28/04/2026
Today, I have regret.
I was out and about running errands and remembered I needed to get a key cut.
I spotted an automated key-cutting machine. I’d never used one before, but thought… what the hey. They should be reliable, right? They're not exactly 🥁 cutting edge 🥁
The machine had a large interactive display with a couple of oversized buttons. I did wonder: how would someone with a visual impairment interact with this?
I followed the on-screen instructions. The display said one thing; the panel for scanning the key suggested another. It looked like I was meant to hold the key in front of it. Nowhere was it obvious the panel was actually a door — with a small flatbed scanner behind it.
After filling in the gaps (and scanning both sides), it whirred and buzzed… and eventually spat out a shiny new ke— wait… that’s half a key.
Now what?
No help on screen. Two different helpline numbers on stickers.
I called one.
Automated agent: “How can I help you?”
Me: “My key cutting didn’t work.”
Automated agent: “I’m still here.”
Me: “My new key is broken.”
Automated agent: “………”
Tried again. Same result.
Called the other number. Eventually got:
“You can go to your nearest store and they’ll replace it free of charge. Tell me where you are…”
Me: “Elgin.”
Automated agent: “………”
Repeat.
Full transparency: those might not be the exact words of the conversation, but you get the gist.
Anyway…
Apple Maps showed a location two minutes away — apparently inside the local funeral directors 🤨
At that point, I gave up and went to a shop I already knew.
In less time than the machine took to fail, a real (and sympathetic) human had a perfectly cut key in my hand.
It’s easy to focus on the “moment of purchase” — the shiny machine, the surface-level slick interface, the promise of convenience.
But the real experience is everything around it:
• when something isn’t clear
• when something goes wrong
• when someone needs help
That’s where trust is either built… or quietly lost.
Looking beyond the surface to find the friction, the confusion, the dead ends — and fixing them before your customers ever notice. Because it’s not just about getting someone to use your product. It’s about making sure they’d choose to use it again.
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