There is nothing I hate more than a buying process that is confusing or difficult. You would think that all ‘sellers’ would go out of their way to make buying easy.
This weekend I went with my family to go downhill skiing at a small regional mountain ski area not too far from Fargo. When we walked into a very busy and bustling ticket area there were multiple lines and queues going in many directions. Signage was poor and knowing where to stand was a guess at best. Of course when you arrive for skiing you have 3 shirts and a big jacket on, a beany, goggles, gloves, 2 children etc. (or at least I did). And the chalet is really well heated – meaning all the extra clothing is unnecessary at this point. If you are like me, once you get overheated, the world does not appear to be a happy place. The one sign visible clearly said fill out a form if you need rental gear, a form where I was required to fill out address details and much more for all 4 skiers. (Exactly why I had to repeat this over and over remains unclear). After losing a glove, and a set of goggles I reached the ticket desk and bought a days lift pass with ski rentals.
From here you join a new queue to collect your equipment. You come across a teenager who issues a pair of boots to the size you wrote on the initial form you completed. He keeps the form – and serves the next customer. There are a bunch of people putting on boots and a group milling around near the door. There is no indication of where to go next. So you sit down and put your boots on like a sheep. Someone is yelling out names, but it seems very random as there is no response to many of the names called. While the process is unclear – I am even more unclear as to where and how people become lost in an enclosed room. After a long wait you here your name, and are handed 2 skis. You are good to go, except poles, which you accidentally discover are stored outside, and are supposed to serve yourself.
We had an awesome day skiing.
When you buy, the process must be clean, clear, simple and painless.
Taking this advice I am excited to tell everyone that on the 23rd of this month, eOne went live with a new payment gateway that will make making online payments for product, services and renewals easier than ever.
- There will never be any extra charges for international transaction fees (for those in the USA). eOne USA will be processing all these payments locally in the USA with a USA payment gateway supported by a local bank. Yay!
- Credit Cards will never be rejected due to this being a foreign transaction. You will never have to call your bank to authorize the transaction. Yay!
- The online shopping experience makes it easier for you to generate quotes and invoices prior to making payment.
Coming Shortly
- Automated recurring CC charges for all your SaaS customers.
- Ability to opt in for monthly, automated charges to your CC to settle your renewal accounts. This will include an interface to flag a customer as not renewing, or not yet paid for the renewal. This eliminates most of your admin as a partner.
We are working hard to continually improve this process and make buying and renewing with eOne easier than ever. If you have ideas and suggestion please contact me directly at martin.olsen@eonesolutions.com.
