First off I need to commend Canada Post on improving their Web site. I can actually find out what a stamp costs for the 4 times a year I send a letter. That used to be an exercise in torture on the site. Real improvement.
But I hate it when sites ask me questions they should know the answer to.
Canada Post Tracking
Shouldn’t you guys know if this is business or personal based on the tracking number? Are there really duplicate tracking numbers? What is the difference between business and personal?
In my case I received the tracking number from a business who was shipping me something to my office so I selected “business”. I was wrong, its personal. I’m so stupid.
Why can’t I enter the tracking number and Canada Post figures it out? Am I asking for too much?
written by Jon Lax
I recently came across this “feature” as well. Given how they’ve improved the overall website, I’d bet the Personal/Business radio buttons are a result of limitations in their tracking software system. Ah, life in the enterprise.
Something else that stood out to me on the new Canada Post homepage is the three columns for About Us, Business and Personal. The headings for each are so visually dominant on the page that, at first glance, you assume the tracking tool is only for Business and Find it Fast is only for Personal. There should be a more clear separation between these areas.
What’s a stamp?
“Why can’t I enter the tracking number and Canada Post figures it out? Am I asking for too much?”
Not at all. Good user experiences should be anticipatory. Similarly, back-end systems should be designed in such a way that they can distinguish between something as simple as personal or business. However, as Geof said, this is most likely a flaw in their system.