This is not how it is done!

Throughout this year my husband and I have been members of Weight Watchers.  We both have the app on our phones and have been tracking what we eat and activity.  It has worked well for both of us and we have lost many pounds and both of us feel much better with the weight loss. 

So recently amid great fanfare, Weight Watchers launched their new web site and app for their members.  The goal is to push people toward healthier eating and lifestyles.  The new Smart Points plan incorporates healthy eating, sensible portions of food, increased activity and holistic approaches to living better.  Fine, fine, fine. 

Unfortunately whatever company Weight Watchers used to redesign their web site and apps somehow did not get the message.  They launched a web site and new apps that are clunky, not customer friendly, not easy to use and seem to crash easily and often.  The new system was launched around Thanksgiving and is still not working well. 

I easily admit that I am a digital immigrant.  Luckily I teach at a college and have many students who are willing to kindly step in and help me when I come across technology that is new to me.  Yet even my best digital native cannot help the crappy launch of the new Weight Watchers tools. 

You do not treat your current, loyal customers the way we have been treated by Weight Watchers.  Weight Watchers own technology people do not know how the tools are to work.  We keep getting messages that the site is down and they are "working tirelessly" to get it back up again.  Weight loss tools that worked well are now gone, replaced with "cutting edge technology" that does not work and is not user friendly. 

In addition they designed the tools for iPhones (even so they still do not work) and forgot that many users have Andriod phones. 

Shame, Shame, Shame!  Weight Watchers you were sold a bill of goods by whoever designed your tools.  They do not work and I have not seen any results of your "around the clock" efforts to make them better. 

I may be a digital immigrant but this is not the way to treat your members and customers! 

Out of Pain Comes Growth

This week I read an article by Dr. Everett Piper, President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University (This is not a day care. It's a university!)  In the article Dr. Piper talked about students who approach him complaining about topics that make them feel uncomfortable.  He went on to say that it is not the goal of the university to make students feel safe and comfortable but to challenge them to have feelings that will make them change. 

This topic was also brought to mind when I was teaching my Introduction to Psychology class this week.  We were talking about psychological therapies, and the discussion was on mental health counseling.  One student raised her hand as I was describing the counseling relationship and asked whether counseling should make you uncomfortable.  What an excellent question!  Yes, if a therapist and a client/patient are in too comfortable of a relationship then there will not be any progress.  I was trying to demonstrate to the class that although certain types of counseling used empathy and unconditional positive regard as part of the therapeutic process there should also be discomfort or the client/patient will not make any movement toward a healthier emotional state.

This semester I have been immersed in the concepts of microaggressions and trigger words as I have been working with students and also teaching classes.  This got me thinking about how people fear discomfort. 

Life is not here to provide you with a comfortable existence!  In fact if we all get too comfortable then we will not make any progress, both physically or emotionally.  We will present ourselves as "victims" and see others as "oppressors."  As people who are runners and physical fitness experts know, out of the pain of a workout comes progress toward physical fitness goals.  As I was getting a massage this week I also thought that out of the pain of the massage will come new comfort for me and my muscles. 

I see my students and many other people wanting to have a comfortable academic and emotional life.  Again that is not the way the process works!  Out of the pain of conflict or discord comes reconciliation and understanding.   I don't see myself growing as an individual unless I challenge myself and my beliefs and emotions.  It is through the challenge that I grow as a person, parent, friend, Christian and wife. 

So embrace the challenges and discomfort.  They will lead you to an existence as a stronger person and someone who knows where you stand and what you believe.