📒 Long Read on Deliberate Delighters
Reviving the Art of Customer Experience / ⏱ 4 minutes and 24 seconds
This weekend, the Financial Times posed a critical question in its headline article: How did customer service get so bad? The article talks about a decline in general service standards across industries, that "is costing companies a fortune and the rest of us our sanity." At a time when efficiency overshadows genuine care for customers, this is a sentiment many recognize, and a starting point for these FIELD NOTES.
In this edition, inspired by the aforementioned FT-article, a book I recently read by NYC-restaurateur Will Guidara, and Episode 7 of Season 2 of The Bear, I explore how businesses can rediscover their raison d'être through "hospitality thinking"—a concept that transcends mere transactions to create truly memorable customer experiences.
Rediscovering Hospitality
Will Guidara, a famed New York City restaurateur known for his work at Eleven Madison Park and The NoMad, champions what he calls "Unreasonable Hospitality." This philosophy and its workings go far beyond standard service; it involves creating unforgettable moments that exceed expectations. I recently found his book in the midst of my journey down a rabbit hole that started with watching Episode 7 of the second season of The Bear—If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend.
In the episode, one scene captures the essence of Guidara's approach. Cousin Richie, sent off to intern at an unnamed 3-star restaurant by Carmy, overhears guests lamenting their missed chance to try authentic Chicago deep-dish pizza. After an off the cuff moment of pure hospitality thinking, he quickly orders take-out from a local favorite and elevates the ordinary pizza to a Michelin-level experience—a brilliant depiction of turning simple acts into extraordinary memories.
And one I believe, that many brands, from car companies to retailers, should learn from.
As I found out when reading the book, the scene above is actually based on true events. Only the pizza was a hotdog, and cousin Richie, Mr. Guidara.
Delighters: The Key to Brand Loyalty
"Delighters" are intentional enhancements that make a service or product stand out. In my projects, I've long used this term, originating from the Kano model of customer satisfaction developed in the 1980s, which classifies customer preferences and how exceeding these can dramatically boost customer satisfaction levels.
I passionately believe that good delighters elevate the experience of a product or service, and therefore are a unique tool for building brands, beyond for instance your traditional marketing campaigns (which are by default temporary).
Delighter Building-blocks
Unpacking the elements that make up a delightful experience, here are 5 parts I think every brand delighter should always have.
Uniqueness: Delightful moments are distinctive to your brand
Surplus Value: They’re “unnecessary” (they’re by definition not industry standards, your product or default service)
Relevance: They feel personal, and add to what you’re offering, they don’t distract from it
Value Addition: Whether through economic means or by bringing ‘badge value’, pride, or a sense of belonging/community
Unexpectedness: Surpassing customer expectations is key
Some industries are traditionally really good at building memorable moments for their customers. There’s tons of amazing lessons we could learn from frequent flyer programs, to many many cool examples from the hotel or restaurants-industries (just read “Unreasonable Hospitality for a good dose of them). Often they involve premium service levels focused on rewards or building loyalty. I’ll share some other examples here.
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”Easter Eggs” —undocumented features hidden in (often) tech products, set in motion by a sequence of commands that nobody would hit accidentally— can be great delighters for those who know where to find them. They provide an “insider-feeling” to the community. They are often quirky and unnecessary, and fun. They bring a smile to people’s face and underline the values and culture of its manufacturer. Some delightful examples:
Tesla’s Dance Performance: From the Model X’s 'dance performance' to hidden features activated by obscure commands, Tesla embeds unique elements that amuse and engage.
Google’s Dino Game: A quirky offline game that appears in Chrome when your internet connection drops, providing a light-hearted diversion while waiting for the WiFi to work again.
Pixar’s Pizza Planet Truck: A recurring cameo in every Pixar film since Toy Story, offering a subtle delight for sharp-eyed fans.
Delightful Sustainability
A go-to example for basically every marketer in the last decade, Patagonia stands out with its commitment to aftercare and environmental responsibility. Their repair services not only extend the life of their products but also emphasize the brand's dedication to sustainability.
From inviting customers to get actively involved in events or volunteering work in their communities, supported by the brand through grands, to offering very accessible repair services stating “repair is a radical act”. You simply register your repair request online, send it to Patagonia, after which they’ll fix it, or recycle it if it’s broken beyond fixing.
On a smaller scale —customer-wise— Amsterdam kids fashion brand Gray Label opened their “restore” last month, where parents can buy or rent kids-clothes from the GL-archive, find repaired goods, and upcycled collections in collaboration with Anhem-based sustainable fashion pioneers Hul le Kes.
Nestlé Japan's initiative to replace the plastic wrappers of their hit-brand KitKat ("kitto katsu" translates to "you will surely win”) with origami paper highlights an innovative approach to packaging that encourages reuse and conveys cultural respect.
Unboxing delight
Apple's rigorous focus on the unboxing experience showcases their commitment to delighting customers from the first touch. Each aspect of the packaging design is meticulously engineered to ensure that the process of opening their products not only pleases but also aligns seamlessly with the company’s ethos of accessibility and user-friendliness.
This commitment to design and detail —Apple employs designers whose sole job is to focus on packaging, ensuring that opening the box is a unique experience— ensures that every customer feels a sense of excitement and anticipation that builds even before the device is powered on. The tactile sensation of the packaging materials, the satisfying removal of protective films, and the strategic placement of each component within the box are all carefully considered to create a memorable opening ritual.
This ritual reinforces Apple's brand values—simplicity, elegance, and innovation—through a choreographed presentation that deepens the customer's connection to the product. In doing so, Apple transforms the simple act of opening a box into a defining moment of brand experience, setting a benchmark in packaging that others strive to meet.
Conclusion: The Responsibility of Magic
As Will Guidara writes, businesses have "a responsibility—to make magic in a world that desperately needs more of it." Whether through innovative service concepts, thoughtful product enhancements, or sustainable practices, the opportunities to delight customers are vast. It’s about creating moments that stick with them—moments that turn customers into loyal advocates and vocal ambassadors for your brand. Think about it. What can you do to elevate your customer experience beyond expectation?
Off-topic \ 3 Recommended Reads
🦜 How to Discover Your Own Taste — Ezra Klein and Kyle Chayka talk about how today’s internet encourages averything to look more the same
🧍 The Post-Individual — Yancey Strickler on a state of being in which people seek new forms of identity
🅰️ Absolute Zeitgeist — “A is for Action”. A collaborative open source magazine project between design studio HouseTMM and myself is live and for sale
Thank you
…For reading edition no. 003 of FIELD NOTES.
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