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Inside Looking Out: LabCorp's Information Architecture Train Wreck
Submitted by Mark Celsor on Sat, 2007-05-19 10:15.
Design | Information Architecture | LabCorp | Strategy
This is a copy of the letter that I sent to webmaster@labcorp.com this morning regarding my experience with the Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) web site. LabCorp is a huge company that does medical testing and my doctor sent me there for some routine tests for my physical.
Hello,
I've never written a rant letter like this to a big corporation but this morning I couldn't help it. LabCorp doesn't seem to want consumers to use their web site. I set out this morning with what I imagined to be a fairly simple task: "Find the hours of the LabCorp at 2850 Telegraph in Berkeley, California". Here are some of the steps that I took and what I ran into:
1. Google "LabCorp 2850 Telegraph" (This will be faster than calling them.)
I get nothing for labcorp.com in the first 10 pages of results only, business directory listings without the hours.
2. Google "LabCorp"
The top result is a page titled "Welcome to Laboratory Corporation of America". I guess that is "LabCorp", so I click on it.
3. Welcome to "Welcome to LabCorp"
I am greeted by a big picture of an angry looking man with his arms crossed, but it says "Welcome to LabCorp" so I know I'm in the right place. The blurb on the home page tells me a bunch of information about how big and awesome LabCorp is, with $3.6 billion in revenues, 25,000 employees, 370,000 specimens daily, the NYSE ticker, etc. Wow, LabCorp is a big impressive corporation!
4. Where do I click for locations?
The two big buttons in the middle of the page say "For the New York area www.chooseLabCorp.com" (OK, that's not me, I'm in California) and the other says "Physicians click here to set up a LabCorp Account or call 1-888-LABCORP" (OK, that's not me either).
5. Let's glance at the navigation.
Ugh, there's tons of navigation links with long names and the font is really small, so I start reading down the left bar. "Home"? Nope I'm already on the home page. "About..."? No, I already know they get "370,000 specimens daily". "Corporate Governance"? Huh? "Centers of Excellence"? Excellent, That could be it! Ut oh, a sub menu popped out, what do I pick here, "Center for Esoteric Testing", "Center for Molecular Biology and Pathology", "DIANON Systems", "Esoterix"? Ah, "US LABS", I'm in the United States and I need to find a lab, perfect!
6. "US LABS is an esoteric anatomic pathology laboratory providing critical cancer screening, diagnosis, prognosis and genetic analysis."
WTF? All of the navigation is gone and I'm anchored to the middle of a page that seems to list a bunch of companies that LabCorp owns or something, so I click the back button.
7. O.K., the navigation is insane... Let's use the search box.
I search for "2850 Telegraph", no results, "telegraph", no results, "Berkeley" (I know there are like five LabCorp locations in Berkeley), still no results. I think perhaps search doesn't work at all, so I search for "lab". The top result is a link to the 2000 Annual Report. I am mildly interested to find out if they had "370,000 specimens daily" back then but now I'm starting to get distracted. I also want to add that the most noticeable thing on the search result page is a button to download Adobe's Acrobat Reader software. It's almost as big as their logo.
8. Calm down Mark, you've been building web pages for over twelve years, you CAN figure this site out!
Yeh, how did I miss that small, purple tab on a purple background along the top edge of the page labeled with two lines of tiny text that says "Patient Service Center Locator"? I click it and see a Star Trek version of the LabCorp logo and a bunch of text. Now what? There's a big button that says "Back" (which is great because I've gotten tired of using my web browser's normal "Back" button while shuffling around this information architecture train wreck). Wait, I see a "click here" link, I'm going for it!
9. Cool, this page uses frames, a very hip, 1997, retro aesthetic touch!
I think I made it! After scrolling down past four paragraphs of text that use new and exciting type faces that I haven't seen yet on other parts of the site, I find the elusive locator form. There is a paragraph about health plans with a yes/no field (which I ignore), two sets of radio buttons for various options (some of which have footnotes in red text, but I still ignore them) and four fields for address information. I'm not taking any chances with my address so I enter the address of the LabCorp location "2850 Telegraph" and type in "Berkeley" for the city and click the "Find PSC" button (because "Reset" didn't seem like the right button).
10. Alright, a bunch of MapQuest branded maps!
- Berkeley (Alameda County) CA (US)
- Berkeley (Saint Louis County) MO (US)
- Berkeley (Cook County) IL (US)
- Berkeley (Providence County) RI (US)
- Berkeley (Berkeley County) WV (US)
- Berkeley (Hernando County) FL (US)
- Berkeley (Ocean County) NJ (US)
- Berkeley (Albemarle County) VA (US)
- Berkeley (Charles City County) VA (US)
- Berkeley (Pierce County) WA (US)
I click on the first one and get a page of 14 more MapQuest maps. The one I'm looking for is the second one on the list. Yeh, they open at 8:00 AM today. I probably should have just started at MapQuest.
Basically, LabCorp's web presence seems to be a horrific example of a corporate web site that has been designed by committee and cobbled together over the years to satisfy the whims of various competing stakeholders with the inward-looking, pomp and circumstance of stock photography, investor annual reports, and no focus on simple business objectives (like getting customers to lab locations).
One more (slightly more geeky and obscure) note about LabCorp's site; the company has a page stating that they are "committed to implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)". This an important law that deals with privacy issues and I'm glad that LabCorp is paying attention to it but they might also want to take a look into sections of the Americans with Disabilities Act. With its frames, weird pop out navigation menus, and graphical buttons without text alternatives, the site would be nearly impossible to use for people with impaired vision. To get a quick idea of what their experience would be like, turn off images in your web browser and visit the LabCorp home page.
I doubt that my long-winded, unfriendly rant will win any business for my employer (Clear Ink - a 40 person web marketing firm in Berkeley), but I thought it might be helpful to share. I posted this letter on my company blog about internet marketing if you want to post back any comments publicly. <http://clearnightsky.com/node/335>
Thanks for taking the time to read my rambling rant.
-- Mark Celsor
LabCorp also has some strange regulations about linking to them. I'll disregard them, because I imagine Yahoo and Google probably did as well.
Incomprehensible demoralization via LabCorp
Submitted by Pissed On & Pissed Off (not verified) on Fri, 2008-10-17 17:09.
My job (handling narcotics) requires that I submit to random drug testing within 24 hours of being selected. I am on call 24/7 for these tests as a requirement of my job. I was departing on a recent trip to Fresno and I was selected as I was heading to SEATAC airport. Midday traffic was so severe there was no time to visit a local non-LabCorp collection site in WA and also board my flight. I was anxious about testing while traveling; however I made preparations months in advance for this situation by requesting an extensive list of CA LabCorp collection sites from the agency that administers our tests.
I awoke at my in-laws to the smell of coffee and breakfast the next morning. I couldn’t have any because I had to provide an “undiluted” urine sample in the next hour or two. If I were to drink anything, I risk being non-complied for not producing enough creatinine, or producing too much urine, which imlpies that I somehow intentionally sabotaged the test. Our program manager has advised against drinking any liquid before a test even the though our tests/collections are always observed and my specific gravities are always within normal limits.
We borrowed a car and at 7:00 am we headed to the closest LabCorp Site in Fresno about 20 miles away. It was 100 degrees outside and I was dying of thirst. I called ahead and their IVR/phone message stated that they were open. It turned out that the LabCorp address was printed incorrectly in the list that I had. After more than an hour of searching I found the LabCorp site and it was CLOSED! The sign on their door instructed patients to go to the next nearest site, which was also on the list provided to me. My bladder, now in excruciating pain, had to be emptied ‘now’ and it was.
I called ahead to the second LabCorp site and their IVR/phone message stated that they were open. It took almost an hour and 10 miles of driving to locate them. They too were closed. The sign on their door instructed patients to go to a third LabCorp site, which was also on the list provided to me. My bladder had to be emptied again and it was.
I called ahead to the third LabCorp site and their IVR/phone message stated that they were open. I called again and again and finally a human picked up the phone and they confirmed that they were indeed and actually open. It took nearly an hour of driving to locate them. I arrived at a clinic and the receptionist said, “you must be looking for LabCorp, we are not LabCorp but we get about 100 people a day coming here looking for LabCorp; our addresses are identical but we are East Fresno and they are West Fresno. You must need the LabCorp downtown by the hospital”. Had to use the restroom again. The receptionist let me use their restroom.
By now I am mad, but my wife is absolutely furious. I take a small amount of consolation that this is happening while I am on vacation and not on my way to work or an appointment. It is now 110 degrees outside and we are both dying of thirst. We drive and drive and with great difficulty find the most poorly identified building I have ever looked so hard for. At last we arrive at what is apparently the last and only open LabCorp site in Fresno. With an agonizing bladder I provide a sample. After all that fasting and avoidance of liquids it turns out that my creatinine was barely above 20 (the minimum cut off), although I’m sure the specific gravity was within normal limits.
The fact that the IVR indicated that the two previous LabCorp sites were open when they were not is something a person that does not have to do UAs would think is a very rare phenomenon. It is not rare. People, LabCorp, and circumstances beyond our control often increase the effort required to remain compliant and employed to an unintended and inconsiderate bludgeoning of reason and liberty. The attendant at the LabCorp site that WAS open stated that the other sites were closed unexpectedly because the owner was experiencing staffing and financial problems.
We got back to the In-laws house and had breakfast at 1:30 that afternoon after a simple urine collection took longer than 7 hours to perform. Hey LabCorp!!!! Try driving around for 7 hours with a full bladder in order to save enough for a valid sample!!!! I won't get in to having to wait in line for over an hour to pee in a cup!
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Woohoo LabCorp Redesigned!
Submitted by Mark (not verified) on Wed, 2008-10-15 11:35.
Yeah! It looks like LabCorp finally redesigned their site and they addressed a bunch of the things I originally ranted about in this. Good show!
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(nonexistent) address for customer complaint letters
Submitted by melis (not verified) on Sat, 2008-09-20 06:33.
THANK YOU for having this site. I'm trying to write a snail-mail letter to the company about (lack of appropriate) service in lyndhurst NJ (arrived at 8:20 a.m. on a Saturday with 2 children who don't want to be there. The waiting room is filled with standing people, the chairs are full of people, several of them have been there for over an hour already, and there is only ONE labcorp person assigned to work at this location -- so only one person to do all the paperwork and the tech work!!) and it's impossible to find an address to send the letter to. i am reminded that their customer really isn't me, it's my insurer, and at least in the short-term, my insurer makes money if i don't get the testing the doctor has ordered. Now I'm going to labcorpsucks.com so i can be reminded that others have had it worse than i have. THANK YOU!!
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LabCorp hours
Submitted by Jamie (not verified) on Sun, 2008-08-31 17:28.
It took me a total of 30 SECONDS to find the information you were looking for. All you have to do is Google search "labcorp hours." Click on the VERY FIRST LINK (Labcorp FAQ). Then click on the "Labcorp patient service center" link. You will get your information complete with hours, locations, phone numbers, maps... You made it WAY TOO COMPLICATED...
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New LabCorp web site
Submitted by Anonymous LabCorp employee (not verified) on Fri, 2008-08-22 12:42.
A new portal is currently in beta: http://www.newlabcorp.com.
Smiling lady instead of angry man and other improvements.
Sorry--I don't have a date when this will become the official www.labcorp.com site.
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My favorite part of their
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2008-07-18 10:47.
My favorite part of their website (note the sarcasm) is the "Contact Us" button that when you click it, it tells you:
LabCorp is a clinical laboratory that performs testing at the request of a health care provider. Please contact your doctor if you have any questions concerning the tests ordered or your laboratory results.
For questions about a bill you received from LabCorp, contact the Patient Billing department at 800-845-6167.
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Finding Labcorp locations & operating hours
Submitted by Jim Ogren (not verified) on Thu, 2008-07-17 07:58.
I Googled "LabCorp" & selected the link to them & up popped a page with my address & a map showing all the nearby LabCorp locations. I am impressed with this & feel it is very well done. Perhaps Mark would have had better success if he had just Googled "LabCorp".
As for LabCorp service, my wife & I spent seven years traveling around the USA full-time in our motor home & used LabCorp whenever possible. On almost every occasion, we found them to be very fast & reliable, while using a hospital or medical facility lab was much more time consuming & frustating.
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It's not just the Web Site at Labcorp that sucks
Submitted by LabCorp Sucks (not verified) on Tue, 2008-07-01 21:57.
You are probably better off not using their web site or service. The company as a whole sucks. LabCorp is full of mid-level managers that have no concern for patient care. From poor service to incorrect test results, LabCorp is on the decline. My frustrations have led me to creat the website www.labcorpsucks.com
It's not much but provides a forum for those unhappy with LabCorp and their incompetence to voice their frustrations. Additionally, it creates a repository that will be shared with government agencies and investigators.
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IF YOU THINK LABCORP's SITE SUCKS...
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2008-06-17 17:46.
...try working for them. There's a very good reason why the young man looks so cross & has his arms folded, believe me...
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LabCorp - IT
Submitted by DaveG (not verified) on Fri, 2007-12-21 06:19.
Dear Mark Celsor- I have been in IT programming - mostly financial for over 26+ years and I did work at Lockheed-Martin in Sunnyvalle CA for a bit. I worked mostly in financial's using state of the art cobol, stop laughing please, I can hear you hear in Florida.
I worked with a lady in programming who also worked for Labcorp in their IT dept and she lost her job a few years ago as LabCorp dumped all USA people for India programmers. What you are experiencing and seeing is how the CEO of LabCorps mind works in his fragmentation of a life to save a penney and screw the USA and how the India mind can't grasp the clear understanding on how to move data. But they save money.
Sincerely
Dave G
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Once you find the place and
Submitted by Mick (not verified) on Mon, 2007-12-10 11:49.
Once you find the place and have your sample taken, the next trick is actually getting the results. They said they would be sending them to my specialist. But I explained that I need them to send me a copy as well, because I wasn't going to be seeing the specialist for another five months, and need to show them to my primary care doctor in the meantime. They said this was no problem, and took down my mailing address.
When the results never showed up, I called customer service and asked if they had been sent. The woman said they had been sent to the specialist, but she had no way of knowing whether or not they've been sent to my home as well. This seemed a little odd, but she said she'd be glad to send them to me later that day. So another week goes by...no results. I call again, and a different woman tells me the same thing...she has no way of knowing if they were sent, but she'll send them that day. Then she adds that it takes 3 to 5 business days for the results to arive. Funny, I thought Pony Express was no longer in business. A week later, still nothing. So I call again, and the woman says that she can have the results faxed to the facility that took the sample, so that I can take a very long lunch break and make the half hour drive to pick them up myself. It's the good thing I did, beacuse another week has gone by and I have yet to receive one scrap of paper from them in the mail.
This is one bunch of losers.
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Did you not see the tab at
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2007-09-07 15:47.
Did you not see the tab at the top of the home page of Labcorp.com.......patient service center locations? You type in your city, state, zip and pulls up all the info you need including a map.
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Yep, I found it in step 8 above.
Submitted by Mark Celsor on Fri, 2007-09-07 16:19.
Yep, I found it in step 8 above.
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Me too!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2007-06-21 19:28.
Thank goodness I found your post when I googled "labcorp telegraph berkeley" to find the hours. Looks like you've saved me a lot of steps!
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You are so spot on! I had
Submitted by susan (not verified) on Mon, 2007-05-28 14:42.
You are so spot on! I had the exact same trouble. What ARE their hours, anyway?
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LabCorp hours and directions page
Submitted by Mark Celsor on Wed, 2007-05-30 10:13.
Hi Susan, after all that clicking I found what I was looking for on this page. Oh and the building itself has no signs or directions. It's in the back on the second floor. Don't mind all the construction crews and don't try to use the steps (especially in a fire) because the stairwell doors were all locked. ;)
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Labcorp