Some time ago, I received an email telling me that one of my account statements was ready. The email contained a link to view the statement.
This was a lie.
Actually viewing the statement was so complicated that I often simply gave up. Eventually, after succeeding one time, I wrote down the steps so I could do it again.
- Click the link. This takes me to the Microsoft benefits site. Follow the sign-in instructions.
- On the page you are sent to after signing in, there is a hidden link: Go to the flyout in the upper right corner, and open it. In the flyout, click Manage my account. This takes you to an account page.
- On the account page, there is another hidden link: Go to the flyout near the upper right corner (not in the extreme upper right corner), and open it. In the flyout, click Statements. This takes you to another page.
- On that page, scroll down until you see where it says “To view your statements, click here,” and click it. This takes you to another page.
- The page you are sent to is completely empty except for a single button that says Statements. Click it. This takes you to another page.
- This page is an interstitial page. After a few seconds, you are automatically redirected.
- Finally you are on a page that has your statements. Click the statement you want to view or download.
Thankfully, Microsoft changed providers a few years ago,¹ and the new statement notification email just takes you straight to a page that (after you sign in) has your statement. Furthermore, if you go straight to the sign-in page rather than using the deep link in the notification email, the new site’s home page has a tab called Documents that lists your statements.
Thank you, new provider, for actually doing usability testing for the scenario “See my most recent statement.”
¹ That old site was terrible. I was never sure how to get the information I wanted, and when I tried to find it, I often found myself going in circles. “But look at our engagement numbers! People stay on the site for hours!”
“But the plans were on display…”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
> The page you are sent to is completely empty except for a single button that says Statements. Click it.
I think at this point, I would begin to worry I’ve been click-jacked, and close my browser..!
I don’t know which provider you’re referring to, but a compounding factor is when these companies register completely generic, nonrecognizable / nontrustworthy domain names — I think Fidelity and Morgan Stanley were both guilty of that. (netbenefits.com? benefitsconnect.com? something like that, I forget which was which)
Hi, Raymond Chen and readers of This Blog:
I want to share a story about an application relying on the internal behavior of the system.
One day, a customer found that his desktop looked different from usual, unusually simple —— the dynamic wallpaper application he installed, which claimed to play Miku's Ievan Polkka animation on the desktop, was invalid! Then he found an error message on a console window: "Failed to get wallpaper window!"
The customer immediately contacted the developer of the application and speculated that this was caused by the Windows 11 version 24H2 update he installed yesterday.
The...
Every now and then I download statements from my retirement account. In the spreadsheet where I track performance I have the steps written out, just as you mention, because it is HARD.
Well, just yesterday I had to call their support line (and was glad to find a human after only 4 menu levels) because one of the documents have moved and I could not locate it after searching for some time. The agent had to show me the way, it was hidden behind a menu option that had nothing to do with that particular document. Sigh!
Needless to...