2 days ago
Details Count: How Small Flaws Can Taint the Entire Customer Experience
Have you ever walked into a restaurant bathroom and found paper towels scattered on the floor or an overflowing trash can? What immediately crossed your mind? What did you think about the restaurant? For most of us, our thoughts jump to, 'If they can't keep their bathroom clean, what is their kitchen like?'
I call this the Bathroom Experience, a powerful metaphor for how seemingly minor details can dramatically impact customers' perceptions of a business. A clean bathroom goes unnoticed because it's expected. But a dirty one? That sends customers a message that the restaurant might be neglecting other details.
This concept extends far beyond restaurants. Before moving into my current office, I toured the building and specifically checked the bathrooms on multiple floors. The way the building maintained its bathrooms told me what I needed to know about how the property management company handled details throughout the rest of the building.
The concept also extends beyond restrooms. Recently, I checked into a higher-end hotel, and as I was relaxing on my bed, I looked up and noticed thick dust coating the air vents. I found myself wondering what I would breathe in throughout the night. We could refer to this as the Vent Experience.
These mismanaged details are oversights that create a ripple effect. When a customer picks up a rental car and discovers the glove compartment won't stay closed, they might wonder, 'If they missed this, I wonder if they checked to make sure the brakes were working properly.'
Many years ago, my assistant sent a performance agreement to a client who booked me for a speech. The client called me to discuss canceling the booking. It turns out the agreement had a number of typos and punctuation errors. I was shocked and embarrassed. It turns out my assistant accidentally sent the draft she was working on instead of the final version. I apologized and explained what happened. Fortunately, the client accepted the explanation, but I'll never forget his comment, which made me realize how important little details are. He said, 'I am hiring someone who is supposed to be a good communicator. The document you sent had so many errors, I questioned your ability to do the job.' Ouch! That hurt, but he was 100% correct.
Here's the point: Details that seem insignificant to you might concern your customers. For some, these examples cause customers to make assumptions about other things that they can't see.
So, what's your version of the Bathroom Experience? What small detail is your team overlooking that customers notice and use to judge you and your business? Finding and fixing these details doesn't just solve small problems; it prevents customers from imagining bigger ones.
Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep's customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.
Shep Hyken
Shepard Presentations, LLC.
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