The Willy Wonka Effect: User Expectations and the User-Centric Model of Chocolate/Service Delivery

 

It's hard to find someone who likes the newer Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) better than the original 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. There are hard core Johnny Depp fans that probably prefer the glitzy, Wonka-centric one, but most folks (I'm guessing) prefer the classic version with Gene Wilder and its focus on Charlie, a poor boy who learns the value of kindness, honesty and impulse control.

 

For those of you unfamiliar with the Roald Dahl story, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it is a wondrous tale with strong, overtly delivered lessons in moderation. Charlie and four other children from all over the world are selected "randomly" (by golden ticket found in a chocolate bar) to have an exclusive tour of a secretive and spectacularly imaginative candy factory. This factory is run by the reclusive mad genius Willy Wonka with the help of an army of Oompa Loompas, who are basically elves who preach the value of self-control relentlessly as each of Charlie's counterparts quickly succumbs to the temptations of the factory visit and over indulges (despite a lengthy legal contract/disclaimer that each one of them signs prior to the tour). One child eats too much chocolate, one child chews too much gum, one child demands the whole world and one is too obsessed with television. Charlie, however, is not perfect; he does pilfer (with his grandfather) some levitating fizzy lifting drink but manages to pass the final test despite all of that by being honest and returning a piece of candy worth a fortune. By passing these tests and not being selfish despite great poverty, Charlie wins not only the promised lifetime supply of chocolate, but also the factory and the legacy of Willy Wonka. Wonka, meanwhile, is very good at marketing, but maybe not so great at business continuity planning. He sells billions of chocolate bars and gets a minor child successor who has no business experience to take on his company. In his paraphrased words, because only a child can continue the legacy of wonder inherent in his product. Nice idea. Hopefully he has a good mentor program.

 

Now to the lessons for us, which, beyond not binging on sugar, are fun to ponder. The focus on Charlie instead of Wonka can be seen as a dynamic user-centric model if we see Wonka as a librarian, researcher, information professional, vendor or service provider (phew) and Charlie and the children as users. As glitzy and spectacular as Wonka is, Charlie as ideal user should be the center of our thinking and the key to winning over the others who we cannot kick out of the factory. Wonka makes the chocolate/candy product and Charlie is in compliance generally with the license agreement or code of conduct he entered into when touring the factory or conducting business with the provider, but what else does he bring to the table as an ideal user? In exchange, he learns a tremendous amount about how the factory works and eventually forms a dynamic developmental partnership with its current owner to keep innovating and keep providing knowledge/chocolate and distributing it to the general community. Wouldn't it be great if our ideal users were in a 1 to 5 ratio in reality?

 

As we all know all too well, user preferences are often the core of our service and the relationship between user and provider is a fundamental dialog that extends well beyond simply answering the need on a one time basis. Formats, for example. If a user prefers print, we as Wonka are often charged with producing it without question magically and instantly, but a good relationship with the user can result in a fruitful dialog that might involve experimentation in the factory. What can we produce that meets the objective of the user without throwing their suggestions out and acknowledging the validity of why they want their answers delivered that way. If we do not pay close attention to our user preferences and find innovative ways to conform and develop our services to satisfy what they want, we may just need to hand it over the keys to the Wonkavator. And remember, chewing gum's fine... when it's once in a while.