Warranty Product
Create a better user-centric experience and a warranty system for the customer service rep to collect customer warranty information and pictures. Current system doesn’t have a warranty form, nor a section for retail, contractors (B2B), and dealers (B2B). This is estimated to save the customer service rep 10 extra hours per warranty. Also, this is freeing the sales staff to focus on selling instead of tracking down customer warranties, which is an extra 10 hours per week of their time.
Research
Issues:
The process was confusing for customers and B2B clients because the webpage was just a paragraph with instructions to fill out a form for a quote. These are existing customers.
There was no way to insert information for a warranty or upload images. In addition to the issue of upload, the page had no way of figuring out which of the three did the customer purchase their
structure through.
The warranty process was entirely by email, backlogging many warranties submitted. Often getting missed or lost.
These issues also contribute to time wasted not only for our existing customers, but also the warranty rep's time and our sales staff.
Research:
Talked to the customer service rep, sales staff, B2B contacts to ask various questions about the issues and how much time they spend addressing the issues. Interviewed and watched several users interact with the website page. I ran a test myself to see the process. Many found it confusing because of the wording when they wanted to submit a warranty. Customers are only provided a text field to write their issue. No where does the page have an image upload or and field for the order number. The form doesn't communicate success after the form is submitted, which fails heuristics. I also looked at some of our competitors, only to find that they too do not have a solid warranty process.
Questions led to overhaul:
I changed my strategy with the mockups of the website to create a user-centric form. Thinking about the entire journey from filling out the form to how it's received on our end, I changed the project from not only a design overhaul, but to a system overhaul. These emails would need to be documented, while keep the warranty rep on top of any outstanding ones. Hence my suggestion to link it to our SalesForce software. After the prototypes were tested, these were approved for coding and these backend systems (CMS to collect data for the customer rep and email the customer) was set up.
Client
Country Lane
Year
2022
UX Designer | Research
Tara Clevenstine
Perspective Grid
I created a perspective grid to combine the varying needs from our three users: retail, contractor, and dealer. Each category addresses the issues they encountered using the site. I also make suggestions to the features to improve the process, make the page centric with the proper heuristics.
JOBS & NEEDS
Better User Experience and User-Centric for all that use the Warranty form on the website.
Tracking system for clear communication. Currently sending a "Question" email out to customer when they have already bought the structure. This creates confusion.
Clear success or failure message for sending the warranty form.
Implied Capabilities
Help customer make use of warranty process without having to do extra work to get a resolution.
Make an easy step by step process for customers. Clear communication for the next steps.
Half of the warranty customers are frustrated with system & wasting time. It demonstrates poor customer service when we fail to contact customers or lose the emails about the warranty issue.
Emailed requested are difficult to track and resolve adding to frustration on both ends.
Customer, contractor, or dealer contacting us to follow up on warranty or ordered parts because of the lack of communication.
Gaps, Barrier, Pain, Risk
Possible Solutions
Better submission form with picture uploads. Success message or failure message.
Customer-specific confirmation number to track parts & warranty information.
Adding a CMS (Salesforce) to handle the submission, track, and document each warranty.
Resulting Value
They would get the parts/issue
resolved with minimal headache.
Reduce time/money Contractors and Dealers waste contacting us or tracking down issue.Minimize countless phone calls and lost email messages.
Freeing up time for us and the customers with a clear warranty process.
Also, we maintain a good standing relationship with our customers because they are often the word-of-mouth advertising for friends and family.
New Features
Field for order number, text field for messages plus picture upload. All of which are required fields.
Clear communication each step in the process like after submission the user will get a successful message with a timeline when we will contact them.
Perspective Grid
I created a perspective grid to combine the varying needs from our three users: retail, contractor, and dealer. Each category addresses the issues they encountered using the site. I also make suggestions to the features to improve the process, make the page centric with the proper heuristics.
JOBS & NEEDS
Better User Experience and User-Centric for all that use the Warranty form on the website.
Tracking system for clear communication. Currently sending a "Question" email out to customer when they have already bought the structure. This creates confusion.
Clear success or failure message for sending the warranty form.
Implied Capabilities
Help customer make use of warranty process without having to do extra work to get a resolution.
Make an easy step by step process for customers. Clear communication for the next steps.
Half of the warranty customers are frustrated with system & wasting time. It demonstrates poor customer service when we fail to contact customers or lose the emails about the warranty issue.
Emailed requested are difficult to track and resolve adding to frustration on both ends.
Customer, contractor, or dealer contacting us to follow up on warranty or ordered parts because of the lack of communication.
Gaps, Barrier, Pain, Risk
Possible Solutions
Better submission form with picture uploads. Success message or failure message.
Customer-specific confirmation number to track parts & warranty information.
Adding a CMS (Salesforce) to handle the submission, track, and document each warranty.
Resulting Value
They would get the parts/issue
resolved with minimal headache.
Reduce time/money Contractors and Dealers waste contacting us or tracking down issue.Minimize countless phone calls and lost email messages.
Freeing up time for us and the customers with a clear warranty process.
Also, we maintain a good standing relationship with our customers because they are often the word-of-mouth advertising for friends and family.
New Features
Field for order number, text field for messages plus picture upload. All of which are required fields.
Clear communication each step in the process like after submission the user will get a successful message with a timeline when we will contact them.
THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY
User Experience is poor with the current system in place. Emails and forms get lost in the day-to-day making customer service, a failure. There are conflicting messages which confuse the customer as to whether they are on the right page. Customers are frustrated and upset because issues are not handled in a timely manner nor followed up on. The current system is set up for failure because it relies on just an email to queue the work, without any way to track the customer, order number, images, and the request. Thinking long-term, I recommended we establish a system to track the warranties and how the it impacts the bottomline e.g. existing customers complaining on review sites or now recommending our products.
WIREFRAMES & MOCKUPS
THE Final Result
The first three screenshots are of the different users needing a specific form for their warranty. Making this user-centric has given the user all the fields they need to fill out so their warranty is addressed.
Results
Creating a warranty system and webpage that is user centric (retail, contractors, & dealers).
The warranty system now displays proper heuristics.
Tracks analytics for better quality assurance to better curb spending.
Reduces the warranty rep’s time by 10 hours per order because the system now is in Salesforce with information he needed to compete his job.
It also keeps existing customers happy. These are the word-of-mouth marketing that introduces potential customers to the Country Lane brand.