Don't get lost in error messages

Problems are bound to happen with any software application or website.  Count it.  Hopefully the vendor of said software or your internal staff has the mechanisms in place to catch any and all errors that may occur, log them, and notify the appropriate people to take action.  Occasionally, system maintenance of some variety will also take down a system for whatever reason.

Garmin, the GPS manufacturer, clearly has this figured out and has realized the importance of providing meaningful messages to their customers when something goes awry.  I use one of those fancy GPS watches to run and cycle with and recently when I went to upload my training info to their website, I received the messages below.  Every time you visited the site while it was undergoing maintenance, you would receive one of these messages.    Additionally, you’ll notice each message is tailor to their specific industry with captions and images that are meaningful to their customers.  If a bank or credit union had error messages like this for their website or online banking, I’d probably switch immediately because it demonstrates their commitment and thoroughness to customer satisfaction.