The Elevator to You
"It's a bit bigger than I expected."
"Isn't it something."
"I wouldn't say I'm dazzled yet, but I can say I'm a little lost. Which way are we going?"
"This way, sir, right this way."
The greeter tilted his head slightly, pressed his lips into something meant to be a smile, and gestured toward a large door.
The chairman went ahead, the staff member trailing behind, through the door he'd pointed to. The chairman looked around, uncertain.
"Where are the outpatient clinics?"
"We set aside the top floor for them, sir. Decorated it beautifully. Our patients are going to love it."
"The top floor? Then couldn't you at least put up a sign at the entrance so people know where they're going? And where's the elevator?"
"Well... sir, we didn't think of an elevator."
"Fine, say you put the clinics on the top floor. How do you not think of an elevator? How's anyone supposed to get up there, that narrow staircase?"
"Sir, yes, there might be a few small things we overlooked, but wait until you see it, you'll love it too. The colors, those beautiful chairs, we even put in a drink stand."
By the time they reached the fourth floor clinics, the chairman and the staff member were both out of breath. The chairman caught his breath in a corner and looked around. Reds, yellows, purples, all at once, and for a moment he just stood there, frozen.
"Good Lord, where have I ended up, a slaughterhouse?"
"But sir, but, but..." the staff member stammered.
"How many staff do you even have to guide people around?"
"Well... it's just me, sir."
"I'm going to faint right here."
For a moment, imagine yourself as a patient walking into this hospital. Even if this same staff member greeted you, how hard would it be to find your way? And once you stepped through that door, how would you know you'd actually found what you came for?
That hospital only exists in a story. But plenty of real businesses build exactly this without meaning to. A homepage with everything on display and no door marked entrance. A booking page three clicks past where anyone thought to look.
The First Visit Check walks through your site, your profile, or your bio the way that patient walked through the hospital, and shows you where people actually get lost.
Comments