My Airtel Delhi half-marathon is over.
Yesterday I went to collect my running number from the half-marathon expo which was organized in a mall. Well, the design of expo bamboozled everyone who had come to collect their numbers. It was frustrating as one had to enter from point A, then move around the whole expo, where some brands had put up shops which were manned by some tired-looking representatives.
At the end of the expo, there was a counter from where runners were supposed to collect the running numbers. For collecting goodies bag, runners were made to rush to some other counter which was outside the periphery and it was almost impossible to reach that counter without asking directions. I asked twice. Me frustrated? Yes. Me dumb not to figure out? Don't think so.
It was chaos and I think poor design of expo played an important part in creating this chaos. It was designed for customer inconvenience.
These days design of most of malls and stores in India have one thing in common - design it in such a way so that every customer has to visit every corner of the mall or store. In a nutshell, if a customer has to go from point A to point B in a mall, he has to spend considerable time to figure out the smallest possible way to reach that point. And usually, smallest way = longest way = only way. If there is any short-cut, you will not be able to find out on your own. And, if customer is short on patience it might lead to some frustration as well.
Though, I am not an expert on design but I have visited lot melas as a child and grown up where simple design used to create an environment which was enjoyed by everyone.
Melas were organized on a huge ground somewhere in the middle of a village and the outlay of all melas used to be the same (more or less). There was usually a single point which served as both entry and exit. Kiosks were placed in a circular form on the periphery of the ground. There was an empty space in the center which was generally used for rides. People came and visited and bought from almost all kiosks and spent whole day enjoying the hustle-bustle of mela.
by Whats In A Name , on November 2, 2009 12:36 AM
Hey...
Its so true..
Designing plays a vital role in any product one sells. And its the designing which differentiates one product from other if there is nothing else considerable to notice.
by Ramesh , on November 2, 2009 4:19 AM
A brilliant observation. Designs of malls are based on the premise that the customer is an idiot and the more you make him go round and round, he'll buy on impulse. Truly a frustrating experience. See your own post - you went for a run and instead of posting lovely pics and story about it, you've posted on the frustration of being made to walk round and round. Shows that they pissed you off, instead of warming you up.
Hope the run was great. Photos on next post please ...
by Sid 'Ravan' Kabe , on November 2, 2009 7:03 PM
Hey u r awesome man... brilliant man...:D
i was there in the marathon too... but spend more time in the audience rather than runnin...:D
by Dhiman , on November 2, 2009 7:45 PM
You know just for this reason I have stopped going to one of the Large store/mall which will force you to go through the whole building yes its about three floors to be out of the store so if you enter to buy a single item you are dead by the directions to 'Exit' when the 'Exit' only turns at the end and you can't turn back ;)