I am often asked about the difference between user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX). A few weeks' ago, I had an experience that demonstrated this difference clearly….

A Great User Experience....

It was a cold night at the end of a busy day, when cooking dinner just didn't feel a desirable prospect. Instead, the idea of a takeaway supper seemed most enticing. I had heard good things about a new café where you could order online so logged on and proceeded to place my order. The website was excellent – intuitive, responsive and clear – a pleasure to use. UX = 10/10.

….but a Disappointing Customer Experience

I received an email confirming the order and the time to collect it from the café. I turned up at the time stated… at which point things went badly wrong. There wasn't a queue so I assumed it would be a quick matter of collecting my order and racing home to enjoy the meal (a much-anticipated fish and chips).
However, the two people working in the café were engaged in speaking to a customer on the phone – well, one was actually speaking to the customer while the other commented alongside him. This went on for almost 15 minutes. Still, there was the prospect of the lovely fish and chips, which would be well worth a short wait.
The phone call ended and one of the people came to serve me. At this point, there was a discussion about payment – he thought I had to pay, I knew (and had confirmation) that I had paid online using the very efficient online ordering system. The other member of staff was called over to confirm that payment had, in fact, been made. Once that issue was cleared up, I had been in the café for twenty minutes. The person serving me then reached to a warming tray to hand me a package – my fish and chips had been sitting, packaged up for over twenty minutes.
By the time I unwrapped them at home they were rubbery and inedible. I could – and should – have asked for a fresh meal but my will to live and eat the meal had disappeared by that point. CX = 2/10 (marks have been awarded because the items were correct!).

The Customer Journey

The key point here is that I won't buy a meal from that café again and I suspect other customers who have a similar CX there wouldn't either. This is despite the excellent online ordering system. UX is fine if the holistic nature of service is considered but on its own often does not fit the bill and it definitely didn't in this case. The need for an entire CX view applies whether buying a meal for collection, products for delivery or a service to be encountered.
The concept of the customer journey is highly relevant to today's business world as it allows analysts to investigate the points where there is contact between the organisations and its customers. These are the touchpoints where the organisation can demonstrate how well – or how poorly – they engage with their customers. These are the occasions where an organisation can choose to be brilliant, settle for satisfactory or completely fail to care. Standing in a customer's shoes and viewing the situation from their perspective, increases understanding of their service requirements and the CX needs to be met.

We Need CX Professionals

UX is key in today's automated world but it isn't the end of the story. Often, it is just the beginning, and failing to realise this risks losing customers and diminishing the organisation's reputation. CX professionals can make a significant contribution to their organisation's success if they analyse the experience offered to customers holistically and ensure they do this throughout the entire customer journey.