Maybe I’m being the minority view here, but on the “people are stupid” theme … I agree. But I think the stupidity was in the designer of the process, not the customers. They’ve designed something that is unnatural, different from the habitual way people do things, and then wonder why people don’t do it their special way.
Name on computer form: I write my name about a dozen times a day, and I do NOT do it lastname, comma, firstname, middle initial. Unless it’s on some other stupid, lazily-designed computer form.
Cancelling a fax, but not pressing 1?: While, how many other times to I have to dial a number to take an action. Most machines I just press the stop or cancel button to do this. Some do ask me to confirm this, but it’s by pressing that button again, or a Yes/No button – not by keying some random numeric button. As mentioned, smart design would recognize repeated presses of Cancel to mean the user really does want to Cancel. Seems like the fax machine is being most stupid here, not the customer.
Test with “read all questions before beginning”: that’s not a test, it is a deliberately designed trick intended to embarass people (and make the teacher feel superior). Real tests don’t work that way. They are nearly all timed, and the successful student starts in as soon as they can, to make the most of the available time. And it’s usually more productive to start answering the test than to listen to the teacher repeat the same instructions you’ve heard a dozen times this semester.
Clothes not hung on hook: well, there aren’t any hooks for clothes in my house, or in many houses. I normally put clothes on hangers to hang them up. Try putting a couple clothes hangers on your hook, like people are used to, and see if they don’t use them more. (Actually, being a guy, I mostly throw clothes onto the dresser or a convenient chair. Try putting a chair or shelf under your hook, and let people put their clothes there. Then they won’t put them on your stool and annoy you.)
Not following directions in movie theatre?: Well, despite your best intentions, when you give those directions ten times a minute, they are likely to come out in a mumbled monotone, pretty hard for people to understand or even pay attention to.
Plus, the signs on the doors are likely to be fairly small, text-only, no graphics, and dimly lit, in comparison to the large, brightly lighted, graphic posters outside your theatre.
And why should I have to memorize some random color you’ve assigned, just to find my movie?
Incorrect name/password: You say they have the right ones on the error screen, but they need to go back to another screen & type it over. Real stupid software there. It ought to pass that name/password back to that screen. Or ask right on that screen if they want to update their name/password to these values. Yet you’re blaming the customers for the stupid design of your software!
When you’re constantly having to tell people this, and repeatedly over months, that’s a real clue that the “idiocy” is in your software, not your customers.
Not reading signs at your booth?: People are there to look at the goods you’re offering for sale, not to read signs. (And I’d think you’d want their attention to be on your goods!) Once they’ve decided to buy something, they can get the info fastest by asking you. If it bothers you having buyers asking how to pay you, maybe retail sales isn’t the best job for you.
Phone calls 'Are You open today?: It’s a holiday, how are customers supposed to verify that you are open? Would you prefer that as soon as they hear you answer, they just hang up in your ear? Then you’d be complaining about all the rude customers.
Many of this reported ‘difficulty in following directions’ comes from just plain bad directions, or a badly-designed process where the directions contradict common habits, or from directions that benefit the direction-giver, not the customer. There’s stupidity here, but not in the customers!
