Monitoring The Customer Experience Where It Actually Happens
The advantage of seeing the customer experiences your company delivers should be obvious:
With all that obvious value, why aren't more companies getting more time for their executives on the front lines to observe the experience? Because too many companies seem paralyzed by some of the very real constraints associated with running an experience observation program.
That's what I talk about with Scott Gilbey & Beth Karawan ?? in the latest edition of the #CX Patterns podcast and newsletter.
The Objections To Direct Observation Are Real But Addressable
The concerns about directly observing the experience are real, but not an excuse to skip observation altogether.
The Potemkin Village effect where everything is made perfect in anticipation of the visiting executives defeats the purpose of observation.
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Observation Is Additive To How You Evaluate The Experience Today
The way to deal with these concerns is to not worry about your observation being perfect as a stand-in for addressing every element of evaluating and measuring your experience.
It can't be. It doesn't need to be. Observation adds another facet of insight to your understanding of the experience. When you think about in those terms, the fact that employees recognize executives is unfortunate, but not the end of the world.
The fact that you might only observe some locations or some employee - customer interactions is just the reality of how much time your executives can dedicate to observation.
Direct observation augments, rather than replaces other sources of insight about your current experience.
Scott and Beth share several great suggestions in the podcast for how you can start observing real experiences today:
Undercover Boss makes for good TV, but for a bad model of observing your CX.
Scott and Beth share far more wisdom in the podcast episode. Listen, and share your favorite tips for observing and sampling your customer experience.
Sam, agree with all you wrote in your post. But here is one key challenge: The top execs have to want to observe their organization's CX, and TBH, not all do. Some are -- admirably if sadly -- honest enough to say they don't care. Others will say the equivalent of "that's what my staff are for." I equate CX observation with "walk a mile in their shoes" programs. Leaders need to understand what it's like for their employees to do their jobs in order to better understand whether they are providing employees with the right training, tools, whether policies make sense, etc. All this, of course, may also affect the CX. In my corner of the world (airlines), few CEOs do "mile in their shoes" programs, and even fewer get involved with the CX. When top execs travel, airports, crew, etc. are usually given advance notice. Funny how their flights are almost always on-time. Of course, there was also the time when, in July 2023, United's CEO flew a private jet from New Jersey to Colorado while United's operations were in shambles due to bad weather. He chose to do that rather than return to its HQ or at least flying one of United's scheduled (but delayed) flights. Leadership, in all aspects of the term, begins at the top.
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2 个月Sam Stern Beth Karawan ?? Scott Gilbey Love this topic and your points are spot on. "Undercover Boss may make for compelling TV, but it serves as a cautionary tale rather than a best practice for understanding the customer experience. Leadership involvement in frontline roles is essential, but it should be authentic and integrated into regular operations—not a dramatic, one-time event. Take examples like Home Depot’s Quarterly Retail Shifts for Corporate Employees or DoorDash’s WeDash program. These initiatives normalize leadership's presence on the frontline, providing executives with firsthand insights into employee and customer challenges while fostering empathy and alignment with company values. Similarly, Boeing’s new CEO Kelly Ortberg is embedding executives into factory floors to drive cultural transformation. The benefits are clear: better decision-making, stronger team morale, and a deeper connection to the customer journey. But to make it work, it’s critical to avoid theatrics and focus on building a culture where observing and participating in frontline experiences is part of the organization's DNA—not an exception.
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2 个月Sam…I’m a huge proponent of this too…as are most CX-ers. Why do you think it doesn’t happen more often at companies? Does the Spirit CEO fly their planes or do they fly PJ? (And if that’s a bad example, I’m sure there are plenty out there that never sample their product,)