Thread by @patio11

Most interesting e-commerce experience I’ve had recently:

My glasses are getting old and beat up, but I am fine on prescription, so I go to Ye Olde Chain Shoppe.

First question: “Did you use the app last time to save your data?”

“Yes.”
“Brilliant. In that case, we will give you 5,000 yen off ($50) if you buy the glasses on the app. You have to do the data entry, but we can assist you in using the app. Or, I can do it, but $50 more expensive. Either way you pick up here in 30 minutes. Want the discount?”

“Sure, how hard can it be.”

“Not hard at all. Here are printed instructions.”

(Mad props, Tokyo retail staffer, for not even questioning whether I’d be able to read them.)

“So after you do this, the data comes to us automatically. You can leave and come back, or stay here. You’ll get a notification when it is ready.”

I start the checkout flow. It asks to pre-populate my prescription from last time. Elapsed time: 2 minutes.

30 seconds later.

Another staffer: “Patrick-san? Is that you? Great. Order came through; you can leave whenever is convenient to you and you’ll get a notification when we’re ready.”

I think this is a not-so-subtle way to train customers to do much of the work themselves, such that the staff can focus less on checkout/payments and more on sales and medical services.

(Because of compliance concerns, it is unlikely that they can e-commerce direct to your door. You can e-commerce to any of their shops though without needing to come first like I did, contingent on having a prescription up-to-date.)

Oh just checked. No, they definitely can do all-online orders if you have a prescription. In that case the business case for this writes itself, right.

There is no reason for me to need to visit the store at all next time for this transaction.

*sigh*

And because this process was definitely designed by a Japanese BigCo when I came back to put them up the same second staffer said “Sorry for this: can you write your name and number on paper so that I can check that you are the person who ordered these?”

“You’re not going to just read the QR code the app gave me?”
“Oh I already read the one on the package, but this is for your security. *winces*
“... Of course, pass me the paper please.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”

(There’s no reason whatsoever to argue with a retail employee about some silly decision made by an SI project team and a clueless PM at a meeting they were not at.)

SI = Systems integrator. Retail companies are extremely unlikely to write software in-house; they outsource to companies shaped like an ex-employer of mine who will develop software pathologically compliant with the thousand pages of specifications.

PM = project manager.