When I load the front-page of www.officetimesavers.com, I immediately
notice that the white, black and red color-scheme is visually
attractive and professional-looking.
A the image of friendly-looking woman wearing a headset appears
quickly. She resembles a young Martha Stewart.
In the middle of the page, I'm presented with four medium-sized
images. Since I'm using a dialup connection with a 56K modem, the
images load rather slowly. I'm in no particular hurry right now, but
if I wanted to quickly navigate the site, faster image-loading (i.e.,
reduced image size) would be nice.
The images become clear. There are two maps. One is brightly colored
image of the continental United States. It's multi-colored depiction
of the U.S.A. is reminiscent of the maps we all remember from
elementary school. I read the caption and quickly discover that the
map is intended to provide telephone area codes for the entire
country. This is very clear.
A second map offers a mercator-style projection of the entire world.
The caption indicates that this is a "World Business Communications
Map." Unlike the area code map, the purpose of this map is not
immediately clear. Reading on, I discover that this map includes,
"area codes, time zones, airport codes, languages and more vital
data." As I look back up at the map, I notice it contains twelve
columns of text. I wonder what the text says and how it's organized.
The text is far too small to read, so I assume a larger image is
available if I click on the image. Surprisingly, though, when I click
on the image, I don't immediately get a bigger image. I get the same
image on a new page with additional information. A caption instructs
me to "click for detail view of wall map." I do that, and I'm
presented with an enlarged image of Europe and the Mediterranean-area.
I'm slightly disappointed that the section shown does not include the
text that appears at the bottom of the map. I'm still wondering if the
information down there is useful and well-organized.
I decide to return to the front-page. I easily return to the
front-page by clicking on "home," using the very clear navigation that
appears toward the top of the page: "You are here: Home > World
Business Communications Map > Detail"
I look at the other two main images on the home page. One is a red
image that says ZIP in large letters. The other image is pink, but
otherwise looks similar. Both appear to be directories of zip codes
and area codes. I wonder what the difference is between the two. I
have to scroll the page slightly to see that the image on the right is
a CD-ROM version. Perhaps something could be done to make this fact
immediately apparent. I also notice that the CD version is quite a bit
more expensive than the book form. I wonder if there's a substantive
difference between the two products, or if I'd only be paying extra
for the CD because it's electronic. I read the caption of under the CD
version. I see that the product is searchable. That sounds useful. It
also has "data export" capabilities. I wonder what that means, so I
decide to click on the image to see if there's more information on
another page. I bring up this page:
http://www.officetimesavers.com/zip_area.html
Okay, I've got a problem. Now I see that there two different versions
of the CD version. A standard version and a professional version. The
professional one costs a lot more, but there's no explanation of why.
I wonder if I can find out by clicking on the professional one. I
bring up this page:
http://www.officetimesavers.com/zip_area_cd.html
Not a lot of help on this page. I notice though that I can "Click here
for the answers to the most common questions regarding this product."
I do that and bring up:
http://www.officetimesavers.com/zip_area_cd_qna.html
Okay, now we're getting somewhere. I find out that I can export data
from this product to any "Database, Spreadsheet or Word Processor on
the Market." That sounds like a useful feature. Perhaps it should have
been mentioned sooner.
I decide to buy the product. I click on "buy now." I'm offered the
choice of ordering from officesavers or Amazon. I hadn't realized that
buying through Amazon was possible until now. Perhaps mentioning this
on the front page would be beneficial for assuring customers who are
familiar with the Amazon brand have perhaps ordered before. I decide
to order from officetimesavers.
The fields are very clear. I fill them in. Order is placed and I'm a
happy customer. I view about us to see if there's any other useful
information. I see contact information. Very useful.
All in all, a satisfying shopping experience.
I'm presented with an ordering page. No quantities are shown in any
field. I have to scan through the list to find the professional CD-ROM
that I wanted. I see that it's listed as the Electronic Zip
(exportable version). I understand that's the one that I'd wanted, but
the change in terminology causes temporary confusion. Why not be
consistent and use the terms "professional" and "CD-ROM"?
I also think I'd like to get that cool multi-colored area code map. I
fill in 1 in the quantity field for each of these products.
I proceed to checkout. The system is somewhat slow. |
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