Monday, November 10, 2008

Skip Loves Websites That Work

Some might consider me to be a wee bit of a critic. Seriously though, who isn't these days? I simply have very high standards, which is not something I will apologize for, but which often results in my frustration (i.e. is it too much to want there to be more than 3 check-outs open at Stop n' Shop on a busy Sunday afternoon? is it too much to expect drivers to indicate when they are making a turn? is it that difficult for Comcast to build a website with even an iota of added value to the customer?)

Anyhoo, this rather frequent disappointment that I experience (or the vocal tirades that RTT gets to observe) is rendered painless when I discover something, or someone for that matter, that completely blows my already high expectations out of the water and makes my entire life shiny with beaming elation (OxiClean comes to mind and my Dyson miracle vacuum).

When RTT and I decided to drive down to New York City for my darling brother Penny's 24th birthday this past weekend, I was happily hit with not one, but two ridiculously helpful websites that were clearly created by someone with (a) common sense and (b) a modicum of intelligence. Being a wee bit of a planner as well, I embarked on world wide web quest for parking locations in the Big Apple and information regarding toll-plazas across states that take the Fast Pass (don't get me started on why all commuters don't have a Fast Pass) . The results of my searches were the incredible Icon Parking website, that allows you to locate, price and reserve a parking spot in Manhattan, and the vastly informative Mass Pike website which confirmed that you can use Fast Pass in all states west to Illinois (Ohio is coming soon) and even offered puppy break spots along the way. Both websites not only provided me with useful information in a wonderful format, but they actually worked in practice too! Parking in NYC was a total breeze as was speeding through the E-Z Pass lanes on I-90. YAY!

Now, if only Comcast could design a website that...er, just works even some of the time.