The lost suitcase – the sad reality of customer experience evolution

According to Wikipedia, the term, ‘seven year itch’ can be described as follows: The seven-year itch is a psychological term that suggests that happiness in a relationship declines after around year seven of a marriage. The phrase originated as a name for irritating and contagious skin complaints of a long duration. Examples of reference may [...]

Thinking and acting in the interests of the customer. Have you enabled your people to do it?

I first started writing my blog six years ago. Since that time, I have crafted hundreds of articles – producing them, almost religiously, on a weekly basis. Regularly, I am asked how I generate the ideas behind the articles – ‘do I have a plan and schedule for the year?’. No – is the simple [...]

Customer unhappiness and how to create it. A masterclass by Emirates

Before I even start this article, I must make it clear that Emirates are not the only airline to make customers unhappy. In fact, they are far from being alone in any industry around the world at creating masterclasses in customer dissatisfaction. The airline industry does seem to excel at providing examples of shocking and [...]

Customer or Hostage? The unfortunate story of the UK passenger rail industry

If you happen to live in the UK and regularly have to rely on public transport to commute to and from work, the heralding of a brand spanking new year is unlikely to have filled you with much joy - from the commuting perspective that is. Travelling to and from work can rarely be described [...]

Customer Experience – Kyoto-style: By Beth Richardson

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to visit Kyoto in Japan for a holiday. Being a customer experience specialist means never quite leaving work behind, even on holiday, and I wanted to find out whether the customer experience in Kyoto would be different to anywhere else. Kyoto is a wonderful place. Although much less [...]

By |2017-12-11T13:52:03+00:00December 11th, 2017|Customer Journeys, CX Professionals, Travel|2 Comments

‘Welcome to our kitchen’! Would you have the courage to invite customers into the inner workings of your company?

Allow me to start this post by asking a question. What happens when two Customer Experience Professionals visit a restaurant together for the first time?  Whilst this is not the opening line to a bad joke, I can already anticipate your 'snorting' and 'chuckling' from here! 'A right royal pain in the butt', is most [...]

Customer Effort: How to Make Things Difficult for Customers, by Premier Inn

This is the not the first article I have written about the subject of Customer Effort. In 2014, I wrote a story that still makes me break out in a cold sweat today. On that occasion, Vauxhall provided the case study to bring Customer Experience ‘theory’ to life. You can read the story here… In [...]

The Customer Experience Reality Check! The case of Manchester Airport

Resignation. Sufferance. Tolerance. Three words from the English dictionary. Three words that you would not typically want to associate with the subject of Customer Experience. Yet these three words are the ones that regularly go through my mind when I interact with organisations that if I had the choice, I would much rather NOT interact [...]

Eurostar est Shambolique: It’s not just the airlines who need to get their act together

I have just returned from a wonderful four-day city break to Paris. Family time, glorious weather (in the main) and one of the world's most beautiful cities, made for a quite fabulous combination. I have been to the French capital many times, but this trip topped them all. From our lovely boutique hotel; to the [...]

Actions MUST speak louder than Words: United Airlines eat humble pie!

Last week I wrote an article on the subject of 'common sense'. To be more accurate, I wrote about the lack of common sense and how it's absence was continuing to destroy customer experiences all over the world. One of the stories featured in the article was about United Airlines and their much publicised [...]

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