"All our servers are currently busy"

What is the point to technology if it does not somehow make life easier, more productive or more fun?

Our experience of using technology should be a pleasant one and yet often is neither pleasant nor especially useful. Let me give you an example that I think illustrates the point.

On Christmas day I was trying to phone home to speak to my parents. I picked up the phone, hit the speed dial number and handed the phone to my youngest daughter so that she would be the first to wish them a Happy Christmas. She held the handset close to her head and waited for an answer. And then she waited some more. Eventually she reached out to pass the phone back to me and said, “Dad, the lady says that all the servers are currently [sic] busy”. I placed the handset to my ear to listen to the “lady” repeat her message about the busy “servers”.

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“Well …” my voice trailed away.

Well, what does it mean? Perhaps in a bygone age the “servers” in question were real human operators waiting to help me make a long distance call, but I wasn’t making “an operator assisted call” - I was just dialing a number. No, as I’m sure you suspected, the servers were the more common computer sort and apparently they were trying their best but just couldn’t cope with the load.

From a user experience point of view I couldn’t care less that my telco’s servers are too busy, but I do care that they can’t connect me to the person I’m trying to contact. Whatsmore, now I know there is a “problem”, I’d like to get some idea of what I should do next. Should I hold until a connection can be made or should I hang up and try again in a few minutes?

“Well … I’m not sure. Let’s try again.”

And, of course, it worked next time.