, no matter how cool the code is.
In the absence of arguing about the broken-ness of Mark's post, we must find something else to focus on.
That has got to be a site showing everything not to do within website design. There's no way that anyone would willingly put that much crap in one place. It's like a 5lb sausage stuffed with 10lbs of crap. The site is an assplosion waiting to happen.
Ok, I'm a 13 year old boy (almost got it Manny). I made it for my schoolmates, and I have made 3 different websites, with those "annoying flash animations"... They think it's really cool... And I'm getting it on my school's newspaper...
And I know javascript, Flash, actionscript, complex html, and some Java. I'm trying to learn C or C++... By the way, any help on that would be great!
www.incenpr.com
alesandro@incenpr.com or webmaster@incenpr.com (please send opinions here)
P.S. I'm working on the "Virus Free" thing, it's supposed to mean "no virus, free=none". And I'm already getting more music for that visitors have a choice and that they can stop it. And about the mouse text, my classmates and Teachers also think that it's very cool. (they like to play with it)
Again, any other opinions please send an e-mail to
alesandro@incenpr.com or webmaster@incenpr.com
well alesandro, get rid of the 84 second thing. those with very short attention spans tend to wonder whether there is a site at all, or if you're just trying to make people wait indeterminately.
ok, i found the 'skip intro' button. your site is ok, but i agree that you have too much stuff, when you could get something better for free somewhere else. like the chat room, for example. AIM is like the best for that, unless your site gets a lot of hits.
The reapeating music is annoying, too.
Done giving advice.
P.S. I'm working on the "Virus Free" thing, it's supposed to mean "no virus, free=none"
what's that mean? you probably shouldn't mention viruses at all.
and why is this pic still broken? MH has obviously been on here, since he posted another broken, but why didn't 'e fix it?
Alesandro, the key -- well OK, ONE key -- to good Web design is not doing stuff just because you can. When you do stuff just because it's cool, it means you're a) trying to impress people or b) having fun. It's OK to have fun, although I hope you play soccer or paint or something, not just sit in front of the computer all day. But if you really want to impress visitors to your site, you find ways to attract them to your content, not distract them with letters that follow the mouse around, constantly bouncing animations, and constantly repeating music.
But keep at it! You've obviously got skills.
Don't your teachers know you could've gotten 80% of the code for that site free off the Internet? And I don't mean by looking at page sources, there are many websites that offer free animations, buttons, graphics, and HTML tutorials.
Ok, thanx for the tips, and I am most of the time in the computer! And yea, I make it to show off with my friends and schoolmates! (and I'm getting profit!) And here in Puerto Rico, people don't know much about tech, especially internet, with exception of some kids, and most of them just know how to download illegal music online (I have proof)!
I really thank all of you for all the reviews and advice you have given me for my website!
By the way, by being here, it's had record visitors everyday!
www.incenpr.com
alesandro@incenpr.com or webmaster@incenpr.com
"Don't your teachers know you could've gotten 80% of the code for that site free off the Internet?"
He did get 80% of the code for free off the internet, that's what I'm guessing.
But really, his site is so broken it's left me speechless... Fortunately, I'm running FF and my speakers are always off, so I don't have to deal with the music, the cursor-following text, or the transitions. But... Oh, the site is beyond help; I don't feel like trying.
Oh, and, tanj.
I forgot the music is not a MIDI file, long story...
And I got only about 9% of the code online!
But thanks anyways... And MH... FIX IT ALREADY!!! I'M GONNA MAKE ANOTHER "THIS IS BROKEN" WEBSITE BASHING YOU IF YOU DON'T FIX THAT SIMPLE HTML/IMAGE NAME ERROR!!!
If you need help identifing the prob. ask me, I already know... Won't tell ya, saving your dignity... But I'll tell you sooner or later if you don't fix it! (With all due respect, MH)
Ortiz... child out. MH knows what's going on, but he probably has a life and hasn't gotten to it yet. It isn't the end of the world.
OKay, this is REALLY broken. I visited icenpr.com above, it started that music loop, and NOW IT WILL NOT STOP.
I'm using opera, and when I start it, the music begins. I am NOT loading the page, but there the music is, and it WON'T STOP. HELP! PLEASE TELL ME I DON'T HAVE TO REINSTALL OPERA! GAHHHH!!!!!
ales your website sucks. you mentioned that there are not a lot of people who no anout tech where you live. TO EVERYONE here like he said almost no one in puerto rico knows about compuerts so stupid animations and java scripts, flash animations, etc... impress anyone, but for people who know about PCs and macs, it just ticks them off. And if you start another broken site i will just send in a submmition for all your site here.
ales also you should get rid of the website scroll bar and maybe try to set the websites resolution lower for people have have low res screen and a Sugestions thing on website would be good too
By the way Tom, it's www.incenpr.com, not www.icenpr.com...
Thanks for all the tips!
www.incenpr.com
alesandro@incenpr.com
webmaster@incenpr.com
Why do you even have a webpage? Sure, it's fun, but since you really know nothing about how to make a good webpage, and since only your friends/family go to it, why have it? Really, it has no information worth anyone's time.
Just start over.
Comments on this entry are closed
Previous: Elevator call button | Main | Next: Heathrow Airport sign
This is broken... that's yesterday's image!
Posted by: Steven at April 28, 2005 01:48 AM