I missed an appointment, and here's what I learned...
The problem
I have a pretty busy schedule, and if I'm not fixing cars, spending time with the family, attending shows, working 24/7, studying or trying to help businesses in my area, there's a good chance I'll forget something.
So lets look at 2 customer journeys I've now experienced from this.
Dentist - journey 1
My dentist cancelled an appointment on me and sent the following message the next day due to their computer system not registering it as a cancellation on their end rather than mine:
Now the dentist, they text at mid day the previous day to remind me, and as a result I've never missed an appointment due to my memory, despite them usually being booked 6 months in advance.
Journey 1 - The Message
This message isn't accusatory, it's polite, understanding, states the facts and conveys a sense of unity by using the word "team" when it didn't need to. It also doesn't suggest you've missed your chance because it uses the word "reschedule" implying the user journey hasn't finished.
NHS - Journey 2
Now lets look at one from the doctor. Firstly the appointment was given to me, not arranged with me and sent to me at 8:20am. I don't know about you but I'm usually either in the car or in a rush at 8:20 and chances are by the time I arrive at work the last thing I can do is look at my phone.
So, without a reminder, I missed the appointment (I know, there's things I could have done) and got the following text message:
Journey 2 - The Message
This message reads like a passive aggressive partner shoving a post-it on the fridge to remind you not to use their shelf. It's simply a complaint with no attempt at understanding, it highlights a problem but instead of trying to understand why that problem exists or what can be done to resolve it, it makes it as abrupt and harsh as possible with no continued user journey.
The Requirements
"Well quite right! we need those services!" I hear you shouting, well yes, but humans are going to human and so thinking about user journeys is something we all need to do when building these things.
The dentists are providing a better user journey on a less critical service. They've understood their user journey, seen that there's a big gap between appointment booking and arrival, and tailored their message accordingly to ensure they get the business they need.
The NHS clinic on the other hand has reviewed the user journey, decided not to implement an automated reminder service, tell off their patient, not provide a call to action, or further details, but they have gone to the trouble to tell me that it's a regular problem...
The roles here should be reversed. Health isn't constant, someone might have made an appointment only to be in hospital the next day as the condition worsened, or might be so ashamed of their condition (separate note, c'mon guys get tested if you find something) that they don't feel up to going. There's so many possible reasons. So what would I have written?
This took me less than 30 seconds to brainstorm. It's polite, reinforces the importance of an appointment to the NHS, reassures that everything is confidential, and uses emotive words like "help" and "please". I could have tweaked this further but it shows the contrast already.