This is not only well written, it is wise.

I learned some about this friction thing back when I was primarily a mortgage broker. People did, indeed, love the ease of application online, and mortgage finance is surely a place where some friction could be eliminated without the danger of sliding into the frictionless zone. But I heard more and more often from Realtors whose clients were shopping for homes much longer than before. They’d see hundreds online — they’re so simple to find and look at — and none of them would be satisfying. The best Realtors learned that the only way to get people to appreciate the house for what it was was to insist on GOING THERE. That was when people began to feel like the house had value.

Also, the interaction with the Realtor face-to-face had a huge amount to do with whether the client was satisfied with the process. The simplicity — lack of friction — in the online process led to rapidly declining satisfaction levels, which was the opposite of what people expected. The analog Realtors did not see the same decline. Their clients had a better experience because it was more difficult.

Another data point — haunted houses. I ran one for a while. We discovered right away that people had a worse experience if they were ushered straight in, without waiting in line. People that waited for a bit — not too long, about 15 minutes was ideal — had a better time in the house. At the time I thought that was weird. Now I realize it’s human.

Great article, Jesse.