“Then the Customer will have to…” – Where CX Dies.
This article is part of our Customer Experience Hub — a collection of articles that explore the architecture, practices, and mindset behind great CX, all grounded in real-world teaching and consulting experience.
Have You Ever Heard This?
If you’ve sat through enough internal meetings about Customers, you’ve probably heard this sentence construction:
If we do/don’t do _____, then the Customer will have to _____.
“If we don’t offer a drying rack in the hotel room, then Customer will have to use our hotel laundry service.”
“Let’s do auto-renewal of the Customer policy without a reminder, then the Customer will have to remember to cancel before renewal.”
“When we don’t make our contact details easy to find, then the Customer will give up trying to reach us.”
“If we lock up the expensive toiletry items in our drugstores, then the Customer will have to ask for help to retrieve an item from the glass case.”
The benefit behind ideas like these is focused squarely on what’s good for the organization.
Whether that’s:
- A short-term revenue uplift
- Operational cost savings
- Reduced theft
- Easier for internal Teams to handle
And in the real world, these ideas can not only get easy traction – they are often celebrated internally.
We’re in Employee of the Month territory here.
Where CX Dies
What’s often missing in these discussions?
The Customer’s perspective.
Let’s consider the scenarios again:
How might the Customer feel when they just want to rinse their T-shirt but can’t find a place to hang it to dry?
What emotions might surface when the Customer can’t locate a contact number and give up trying to get help?
What happens when they’re charged for an auto-renewal they didn’t expect or remember?
How do they feel waiting for an associate to unlock a glass case—just to buy razor blades?
From all of these Customer feelings what — quantifiably — might the impact on our business be?
- Reduced trust
- Fewer return visits
- Negative word-of-mouth
- Low advocacy scores
- Higher churn
We could be in ‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’ scenario. Where the single decision to hide a contact number is not fatal on its own.
But over time – with more such decisions tacitly blessed by leadership – they collectively have a devastating impact on Customer perception.
An Essential Principle of Customer Experience
I’ve written an essential principle to help us change the Death by a Thousand Cuts language:
The right solution is good for the Customer and, as a result, good for the Business — though not always at the same time.
Which means shifting organizational thinking beyond short-term time horizons
- “We saved $X this quarter in reduced contact volume…”
To longer term time horizons
- “Referrals to our business went up by X% this year.”
Of course you’ll have to prove this out – but CX professionals have the tools and expertise to do so.
So the Next Time You Hear, “Then the Customer will have to…”
Pause. Take that proverbial breath.
And ask: Is there a better way forward — one that respects the Customer and strengthens the Business?
I tend to think the answer is yes.
Suprise Moments in CX Training that Make Participants Go Oh!
Thank You for Reading!
I regularly share stories, strategies, and insights from our work across Contact Centers, Customer Service, and Customer Experience. If this resonates, I’d love to stay connected.
You can drop me a line anytime, or subscribe via our website.
Daniel Ord
[email protected]
www.omnitouchinternational.com
