Hello headsetsdotcom-ga,
I tested your website [ www.headsets.com/newsite.html ] in the manner
outlined in your question. The browser I used for the test was MS IE
6.0, on MS Win XP Pro, using a cable internet connection.
Upon either clicking the link provided in your Question, or pasting
that URL into my browser and clicking ?Go,? I was brought to a
re-direct page:
?Your web Browser has been set to browse the new site.
www.headsets.com?
I then clicked the headsets.com link and was brought to the following URL:
[ http://www.headsets.com/newindex.html ].
I placed an order for a headset in the following manner (just going
off the top of my head, pretending I just wanted to buy an average
headset ASAP):
I clicked the ?Corded Headsets? link in the upper left corner of the
main from which brought me to this URL:
[ http://www.headsets.com/headsets/corded/corded.html ].
From here I clicked the ?Telephone Headsets? link, which brought me to
the following URL:
[ http://www.headsets.com/headsets/corded/corded_p_gallery.html?sort_1=manufacturer_rank%2Casc&style=0&app=7&price=0&manufacturer=0&component=2&mic=0&prod_division=1&connector=0&max=100
].
Once here, I clicked the ?Add to Cart? button for the first headset
listed, the $40.00 ?Over-the-head-headset,? which brought me to the
following URL:
[ http://www.headsets.com/cgi-bin/cart/addcart.cgi ].
On this shopping cart page, I noted that the ?Qty? box indicated ?1? ,
and that the unit price, sub-total and total were all $40.00. I
clicked the ?Checkout? button, brought me to the following URL:
[http://www.headsets.com/cgi-bin/cart/checkout.cgi ].
On this form page, I populated only those fields with an asterisk (the
required fields) as follows:
Name: ?omniscientbeing-ga?
Address: ?123 Test Drive?
City: ?Los Angeles?
State: ?CA? [Note: there could be a drop-down listbox here with the
states already populated?some people don?t know the two-letter
abbreviation for their own state, I?m sure].
Zip: ?90024?
Phone: ?555-555-5555?
Email: test@test.com
Payment method: ?Visa?
Credit Card Number: ?TEST?
Expiration Date: ?04/06?
Then, I clicked the ?Place Order? button. The main page that this
brought me to was the following URL:
[ http://www.headsets.com/cgi-bin/cart/purchase.cgi ], but there was
also a small (and somewhat annoying, since at this point I only wanted
to confirm my Order) pop-up window asking me if I?d like to take your
survey. I closed this window without clicking any of its links. Back
to my Order Confirmation page, I noted that my confirmation number
was:
?Confirmation Number : CN118625? and that ?Order Accepted Wed,
Nov-19-2003 19:17:01 from IP Address XX.XX.XXX.XXX [note: it had the
correct IP address as near as I can tell].?
I then decided I wanted to print out a copy of this confirmation page,
so I looked for a ?Print This Confirmation Page For Your Records?
button, but finding none even after a quick scroll-down, I used my
browser menu?s File->Print command instead. My printout came as
expected, with the full page printing, including the non-confirmation
information part of it, which ran on to the top line of a 2nd piece of
paper. (This really isn?t that uncommon an occurrence for confirmation
pages in my experience, however, but I still find it annoying that
there?s no ?Click Here for a Printer-Friendly Confirmation Page?).
1) Were there any barriers to you selecting a headset and placing an order?
Not really, no. Other than the minor annoyances I mentioned above, I
found the process to be quite smooth. Keep in mind that I set out
already having convinced myself that I was going to order a headset
come hell or high water, though, which is not the typical user
mindset. It took about five minutes to go from the main page to
clicking the Place Order button.
2) How did you feel about the process?
I felt pretty good about. It was easy, painless and the trail of links
led me right along as expected. I do have pretty extensive online
ordering experience, with active accounts at Amazon.com, X-10.com,
eBay.com, PayPal.com, NetworkSolutions.com and my online brokerage, so
I?m used to shopping carts, ordering methods and confirmation pages).
This ordering process wasn?t noticeably different from the rest, with
the exception of the stock trading confirmation process, which is
understandably more rigorous.
3) Was there enough information, in the right place to make an
informed decision about which headset you needed?
Yes. In fact, at first I was a touch overwhelmed by all the different
choices available to me, but after a few seconds I realized I just
wanted a simple headset and found it no problem.
4) Are you comfortable buying from headsets.com and why/why not?
If I really wanted to buy a headset, I would be comfortable buying one
online from headsets.com. One thing I noticed that made me a little
worried was that there was no little lock icon (indicating a secure
server page) in my system tray when I was in the order pages. Still,
for a small order like the one I ?placed,? it wouldn?t have kept me
from ordering. The 1-800 number displayed on your main page made me
feel a lot better, although I was going to actually call it to test
out that aspect of the site, but noticed the hours and saw it was
closed.
Okay, that?s the basic answer to your questions, but then I decided to
have a little fun, and explore your site some more. I went back to the
Order page, with completely blank fields and clicked Place Order. I
received the following error message:
?Items marked with * are required to correctly fulfill your order!?
Then, I filled in the fields as follows:
Name: ?-----------------========?
Address: [left blank ]
City: [left blank but hit the space bar five times inside the field?s text box]
State: ?NO?
Zip: ?00000?
Phone: ?abc-efg-hijk?
Email: www.mySite.com
Payment method: [selected nothing]
Credit card number: ?**********? [literally like that, without the quotes]
Expiration Date: ?NEVER?
Then I clicked Place Order and was brought to the following URL:
[ http://www.headsets.com/cgi-bin/cart/purchase.cgi ].
An error message read, ?Items marked with * are required to correctly
fulfill your order!,? with asterisks next to all the fields I had
filled in bogusly.
Anyway, I found the site?s overall presentation to be of high quality.
The look-and-feel was pleasing to the eye without being overly
distracting to my goal of ordering headsets. The navigation aids are
excellent, particularly the drop-down menus from the main banner menu
on the home page. I did note that the Live Help is ?Temporarily
Offline,? which is a bit of a turnoff, but it still wouldn?t deter me
from ordering if I needed a headset. If the live help won?t be
available for some time though (a week or more), I?d recommend putting
something else there in its place until the Live Help is actually
ready.
Overall I think it?s a professional site which thoroughly presents its
products in a user-friendly way. These aren?t the most exciting
products either, and I still had some fun and learned some things by
looking around and reading the different products available and what
their characteristics are. The photos are excellent and very helpful,
as are the written product descriptions. I love the Interactive
Headset Wizard. Very Slick. Definitely helpful. I had no problems
whatsoever with any dead links or slow-loading pages (but I am on a
cable connection).
In closing, I believe I?ve answered your questions, but if there?s
anything you?d like to ask me specifically about my visit to
headsets.com, I?d be happy to add more via Clarification.
Best of luck with your website?s new launch!
Sincerely,
omniscientbeing-ga
Google Answers Researcher |
