Transparency and Clarity of Traffic fines
Overview
Brief details about the project
Problem statement
Customers were frustrated due to a lack of clarity around additional fines or charges (e.g., traffic fines) added to their bookings. This communication gap led to increased customer complaints, manual follow-ups by the CX and Finance teams, and delayed payments. The problem was particularly prevalent in the UAE, where outstanding payment clarifications were the top reason for customer complaints
Success Metric: Reduce contact rate of “Outstanding Payment Clarification” by 50% from 187 to 93 support interactions per week
Process
Research & Analysis
Root Cause Analysis: I conducted a deep dive into customer support issues and did a thematic analysis of the issues, identifying that 73% of complaints were related to extra charges which include traffic fines.
Customer Journey Mapping: I utilised the information from support issues to visualise the customer journey and pinpoint pain points, and get a big picture of all actors within the ecosystem as it relates to handling fines.
Data Analysis: Reviewed transaction data to understand the frequency and impact of different extra charges (e.g., traffic fines, Salik (Toll) charges, damage charges). Traffic fines accounted for a significant portion of outstanding payments, with an average of AED 2,143 per subscription.
Prioritised Pain point: Although there were multiple themes, 70% centred around users unable to see the details of the fines being added to their accounts and no trust in the information shared.
Ideation & Hypothesis
Hypothesis: We believed the gap was due to the inability for the customers to confirm that the source of the fine was actually from RTA.
Solution Hypothesis: From mapping our the journey we understood that the fines were sent to the car suppliers directly, who were provided supporting documents from the Traffic authority (RTA). Proposed sending automated communications (email and push notifications) to customers once traffic fines were uploaded and processed by dealers and updating how invoices were communicated via the mobile application. The communication would include detailed information about the fine (e.g., fine number, amount, date) and attachments for transparency in a way for customers to easily use.
An A/B experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis (Results below).
UI/UX Improvements
The information architecture of the page was updated based off several rounds of usability testing and refinements. For example Increasing the hierarchy of the supporting documents issued by the RTA from the bottom of the page to the top. And adding FAQ’s to address further concerns users had as identified from the research.
View Prototype ↗ (Switch between Before and After on the right panel)
Before (L), After(R)
Challenges and Risks
Ensuring OCR works effectively across various document formats.
Balancing the need for detailed communication with character limits in emails.
Training dealers on new processes and document upload requirements.
Impact & Results
Reduced Contact Rate: The solution aimed to reduce the contact rate for "Outstanding payment clarification" by 50%, based on the A/B experiment we observed a 51% reduction of support tickets from 187 to 90.
Improved Transparency: Customers now receive clear, detailed notifications about fines, reducing confusion and disputes. This improved satisfaction and reduced the amount of manual effort for CX and Finance team.
Supporting documents are easily accessible in the app, providing full transparency.
Faster Recovery Rates: By addressing the root cause of delayed payments, the solution improved recovery rates for outstanding amounts as the there was a 15% reduction in time to pay.
Credit
This customer issue was resolved due to the valuable contributions by other member of my team:
Fady Elkadious - Backend Engineer
Attique Ur Rehman - Mobile and Front End Engineer
Feedback
I believe that growth comes from collaboration and constructive feedback. If you have any thoughts, suggestions, or questions about this project or my approach, I would love to hear from you. Your insights could help me refine my work and continue to improve as a designer.
