Why Bad CX Really is the Last Straw for Customers
This week, a spat over a straw forced me to make a major life decision. Yep, you read that right. A straw. Lately I’ve been working from coffee shops and typically pick two to work from depending on how I feel when I wake up in the morning. Both will remain nameless, but one – a popular chain can be a tad cold and clinical but is less of a walk in the morning, while the other is an independent, rustic and plays the sort of music I like. I do this because a change of scenery when working remotely is good for the soul and those of us lucky enough to work from home can, on occasion, get a little cabin fever. I went to the chain on the day in question and ordered an espresso and then later, a Coke Zero, which came in a glass bottle. I politely asked for a straw and was huffed at. The barista wasn’t busy and had been texting on her iPhone. I figured I’d give her a break and told her not to worry about the straw as I took the Coke to the table where my laptop sat, but she hissed at me to ‘make my mind up’. I made my point, gathered my things up and marched to the independent coffee house further down the high street.
‘Double espresso?’ the barista there offered, (she knew I was a regular at that point). I thanked her and she told me to sit down and she’d bring it to me and would take the payment later. When she came over with the drink less than a minute later she told me to ‘holler’ at her next time I want an order to save me queuing up.
I was so grateful at her kindness I decided two things – the first being I wouldn’t ‘holler’ (call me old-fashioned) and the second was to never return to the chain store again – despite the espresso in the independent place being 30p more expensive.
Why the story? Well, this was two days before new research found customers are willing to pay 9% more for better customer service. The research was from Puzzel and only cemented the fact that CX expectations are absolutely here to stay as the world opens back up post-COVID.
The findings, published in Puzzel’s Retail Smart Guide: Tips for delivering smarter shopping experiences, was drawn from a survey commissioned by the company into the shopping opinions and preferences of 1,000 UK consumers in July and also advises how retailers must react to the shifting dynamic.