Lubricate Your Shredder!
November 26th, 2008 by Geoff 6 Comments
In some ways this post is a public service announcement. It turns out you need to lubricate your cross-cut shredder every time you empty the bin. If you are not doing that, you should start now. You can get shredder oil or shredder lubricant sheets.
In most other ways, though, this post is really about the value of design.
I always assumed a shredder needs no maintenance. You plug it in, turn it on and it is ready to go. However when our shredder stopped working, the customer service person at Fellows told me it is critical to lubricate a shredder. Critical.
Let’s take a look at how this critical information is communicated. Note the red arrow and gray box I added around the maintenance section in their manual:
The type that explains the importance of lubricating the shredder is in 8 point (or smaller) and not highlighted in any way. If I was designing this manual, I might make everything else in the manual 8 point and make that section much larger.
This is really the same issue that was tackled by Deborah Adler for her SVA thesis project. Her grandmother accidently took her grandfather’s medicine since most prescription bottles look the same. Traditional labels represent all information at mostly the same size. The medicine, dosage, doctor’s name, pharmacy name, and all other information is not differentiated in any way.
Her redesign places real emphasis on the drug name and dosage instructions. The critical information gets weighted more.
In the prescription bottle case, design is the difference between life and death. In the case I am describing, it is the difference between spending another $50 and filling up the landfill with a broken shredder. I certainly recognize the difference, but I can’t help but think that designing the shredder manual better would not have been that difficult.
Once again, design matters.
Oh, by the way, in case you want to know what the lubrication instructions say, I blew them up for you here:
November 26th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
One other thing… I also suggested that they include a sample of the shredder lubrication. This would give them the opportunity to really highlight the necessity of lubricating your shredder.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
I can’t help but think that this company just wants to sell more shredders, and that is not particularly fair to the consumer, nor is it very environmental. Don’t companies realize that we will become lifelong customers if they are known for being more clear, direct, open, conscious?
It’s on us to take these companies to task. I would love to see this as a community design challenge!
November 26th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
@Geoff if not a sample, a coupon for lubrication oil!
November 26th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
There are so many bad examples of how to properly design the importance of facts. I think Roz is right. While it may be critical to the operation of the shredder that it be lubricated it is obviously not critical to the company for them to communicate that to you properly. The obvious reason why is because they would like you to buy more shredders.
The way the company could replace the incentive (that is, the incentive to get you to buy more replacement shedders) is to offer the lubrication in an incredibly easy-to-reorder way at a good margin. Sell the $1.00 bottle of lubricant for $4.00. Make it easy to reorder. And you’ve solved both the customer support and business problem.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
@colin I thought about that issue. I think that companies do benefit in the long run when they don’t try to make the quick buck.
I vote with my money… and that goes both ways. I spend more money on products and services that do things that are considerate to both their bottom line and their customers.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
We did a web site for Epson all about discovering your Epsonality. Maybe it’s time shredder companies started advertising your Shredder-ality? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8D7kRGput0