Two is the loneliest number

Last post, we talked about a website that offered express shipping for $12 even though it would arrive the same day as free shipping.  The lesson there was “check your edge cases.”

In that same vein, today we offer up this gem:

Now admittedly, I live in the sticks, 30+ miles outside of Philadelphia, where most of the restaurants are mom-and-pop shops in strip malls, and “ethnic” means “Taco Bell”. ^[1]For ethical reasons I prefer GrubHub over Door Dash. (Not that their hands are clean either.) However, GrubHub offers me 1/3 of the number of food options that Door Dash does. And sometimes you need … Continue reading

So on one hand, not having a lot of “free delivery” options is not a surprise.

On the other hand, offering me “no delivery fees from over two restaurants near you” (emphasis mine) shifts their message from “hey look at these options!” to “you poor thing, bless your heart.”^[2]The real kicker is that sixteen DashPass restaurants will deliver to me. That’s actually pretty significant. And if it said “there are over 15 restaurants in your area…” they … Continue reading

In making the DashPass sound unavailable, Door Dash made their own product sound, well, unavailable, and uninviting.  I’m not sure what the threshold for “yes, this sounds inviting” is (that’s what usability testing is for) but I do know that “two” wasn’t it.

When you check your edge cases and their messaging, consider how your user affected by the edges will feel. (Can this be read as “My brand is an asshole”? Is that your goal?) Adjust your content accordingly. ^[3]Oh, and make sure your app can count.

Not all of your customers are worth courting, but all of them deserve to feel like they matter.