Customer Experience Is Built One Detail at a Time

This article answers the question: Why do details matter in customer service and customer experience?

Answer: Details matter because customers judge their experience based on the accumulation of hundreds of small interactions, not just one memorable moment.

In customer experience, details make the difference. Every detail either adds confidence or creates friction. Customer experience is simply the sum of those details.  

Many (including myself) have written about managing details. Over the years, I’ve collected quotes about the importance of details. Here are a few that inspired me and will hopefully do the same for you: 

• The details are not the details. They make the design. This one comes from Charles Eames, an American designer. While it’s not directly about customer service or CX, the meaning behind it applies. Customer experience is, in many ways, the design of the experience. Paying attention to every detail, even the seemingly unimportant, is what makes the great ones great. 

• Details matter. It’s worth waiting to get it right. Steve Jobs of Apple understood the power of making details count, and he was willing to invest money and time into these details until they were right. His product design team recognized that the computers and phones needed to work, but they also needed to have aesthetic appeal. The packaging is as cool as what’s inside. It isn’t just a box. It’s part of the experience. And this is but one small example of Jobs’ attention to detail.  

• There is no magic in magic. It’s all in the details. This quote is often attributed to Walt Disney, but I can’t find the exact source. Even if he didn’t say it, it’s appropriate. Mr. Disney believed in creating magical experiences. He obsessed over details that theme park guests might never consciously notice. Everything from the characters’ costumes to the placement of the trash cans, which ties into Disney’s obsession with cleanliness, are details that blend into the entire experience. He truly understood that the guest experience was the accumulation of thousands of details.  

And here’s what’s interesting. Customers rarely compliment us on the little details when companies get them right. For example, you don’t hear guests in a restaurant commenting, “I’m impressed that the plates and silverware were clean.” They simply expect it. But when we miss a detail, it stands out. That’s why great customer experience isn’t created by chance. It’s about intentionally managing hundreds of small moments that most people might overlook.  

One detail alone doesn’t count, even if it is an amazing detail. It’s the next one, and the next one, and the next one … Well, you get the idea. Customers judge us by the accumulation of dozens and hundreds of details, big and small. Taking this idea full circle, customer experience is simply the sum of every detail. Get enough of them right, and your customers will notice, remember, and say, “I’ll be back!”