My Desk is My Home: Solving the Problem of Stealing Desks
In this article, I will discuss how I solved the problem of people stealing desks on the Ozone coworking space website. Specifically, I will address the following:
- What is the problem?
- How did I identify the problem?
- What other options were considered?
- What process did I follow to fix the problem?
- What solution did I propose?
- What happened in the end?
Ozone: What is it and what does it do?
Ozone is a coworking space that allows people to book a desk, either daily or monthly, and enjoy additional amenities such as meeting rooms, high-speed internet, conference rooms, a kitchen, a dining hall, and more.
One of the website’s winning features is the online booking option, which allows users to select their desired plan and date, even choose their desk location from the Ozone map, and finalize their reservation with the option of online payment.
Learn more about Ozone.
What is the problem?
The title of this article may have surprised you. How can a product have a problem like desk stealing?
Ozon’s website has a great feature that allows users to reserve a desk and use it on the selected date. This means that anyone can choose any empty desk on any date and become the “owner” of that desk.
Example:
Let’s consider Alireza, who has been sitting at desk number 16 every day for the past six months. Mobina is trying to reserve a desk for the first time. Alireza’s plan ends on the 21st of every month, and he always buys his next plan on the 20th. This process has been going on perfectly for six months.
Mobina is looking for a suitable desk on the map on the 18th. She likes desk number 16 and changes the date of the reservation to find a time when the desk is empty. She finds a suitable date and reserves the desk.
Problem: Mobina “stole” Alireza’s usual desk.
How did I identify the problem?
One morning, like any other morning, everything was as usual. However, a few minutes later, a storm was about to break out in the Ozone.
The sound of yelling and arguing reached a crescendo, and we were all surprised by the volume of noise.
In summary, the argument was as follows:
Alireza: I want the desk I’ve been using for the past six months. Why can someone else just steal my desk?
Information Desk: I’m sorry, but the desk is reserved for Mobina.
Alireza: This is ridiculous! I’ve been using this desk for months.
The situation was eventually resolved by the intervention of the workspace manager, who canceled Mobina’s plan and reserved a different desk for her.
The issue was also discussed in a meeting that day to find a solution. However, I was unable to attend the meeting, as I was deeply involved in another project at the time.
I heard about the meeting from my colleagues later.
What other options were considered?
The meeting to discuss the desk-stealing problem at the Ozone coworking space was a lively one. There were many proposals, from the impossible to the feasible.
In the end, the team agreed to set a maximum reservation period of 30 days. This meant that users could choose the start date of their plan from today to 30 days from now.
However, the team soon realized that this solution was not enough. The problem persisted.
Then, the team decided to reduce the reservation period to 15 days. They hoped that this change would help prevent desk stealing.
What process did I follow to fix the problem?
After being busy with another project for about 3 weeks, I finally had the opportunity to review the past events. I had some knowledge of the matter, but I needed to gather more information by talking to the team.
I went to the product manager to understand what happened in the meeting and on what data the decision was made. I even asked about other ideas that had been proposed to solve the problem.
After that, I went to the information desk to be more informed about the incident.
Now I fully understood the problem and had to review what I had learned and investigate whether the current solution was enough? Or is there a better solution?
I opened the website and tried to put myself in the shoes of someone who wanted to reserve a desk. I kept changing the start date of my plan to find an empty desk, and I realized that the current solution was not a solution at all! It just reduces the number of active days on the map.
At first glance, I thought it was a good solution, but what I got after testing completely rejected this idea; the situation that had now arisen for the user was similar to choosing units at the Islamic Azad University or like Iran Khodro purchase times :) and it eliminates the possibility of planning for the user.
Surely we had to find a better solution to solve these problems.
When I was talking to the information desk staff, they pointed out that Alireza had a strange sense of ownership over his desk and that he demanded his desk with the thought that it was his after all this time.
It was like a tenant who had been asked to vacate the house immediately by the landlord.
Alireza’s relationship with the space was really like that. He paid a fee in return for the desk and services he received, but the problem was the lack of any guarantee.
The idea of a security deposit came to mind, and maybe we could give this guarantee to the user by charging a separate fee from the plan, that the desk would be kept for the user.
On my way home, I stopped by the local real estate agency. He was my classmate from elementary school, who had given up on further education and started working in his father’s shop. I asked him about the reason for receiving a security deposit and the guarantees between the tenant and the landlord.
For example, I learned that:
- A security deposit is a guarantee from the tenant to the landlord in case the rent is not paid, and it is also for compensation for any potential damage to the house.
- The landlord, in return for receiving a security deposit, sometimes gives this guarantee to the tenant that after the end of the contract, if the tenant requests, the house will be re-assigned to him, or that the tenant will be given priority in the purchase of the property.
Of course, now that I am writing this, I realize that the second case does not exist at all and my friend gave me the wrong information.
I got some good information and had to think of a good idea.
What solution did I propose?
After reviewing the problem and the information that existed, I came up with a relatively good idea.
That is, we can add a new option to the profile of each user called “My Desk” so that by activating this option and paying a fee, we will permanently provide that desk to the user.
In the following, I explained my proposal in full:
We added a new option to the user’s profile under the title “My Desk” so that by activating this option and paying a fee, the user’s selected desk will be locked on the map forever and no other user will be able to book this desk. This option is valid for 6 months and the user can activate it again after 6 months.
Activation conditions:
The user must have sat on that desk for at least 3 months.
Activation steps:
The user can easily activate this option by visiting their profile page.
Deactivation conditions:
- Request by the user (no refund will be given).
- This option will be active for 10 days after the end of the user’s plan. If the user activates another plan during this time, the “My Desk” option will remain active. Otherwise, after the 10-day period has passed, the relevant desk will be unlocked on the map and other users will be able to book that table (no money will be returned).
Of course, we need to discuss the amount and the duration of each condition with the relevant teams and reach a final conclusion.
What happened in the end?
Although the team manager thought that this idea could be a good solution to the problem, but because the team’s priorities were other things, this idea was not even considered further than that meeting.
True, I am very sad about this incident and I think it could have been a much better solution than the current situation. However, I realized that it is possible that such incidents may occur from time to time.
Thank you for your attention.
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