Sue Keogh writes:
But what's wrong with their approach, exactly - and how could they make it more effective?
What we're talking about here is the page Winter Schedule Changes, which is where you'd expect to find information on Ryanair's latest flight cancellations. As someone who has long marvelled at the way contempt for the passenger is woven into all their communications, I didn't have high expectations. And it didn't disappoint! It was so bad, it made me laugh. But rather than just writing a snarky tweet, I wanted to explain why.
It's the user needs, stupid
So let’s start with the goal of any web page, which should be to give the reader what they need. It's about them, not you.
Let’s say, for an example, that I have a flight booked on 15 December for some pre-Christmas lols with family in Dublin and my cute niece. She’s two-and-a-half, knows her own mind (paddling pools, yes; theremins, avoid) and wears groovy sunglasses. I’m starting to think about what presents I can squeeze in my hand luggage too, after an incident on 11 September last year when my baby weaning gift set triggered a security alert at Stansted, and have hereafter become known as Auntie Sue’s Terrorist Spoons.
So. What I care about right now is one basic thing: is my flight cancelled? That's user need number one.
My secondary need is information about the options for refunds or rebooking, but right now I’m wondering if I need to make alternative plans for Christmas.
But what I get is this:
Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline today September 27th confirmed it will slow down its growth this winter (November 2017 to March 2018), by flying 25 less aircraft (of its 400 fleet) from Nov 2017. By reducing its flying schedule in this planned and controlled manner Ryanair will eliminate any risk of further flight cancellations.
These schedule changes will affect less than 1% of Ryanair customers this winter. All affected customers have received an email today offering alternative flights or full refunds and a travel voucher for a free flight. For 99% of our customers their is no change to their flights.
Ouch. Where do we start? Well, here’s a list of things I don’t care about:
- That Ryanair is Europe’s largest airline
- That it is slowing its growth
- That it has 400 aircraft in its fleet
- That the changes will affect fewer than 1% of passengers (and yes, fellow pedants, it’s fewerand not less)
There are several things Ryanair should do instead:
- Acknowledge the problem and say sorry
- Show sympathy for those affected
- Offer a means of solving the problem
- Not spell there wrong. I mean, c’mon.
So let’s rewrite that introductory paragraph so it addresses customers and their concerns.
We’re very sorry to announce that there will be a small number of cancellations to Ryanair’s flights this winter. We’re doing all we can to resolve the situation and keep you updated.
If your flight is affected, you will receive an email explaining how to book an alternative flight or gain a full refund. We’ll also send you a travel voucher for a free flight.
We don't need no FAQs page
Next up, after this unhelpful corporate waffle, are the FAQs. Brilliant. Except that on an information page you don’t need an FAQ section.
After the intro you can just go straight into helpful advice, with clear, simple sub-headings. You shouldn’t be asking users to find a button to reveal the content of each section either; it should all be displayed in one go for easy scrolling.
Read the rest of this post on the Sookio blog.