Get a new password and start over

My son and I decided to go to a movie after a long time. It’s great that one can buy the tickets online these days, without having to queue at the theater. So off we went to Finnkino to buy the tickets.

It took me around five steps to find and select the right movie, theater, date and time. That’s reasonable among so many choices. Then the system required to log in before purchasing the tickets. It had been at least a year since I visited the site, so of course I had forgotten the password. Well, as all good web applications, this one too offered me a link for this occasion to get a new password. It arrived quickly to my inbox, so I was now ready and eager to continue my purchase.

I went back to the page I left off – stating “your password has been changed”. Great. There I was with my new password, but there was no way to continue my purchase from where I left it! Don’t they want me to buy the tickets? The only way I could “continue” was to start all over again!

Don’t they want me to buy the tickets?

So again the five steps – not so reasonable anymore if I add them to the first five – then login with the new password. God forbid if I had forgotten the new password, too. I would have been in an infinite loop! Well, I did remember it this time and was finally able to buy the tickets. Phew!

Now, Finnkino is in many ways a great site, and by all means not the only site out there that requires users to do this “double-work”. But just imagine if all these sites offered a way to continue where you left of after getting your new password. It should be technically possible, and for sure it would save a lot of people from lot of frustrations!