4 ms·
> I would have preferred a message explaining that the doors were broken on the incoming train, that they had to fix it, and that they didn't know how long it w
by neilv 2y ago
> I would have preferred a message explaining that the doors were broken on the incoming train, that they had to fix it, and that they didn't know how long it would take.
I would've preferred an order of magnitude estimate and confidence level.
Both trust and respect are important, and can be hot issues in public transit.
The NYC subway might be a great class equalizer for many, but much other public transit is firmly for lower classes.
One thing thing even more infuriating and humiliating than waiting for a bus that's 30 minutes late -- like your time and life aren't important, because the only people who ride this bus are those who have to -- is when the bus finally comes, 30 minutes late, and is overfull and not taking more passengers. Then, to the people a driver isn't letting onboard, drivers in some locales will say, "next one is right behind me", whether or not that's true.
Consistent with trust and respect, give the best information and confidence level you have, so people can act on that.
And respect them as equals, to also behave with dignity -- don't try to manipulate their sentiment, by misrepresenting or withholding information.
- andsomehacker 2y agoAbsolutely this. Feels like the real problem in the author's story is that no update was provided when the situation changed. Providing no information at all is a worse experience.
- tofof 2y agoI came back to find that what I had to say had already been put eloquently here, particularly those last two lines. Withholding information is disrespectful, and is just as damaging to your customers' ability to make alternative choices that would benefit them as providing bad estimates. The author's chosen example is quite cherrypicked. I can not imagine any scenario for public transit breakdown in which the actual delay would be "5 minutes." In fact, this is so short that there's no reason to even bother with that update if that were true. It's true that promising this completely unrealistic window was detrimental - but that's because it was such a poor estimate. It's not hard to give expected-case (not best-case!) and worst-case estimates that are in the right order of magnitude, and to communicate in a way that these aren't seen as promises. "The next train will be here in 5 minutes" is the worst possible phrasing, presenting an absolute truth, and it's perfectly reasonable that customers and the response team treat it as such. Again, the solution is ~better~ communication, not ~witholding~ communication.