Usability Hall of Shame #2: SBC (Again!)
Category: Design... Usability Hall of Shame...
Posted Friday, August 19, 2005 at 09:31 AM [GMT-6]

What is it about the world of telecommunications that seems to attract corporations who are, frankly, lousy at communicating? When last we visited the Gazette's Usability Hall of Shame, the initial inductees were CellularOne and SBC Communications, the former gaining recognition for its website blunders and the latter for obfuscatory achievement in allowing people to opt out of its policy of sharing its customers' account information.

In this latest round, we find that we're irresistably drawn to SBC, this time for the way its online account management website seems to be at war with itself.

I've tried several times to use SBC's website to add caller ID to my second phone line, a line that shows up every month on our bill. However, I keep running into a couple of barriers to success.

First is the annoying-but-tolerable situation that occurs when, after logging into my account, I click on the link that reads "Shop for Services." Right off the bat, even though I'm already logged in, the website asks for my area code. Well, that seems unnecessary, since I'm already logged in...but, what the heck? I enter my area code (432) and click the go button. And here's the response:

Never mind that the 432 area code is even part of my account number (the account to which I'm currently logged on). Never mind that 432 has been the area code for this part of the country for more than a year. SBC's database refuses to recognize it. I finally have to resort to using the old area code (915) in order to access options for my account (which, again, begins with 432).

This is where things get really interesting. Now I'm in the shopping section, and it helpfully tells me that I'm shopping for my primary number, which we'll call 432-699-aaaa. There's a link that reads "Shop for another number" so I click it, in order to shop for new services for our second line, which we'll call 432-699-bbbb. Here's the message the SBC website provides:

Oh-kaaay...I wonder why I'm billed each month for that number if it's not associated with my account?

The end result is that I cannot find a way, via the website, to order the additional service for the second number.

Eventually, I'll guess I'll have to resort to speaking with an actual person to get this transaction completed. I doubt that I'll ever get an answer to why the website works (or doesn't work) the way it does. So, for now, I'll have to be content with knowing that SBC Communications is the first multiple inductee into the Usability Hall of Shame.

Technorati tags: Website Usability | Website Design