Logo Design, Web Design, Charlotte NC: Varloo Design

Sallie Mae’s last site design was really terrible. Their new design looks better, but is still horrible to use. Here are a couple examples of Sallie Mae’s horrible UX.

Account Summary

From this page, we are reassured that we are on “Account Summary” in no less than 4 ways.

1. Navigation highlight
2. Breadcrumb
3. Page title
4. Section title

And there are no subpages of “Account Summary” (as far as I can tell) so there are no other pages in the “Account Summary” section.

Loan Advisor

Here’s is Sallie Mae’s attempt at being helpful. They have a ad-sized spot on the page to advertise other products, tips about the site, or tools for my current product. Awesome. Here’s what’s not awesome: rather than making the spot an ad, or a link, or a sentence with a link, they use the space to spell out how to find the information to change the repayment plan.

Why can they not just link to it? “Follow the links to IBR?” Wtf?! That’s what links are for Sallie Mae. YOU link to it, and I just have to click it.

So when we use the horrible pop-menu they have, it takes you to this forms page.

So just read through and “follow the links.” Get it together Sallie Mae.

Not much help to know which cities were it in 2009, but here they are:

[image by sasmalko]
Today was almost an amazing day. I was told I won a 2010 Lincoln Navigator, by Holly, at extension 221. Oh man, so close. I’m just posting this in case anyone else comes across the same thing. She called me from 888-648-2802.

Here is the actual transcript of the message:

“Hi, my name is Holly calling from the awards claim center, in regards to an entry form you filled out to win a 2010 Lincoln Navigator in one of our shopping malls, movie theaters, or online within the last 12 months. I have some very good news for you, your name was pulled last night. Give me a call back as soon as possible, my phone number is 888-648-2797. Again, that’s 888-648-2797. And that’s Holly, at extension 221.”

And here is the recording:

Signs of a Scam

1. They Give No Personal Information About You

If I filled out an entry to win, or something, they would have some info about me, and leave it in the message. “This message if for _____” or the location of the contest I entered, or something. But nope, instead they never mention my name, any location, any date, and even the type of location is left to “shopping malls, movie theaters, or online.” Who hasn’t been to one of these places in the last couple months?

2. They Give No Information About Their Company

Not only does ‘Holly’ not give any company name, she doesn’t give a website, her last name, or any other identifiable information. All she says is that she is calling from “the awards claim center.” She could have at least faked a company name.

3. It’s Too Good to be True!

I could use a Lincoln Navigator as much as the next guy, but judging by my track record of winning things (read: never), I’m guessing that the car gods are not calling on me to replace my old beat up car with this one. So now I will say something everyone always says: if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Bummer.

[photo: Louis Abate]

I have not seen this discussed at all, but maybe I’ve just missed the posts. I have a Droid (love/hate), and it turns any phone number online into a clickable link. When you click the phone number on a web page, it puts it into the dialer of the phone. It’s a great feature, and I’m not sure if the iPhone does the same or not. BUT it only recognizes the phone number if the number is written with dashes (parenthesis around the area code works too).

This seems like a huge issue in terms of making it super easy for customers/clients to get in touch. Recently, I tried to call Bank of America’s customer service, but phone didn’t recognize the phone number because the numbers were divided by dots (as all ‘cool’ designers do to be cool). So instead of writing your company’s phone number as 111.555.5555, write it as 111-555-5555 or (111) 555-5555, and smartphone users (at least Droid users) will be able to click your number to dial. And designers: get over it.