JR was on his way to the airport to catch a flight to Singapore

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JR was on his way to the airport to catch a flight to Singapore. As he got to the airport, he realised that he had left his laptop behind. He tried to keep calm and called a friend with a key to his house and asked him if he could possibly get the bag for him and make a dash for the airport. Luckily, his friend
answered and was close by, so he was able to support him in this. Time was tight, though, and JR hoped that traffic wouldn’t be an issue. 

He looked over to the security area, and his heart sank as he saw the long queues – there was no way he would be able to wait for his friend and then join the long queues. He looked around and spotted the airline service desk and headed over there. He was met by a smiling woman who asked how she could help. He explained, and she could see that he was trying to hide his stress.

“I can help,” she said. When do you think your friend will be here? And what’s his name? 

“He’s Pete, and he should be here in 15 minutes, I hope.”

“OK, this is what we’ll do. I’ll wait for him by the entrance, and you go and join the queue. I will come and find you either in the queue or by the gate. It will be OK.”

JR couldn’t believe it. What service! He thanked her profusely and took off. Half an hour later, as he had just passed through security, she caught up with him and handed over the laptop with a smile. ????

JR nearly hugged her; that’s how relieved he was. “Thank you!” he exclaimed. “I can’t thank you enough!” 

“My pleasure, sir. That’s my job, I’m glad I could help.” And he could see that she meant it.

“I’m flying this airline again, that’s for sure,” JR thought as he hurried towards the gate.´

This is a true story; we’ve just changed the name and place.

It spoke to us as it so beautifully describes how great customer experiences leave us feeling seen, heard, and important. When we can see that someone cares about our issue and decides to help regardless of whether it’s their direct responsibility or not, we know that we made the right decision in buying their product and service.

This kind of customer experience is sometimes not consistent, though, and the opportunity lies in reflecting on the kind of impact we want to have on our customers so that it can become part of the overall customer experience strategy. And as this story shows, it needs to be and feel authentic to have a real impact.

Even those that don’t have a direct impact on the customer ultimately contribute to the customer experience. Everyone tends to be more important in this arena than they are first aware of. It’s an opportunity for us all to think about what the customers want, need and expect and what role we play in that experience. And grab the opportunity to make a difference.