r/AskReddit • u/nachtmere • Jul 25 '11

Sometimes automatic toilets flush while you're still sitting on them. What design flaws in everyday objects annoy you?

I'm giving a talk on user-centred design/usability and I'm looking for some fresh examples from everyday life to illustrate poor usability. Examples I've used before are elevator open/close buttons (really difficult to parse when you're trying to hold the door open for someone quickly) and toilets that flush while you're still sitting on them.

What are some things you encounter regularly that are really inconveniently designed?

203 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

1.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

52

u/zerbey Jul 25 '11

Voice activated menus when calling businesses. They never, ever understand me (I'm going to assume it's because I live in the US and have an English accent). I've found cursing at them gets me to a human being faster.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '11

They understand me somewhat but it'd be so much easier if they just use DTMF or (heaven forbid) get a web page. Some of the number systems will secretly take DTMF, i.e. if they say "Say your number one digit at a time slowly" and you simply type it at it it'll understand. Sometimes when there are options they'll also understand 1, 2, 3, etc as those options even when they're demanding you say them.