
Chapter 9 n IQ Applied to Customer Care 409
Note This data capture design in Figure 9-7 does not force people to enter
an invalid value if they have no postal code in their country. Also note that
the data entry space is closer to the data label of the Attribute to be captured.
This reduces error of entering data in a wrong space where multiple data
fields are required.
Note The best design asks for data only that is relevant and required,
with screens generated and presented to the Customer only when the data is
knowable and required.
Do not use drop-down lists except when the list of options is small, exhaus-
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tive, and complete. Drop-downs are commonly used for forms of address
(Mr, Mrs, and so on) and job titles. In neither case is it possible to add
every possible form of address to the drop-down list.
Figure 9-8 illustrates poor drop-down list that does not have a comprehensive
list of Form of Address Titles.
Figure 9-8: Drop-downs Such As These Leave Customers Frustrated if they have Other
Forms of Address Frustrated, such as Professor, Lord, Engineer, Sir, Colonel, Reverend.
Ensure that drop-down lists are
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up-to-date. How many companies keep
up with the ever-changing names of countries—how many still have
Yugoslavia in their lists, or Serbia and Montenegro?
As the world changes, you must keep data subject to decay, current. See Figure 9-9
for obsolete Country information. ...