I visited a building yesterday that used a pretty stupid sign-in process. The security person in the front insisted that I write my name and where I was going on their sign-in sheet, although he didn’t ask for any identification to verify my identity. Meanwhile, other people just walked by without even being asked to sign-in. Maybe they worked there and had security badges, I thought. But closer inspection in the elevator showed no such credentials.

Simply put, the building has a sporadically enforced sign-in policy that makes the unlucky victims like me feel unfairly singled out. Plus, they’re getting incomplete data at best, since few people sign in and those that do can easily use a fake name. To remedy all of these issues, I would recommend they get rid of the whole system of asking for your name and where you’re going at the front desk. Instead, they should just put up a sheet in the elevator that shows each business and suite number, along with boxes for each time of day. The simple instructions would ask you to put a mark in the corresponding box after you press the floor you’re going to, and nothing more.

Granted, the data still wouldn’t be perfect. But since this approach is so easy for customers, I think it would provide a lot more info on the relative traffic to each suite compared to harassing a limited subset of people at the front desk. Customers would find it much less intrusive as well, improving their overall satisfaction with the business they’re visiting.