What problem are we trying to solve?
I had an interesting experience picking up a prescription yesterday.
I normally use a small local pharmacy. They know me, I know them. But after changing insurance, I was required to go in-network with a national chain.
At the pharmacy, I was directed to a kiosk.
Enter my name.
Birth month.
Birth day.
“Nothing found.”
Try again. Remove the space in my last name.
Nothing found.
“Just enter the first three letters of your first and last name.”
Eventually the system asked, “Are you Kristophe?”
Close enough, I thought.
They found my prescription—but my new insurance wasn’t on file. I handed over the card, was asked to sit down, waited ten minutes, then was called back… and asked to re-enter my information into the kiosk.
Total time: 20–25 minutes. A very modern experience.
Later, I thought about my local pharmacy. I walk up, say my name, confirm my address, hand over a new insurance card, and pay.
Total time: 5–10 minutes. Which made me wonder:
What problem was the technology actually designed to solve?
Because it clearly wasn’t reducing time, complexity, or customer effort.
Technology is only progress when it makes things simpler. Otherwise, it just asks the customer to work harder.
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