I have a new idea for a career path. For me!
Lately I have been frustrated by companies who don’t seem to employ anyone over age 30. Either that or products are not tested by actual users.
I could do that! I would be great. Here are some areas where I could be valuable.
Websites that are not intuitive. I recently purchased something customized on-line and it took two phone calls to complete the purchase. That’s just crazy. One would have been eliminated with “basic frequently asked questions” and the other with an easier click to find your product. Who beta tested these? The 20-somethings that created them? If I can’t buy something in a few minutes, you failed!
Products with labels you can’t read. I have already blogged about hair products that you can’t read without your glasses (see here). It’s more than just hair products. I have started using my Sharpie pen to write important things on products so I can actually use them without a magnifying glass. (Yes I have a lighted magnifying glass and I use it.) If I can’t see it under conditions of actual use (that means with some vision issues in the shower) you failed!
Shoes, ah shoes. Who said that anything under 5 inch stilettos has to be frumpy? They don’t! There must be a shoe designer who has bunions! If my beloved husband doesn’t whistle when I’m all dolled up, you failed!
Products with too many bells and whistles – The beloved husband’s Nikon camera comes to mind with this one. His SLR has so many nuances that he has to carry the instruction book everywhere he goes. So why did he buy such a camera you ask? Because all SLR cameras are like that now. If I can’t take a camera to a picnic without the book, you failed!
Car consoles. I have a 3-year-old car. There is a spot to put the phone, the MP3 player and some other electronic gizmos with which I am not familiar. I can turn up the volume on the radio at three different places but there is no place for a pack of tissues or coupons or sunglasses. I have a deep hole in the console where everything non-electronic goes. My last car had the center console divided in such a way that there wasn’t a deep abyss between my passenger and me. I could actually find things. If I can’t grab my sunglasses or coupons quickly, you failed!
I would be great at this!
Freebies to try. (Think luxury cars! Fabulous skincare products! OMG Jimmy Choos!)
Product testing at its finest.
I will buy a FAILED stamp. I’m gonna need it.
Photo credits: The first failed goes to fashioncrackheads and the second to cuddlebugs both through Google.
Views and Mews by Coffee Kat 
Best of luck with your next best career, Kate! 😀
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There is a demand for this skill. I use a Sharpie to put the expiration date on things like spices because I can’t read the stamped date on the bottle. You have to wonder who tests these products. I believe a masochist designed the 5-inch heels and a sharp conman from “Ad Men” has convinced many females it’s a “must have.” It’s a back injury or a quick trip to ER any time you wear those heels.
Go get ’em, Kate.
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Oh yes, the expiration date, especially on tubes of suntan lotion or such. That is why I first purchased the lighted magnifying glass! I too write expiration dates on containers.
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It’s your perfect job. You’d be brilliant and I bet most readers will definitely agree with you on your fails. Of course we should be able to read things in the shower and walk comfortably but stylishly. Brilliant.
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Well, this one hit home. Why am I no longer privy to what color lipstick I’m buying, so I can buy it again? Is there anyone over 40 who can still read that? I have to admit I love my high heels. The problem is that people keep having cocktail parties where everyone is standing for 2 hours. Let us sit down and look pretty, for the sake of humanity!!
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It’s been a long time since I could read lipstick or nail polish without a magnifying glass. I keep the tag from my foundation so I can just hand it to the counter person. I have no idea what it says. I can only wear high heels if it’s a dinner thing. Standing for a couple hours requires at least wedge heels and not over 2 inches. Aging ain’t for sissies!
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When it comes to reading mini-type instructions or running any type of electronics I call on my “service people” (Grandkiddos) who always show shock that I can’t see or don’t get how to use something. I never miss an opportunity to remind them they’ll be old someday. 🙂
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If you need a personal reference just holler. (loudly if you want me to hear.)
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I need service people!
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“If my beloved husband doesn’t whistle when I’m all dolled up, you failed!” Woohoo! Now that’s product testing 😀
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I always thought well it must be my age
Or maybe I’m on the wrong page
Just when I need it and cannot read it
I find myself in a rage
😦
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Should you start this business and require an assistant, I would like to apply. But please do not fail me. 😦
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You are hired!
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Great observations! I could join you in being a tester with a “failed” stamp. Almost everything for sale is flawed by design and impossible to read. )
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I’ll order two stamps! We have a lot of work to do!
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I think you may be onto something, Kate. I don’t remember what product it was that I grabbed in the supermarket this weekend, but the print was so ridiculously tiny that I actually laughed out loud when I turned the box around. For a brief moment, I considered looking for a magnifying glass somewhere else in the store. Then, I just decided to buy a different product whose packaging I could read.
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Some of the prescriptions are bad too and you are stuck with them!
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I have given up on pretty shoes unless I am only walking from the car to a table wear I can take them off! Wake up capitalists, there is a market to explore here. 8)
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Absolutely. I don’t know anyone who wants frumpy shoes.
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Yep. I agree. Especially the no stylish flat shoes for women who prefer to wander around in this world with their feet on the ground. I have never understood heels. Ever.
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Well i am with you on many of these points,a nd although I don’t need glasses to read labels just yet I do think many websites are badly designed (maybe not at all) and shoes can be beautiful and practical
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I don’t know. It took me a full year to get used to the car console! Next time I buy a car I will check that out.
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HA! There used to be a mantra when you built website for clients: “Don’t make me/user think” – the site needed to be plain and simple to find info or buy stuff. What happened to that?
And so true about the car compartments.
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LOVE this post! It’s so true, products and websites need you as a product tester, especially Jimmy Choo. 😉 As they say, common sense isn’t too common.
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Yes, I’ve always wondered why we call it “common” sense anyway! Thanks for stopping by!
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