Pain point at the pump: What does UX have to do with paying for gas?
User Experience Design has undoubtedly become a part of everyday life. Something as simple as going to the gas station to fill up your car’s gas tank involves UX. People often don’t think about user experiences in their daily life activities. They only know if a product makes them feel good or bad in some way. Examples of good and bad UX are all around us. Today I want to take the time to express a frustration I personally have with the gas pump payment screens at my local Circle K. Here I will walk you through the payment process and see if you can spot where the user experience could be improved. Afterwards, I will give my feedback and reveal my personal pain point with this task.
Welcome to the pump. Credit or debit? The first thing you will do upon arriving at the pump will be to select your payment method or start with your Fry’s VIP card. I select “Pay Credit Here.”
After selecting the payment method, you’re instructed to insert your card.
After inserting your card, you are told to remove it from the reader.
The system will then ask you if you have a Fry’s VIP card that you would like to scan. I select No. (I do not shop at Fry’s often enough to ever press this button, so in all fairness, I do not know what happens if you select Yes. I am assuming that it will ask you to scan the VIP card to continue).
The system will again ask you if you would like to use your card as a debit card in case you changed your mind from your selection on the home screen, I presume. I select No.
You are then instructed to enter your zip code so I enter mine.
Authorizing. This is a good example of Jakob Nielsen’s first usability heuristic for user interface design which is Visibility of System Status. Instead of just showing the user a blank screen, the system is keeping the user informed of the process as they wait a few moments to continue.
You are then instructed to remove the nozzle and select a grade of gas before filling up your tank.
After you pick up the handle and select your grade, the system will tell you to begin fueling your vehicle.
After I finish filling up my tank, I return the fuel nozzle to the holder. The system then asks me if I would like a receipt. I choose No.
Thank you! The system thanks me, and the task is complete.
Now for my pain point. Let’s see if you spotted it, or have personally seen this at your local pump.
Pay attention to the position of the Yes response. On screen four when it asks if you have a VIP card, it is at the very top. When you go on to screen five, the debit question, it moves toward the bottom of the screen. At the end of the transaction, on screen 10, when it asks you if you want a receipt, the Yes response is back up at the top where it was the first time.
It doesn’t matter how many times I have purchased gas at the pump. I get a little bit frustrated with the placement of the Yes response on the debit card screen every time. I feel like the top button is a more natural location to put this response since the other Yes buttons are located there. It is very easy for my eyes to see and for my brain to remember that the top selection means Yes. These machines should be redesigned so the Yes option for inquiring about the debit card matches the rest of the Yeses.
