Security checks at airports are a high-performance operation. Hundreds of passengers are processed in the shortest possible time. Nevertheless, one need in particular should be taken into account: Not to feel threatened. For many years, people stood in a narrow body scanner and raised their hands in the air protectively. "Hands up!"
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Until it was questioned whether a more comfortable arm position was possible. A posture that is not only easier for everyone to perform, but also avoids the feeling of threat. And this is the simple solution: arms down. Empathizing with your users or putting yourself in their shoes opens up new perspectives on your own service. This is demonstrated by small but far-reaching changes like these.

Someone who makes a service request to a company and has no feedback or insight into what's happening in the background feels like it's disappearing into a black hole. But first and foremost, users want to know where they stand.

Wolt, a delivery service, is a great example of transparency for customers. Via the app, you are virtually live when the order arrives at the restaurant, when it is prepared and when it is on its way. All this with real-time information on when the food will arrive so that the wine can be opened in time. This transparency towards customers and between processes increases the trust in the own service.

People greatly appreciate it when someone acts with foresight and thinks along for them. An excellent example of this is Siri, Apple's voice assistant.

We imagine: It's late, you're lying in bed, and you're just about to fall asleep. Suddenly, it hits you that you forgot to water the plants! At that moment, just before midnight (or long after?), we set a new reminder for "tomorrow" with Siri. Siri responds directly and specifically asks which day is meant by "tomorrow". This ability to always think one step ahead leads to shorter processing times for services and significantly reduces frustration for customers.

People have diverse requirements and needs. It is surprising how often accessibility is not sufficiently considered, although it should be obvious and mandatory. Usually, accessibility measures focus on the output of services, such as readability, contrast, or speech intelligibility. But with the rise of voice-based services, we also need to think about accessible input.
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This time, a less good example: Siri, Apple's voice assistant. Activating Siri usually requires near-flawless English pronunciation. This not only excludes people who have difficulties due to speech disorders, but also entire markets abroad remain closed. A really good service should be fully accessible to everyone who might need it.

Services must not only be accessible for reasons of accessibility, but also efficiently usable without much guidance in our fast-paced times.
For example, Ikea's assembly plans are almost wordless and yet unambiguous. Or intelligent bicycle locks warn of thieves through particularly concise sounds – within seconds, it is clear to both the surroundings and the culprit himself: "Don't touch me!"

Self-explanatory services and applications ultimately save a lot of processing time. The more steps you can take in self-service, the happier your customers will be.

As customers, we want smooth processes – that's why seamlessness between silos and processes is so important. Jelbi manages to be seamless not only internally, but even across entire companies. As a service of the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, Jelbi connects different mobility offers with each other. Via app, you enter where you want to go and then get all the options for reaching your destination - whether by subway, bus, car sharing, scooter or cab. The journey can be booked directly via the app and Jelbi stations with parked means of transport are distributed throughout Berlin.