From: Nicholas Clark Date: 22:57 on 04 Feb 2008 Subject: Post Office Cash Machines There are various things that can be hateful about the software running cash machines. But tonight the cash machine at the Post Office (run by Bank of Ireland, so maybe they are to blame, and not the ants that boogie*) Firstly - why use 3 of the 8 buttons to give me the options cash/balance/something-I-forget, and then add a whole extra bloody screen of "would you like a receipt?". Just make that 4 options up front - cash with/cash without Maybe they got their programmers from McDonald's - and it was only QA that stopped it saying "would you like fries with your cash?" Secondly, and far less cluefully, why present me with a screen with various pre-selected amounts including FIFTY POUNDS, and then when I press that one immediately present me with a dialogue asking me to enter an amount in multiples of TWENTY. If the 10 pound cash reel is empty (or jammed) just don't bloody show the amounts you can't dispense. It's not like other (better) cash machine software doesn't get this right - I know I've seen machines with the amounts in their usual places, only in place of "£30" or "£50" it says "Sorry, no £10 notes available". Maybe the software was written by muppets, and it needs to have extra screens to delay the user if there are a lot of notes to count. You'd be there half the night for £200. "Tventy. Ha ha ha" "Forty. Ha ha ha" ... Nicholas Clark * The UK Post Office was advertising everything with various anthromorphised ants which graced everything in sight, particularly the advertising screen each branch's queue was aimed at. So many ants that some months ago this very Post Office* had coloured card stars hand written with "features" of the credit card they were promoting, one of which was something like "doesn't have any ants" ** The big one near Trafalgar Square
Generated at 10:26 on 16 Apr 2008 by mariachi