Decoding Buzzwords - 'Customer Experience'

It seems like everyone has stopped talking about ‘omni channel’ and moved on to ‘customer experience’

The cynic in me believes that buzz words are created to sell something because whenever I hear them they are usually followed by a six figure sum for some ‘amazing’ application that will ‘revolutionise’ retail.

I’m not saying that customer experience isn’t important but I am saying that retailers shouldn't let themselves be talked into paying for something they can do for themselves.

Every retailer already has what they need to improve their customer’s experience and it surprises me that so few recognise it so let me make it as clear as I can.

Customer experience = Customer service.

Simple huh?

A friend of mine has a son with Down syndrome who can be very difficult to shop with. She recently shared on social media a glowing account of her experience in one of our biggest supermarkets and everything she wrote was about the outstanding service she experienced rather than the payment system or digital wayfinding or planograms etc..

An empathetic shop assistant took the time to actually help her and this has become a rarity in any shop, let alone a supermarket where it’s unheard of.

The assistant helped to distract her son while she shopped and even took him to the meat counter and introduced him to the butcher who gave him a piece of ‘Smiley’ Fritz (pressed luncheon meat/Devon with a smiley face)

The assistant, assisted and made what had the potential to be a traumatic battle of wills into an unexpected pleasure. 

My friend told me afterwards that she spent almost three times more than she intended to, partly because she didn’t feel like she had to get in get and get out as quickly as possible and partly because she felt obliged to reward the assistant for her efforts.

My friend had forgotten that people work in supermarkets and was surprised to encounter one.

My point is that before you go out and spend six figures on a shiny piece of software, perhaps consider whether that money could be better spent in hiring, training, enabling and encouraging your people to go well beyond what your customer expects.