If you say Log out, log me out
You’ve logged into your on-line banking checked your balance, paid your bills. What do you do now? Click on the logout button?
What do you expect will happen now? Well given that you have actively chosen to log-out (it’s not something you are likely to click on my mistake), you’d expect to do exactly that. Logout. The next screen you get will probably be something that thanks you for on-line banking, with a cross sell for a product or two.
That’s what I assume most customers would expect. So what are Alliance and Leicester thinking about with this screen?
The customer has clicked log-out but they are still logged in?
Why?
“You are still logged in to Internet Banking – before you go have a look at Your offers.”
Excuse me, I logged out, I don’t need to be logged in for you to show me offers.
Worse: “Are you sure you want to log out?”
OF COURSE I WANT TO LOG OUT!!! Why else would I have clicked the link.
Alliance and Leicester fail here in a fundamental usability rule, that of managing the customer’s expectation. In an application where security isn’t paramount this would be an error, in an application where customers expect their action of leaving their secure accounts will do exactly that… but doesn’t, is inexcusable.