All My Cars Are Old - And I'm Not Baffled

All of the cars in my family are 1998-2001 models. And they are wonderful because they all lack one key feature: the crazy array of dashboard electronics now found in today's cars.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, car owners are so baffled by "proliferating dashboard electronics" that automakers like GM have had to beef up call centers to support customers. Call centers have even gone so far as to install a dashboard simulator in the call center to customer service reps can sit in a simulated car while they are talking with the customer so they can better explain how to use certain features. The photograph below illustrates this.

Over the past 15 years we've suggested (and developed) similar kinds of resources and simulators. One was for a scientific instrument that analyzed DNA. We provided call center representatives a simulator of the user interface so they could navigate the product along with the customer. Same thing with our utility clients, strongly suggesting that functioning simulators of in-home energy displays were available in the call center so that reps could provide better customer support.

So, while one can applaud GM on providing great resources to their call center representatives so they can better help customers perform, it still doesn't get around the interface issues that are the root cause of the customer performance problem in the first place.

While our family might not have the nicest looking cars on the block, we certainly aren't baffled by them.