September 9, 2025 • 31 mins
What does luxury really mean in today's experience economy? The answer might surprise you.
Joining us on this eye-opening CX Pulse Check episode is luxury experience expert Neen James, who shares groundbreaking research revealing that luxury isn't about price tags—it's a mindset with four distinct profiles. Yet regardless of which luxury mindset we embody, we all agree on five essential characteristics: high quality, long-lasting, authentic, unique, and indulgent.
"You don't have to have a luxury product to provide a luxury level of service," Neen explains, unlocking possibilities for businesses across every industry and price point. Her research definitively proves what many have suspected: luxury is increasingly about experiences rather than possessions, and about feeling genuinely seen, heard, and valued.
We explore fascinating real-world applications, from wealthy travelers choosing cooking lessons with Italian grandmothers over five-star hotels to Louis Vuitton's theatrical ship-shaped flagship store in China.
Perhaps most applicable for everyday business is our discussion of Starbucks' ambitious four-minute service goal. As Neen advises, we must "think like a concierge, not a bellhop," transforming transactional relationships into meaningful connections through what she calls "systemized thoughtfulness."
The insights from this conversation apply whether you're running a coffee shop or a luxury retailer.
Don't miss Neen's upcoming book, Exceptional Experiences, launching October 14th with pre-orders available now.
About Neen James:
Neen James (neenjames.com) is a leadership strategist, dynamic keynote speaker, and the author of Folding Time, Attention Pays, and the upcoming Exceptional Experiences. With boundless energy, quick wit, and actionable insights, she serves as a confidante to C-suite leaders to help them elevate experiences and achieve greater focus, communication, and influence. Recently appointed to the board of the World Luxury Chamber of Commerce, James has been named one of the Top 30 Leadership Speakers by Global Gurus multiple years in a row for her work with some of the world’s most prestigious brands, including Viacom, Comcast, Virtuoso Travel, Four Seasons, and the FBI. She empowers individuals to prioritize what matters most so they can create exceptional experiences that drive results and foster lasting connections. Originally from Australia, James is living her best life in Tampa, Florida.
Follow Neen on...
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/neenjames/
Instagram: instagram.com/neenjames
YouTube: youtube.com/user/AussieNeen
Articles Mentioned:
Luxury Travelers Prefer Spending Thousands on Authentic Nonna's Kitchen Over Lavish Hotel Suites (Investopedia)
A luxury experience in China: Global high-end brands bet on conceptual stores to revive sales (Reuters)
Brian Niccol wants your Starbucks drink to be made within 4 minutes of ordering (Yahoo! Finance)
Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jeannie Walters (00:10):
It's another episode of CX Pulse Check, where
I talk to some of my amazingfriends who are experts in their
field and get their take onsome relevant and timely
headlines in the customerexperience world.
Today, I'm so thrilled to bringwith me none other than Neen
James.
Neen, how are you?
Neen James (00:31):
G'day.
What a treat to be back on yourshow.
Like being with you and seeingwhat you've evolved this into.
Amazing.
It's a privilege to be backwith you.
Jeannie Walters (00:40):
Well, thank you so much.
We're so honored that you'rehere with us and, of course, you
were on the last podcasttalking about attention and
talking about that book.
You have an exciting new bookcoming out I would love for you
to share.
Yes, tell us all about it.
Neen James (00:55):
So this is called Exceptional Experiences which I
know your listeners and yourwatchers will love.
Five luxury levers to elevateevery aspect of your business.
So this is truly like aplaybook full of systems of
elevation that every businesscan use if you want to drive
revenue and create advocates inyour business.
Jeannie Walters (01:16):
Excellent, and I know you have so much
background, especially aroundluxury experiences, and so one
of the things that I wanted tokind of dive into today was how
are we defining luxury anymore?
Right Like, this is reallysomething that I think we look
back on, kind of the golden erathe 50s, 60s it was very obvious
(01:36):
, right Like who, where was theluxury?
And now I think we're alldefining that a little
differently.
So how would you define that?
How would you define luxury?
Neen James (01:46):
I think the word is very divisive, because I think,
honey, there's still a leftoverthought of elitist and not
approachable, and I believe thatpeople define luxury very
differently.
I have a friend and he definesit by the luxury of time, others
by texture and feel.
But I did a research study intowhat I believe is luxury as a
(02:08):
mindset, and I've alwaysbelieved luxury as a mindset,
but there was no research studyto prove it.
So I commissioned the onlyresearch study of its kind in
the world to discover there'snot just one, there's four
mindsets.
But before I get into that,what we discovered is there were
(02:28):
five key characteristics thateveryone surveyed agreed on.
They all said that luxury ishigh quality, long lasting,
authentic, unique and indulgent.
Now, four of those five words,honey, I think they apply to us
as leaders, and it doesn'tmatter what kind of product or
(02:49):
service you have.
You don't have to have a luxuryproduct to provide a luxury
level of service, and so thosewords, I think, define so much
about what many of the peoplelistening to this do anyway.
Jeannie Walters (03:01):
Yeah, I totally agree, and I think the word
authentic in the middle there isreally important and it's also
something that you know we're,over the last decade plus,
people have been asking for moreauthenticity,
Neen James (03:15):
Right
Jeannie Walters (03:15):
, and people can really kind of smell it when
it's not right, right, likethey can.
They can really understand whenit's not authentic.
And that's what I think is sointeresting about kind of the
shift of that mindset thatyou're talking about, because
it's not really all about thatindulgence, it's about being
authentic with that as well.
Neen James (03:35):
Yeah, and interesting too, despite what
mindset people had in theresearch study, regardless of
which of the four they were,they agreed on two things.
Jeannie, they said that luxuryis a reward for hard work, and I
think that's really cool.
Second thing they said is luxuryis about experiences, not
things and I know that peoplelistening to this would agree
(03:58):
with that wholeheartedly,because it's not about the fancy
handbag or the fancy car, it'sabout the experience you create,
and so I believe my whole bodyof work is about getting people
to feel seen, heard and valued,and so that's really the stealth
message in this book.
You mentioned my work inattention.
For sure, attention is aboutconnection, but I think luxury
(04:21):
is about human connection, andluxury brands know more than so
many how to make people feelseen and heard, and it doesn't
always have to be expensive tomake people feel valued.
Jeannie Walters (04:46):
That's absolutely true.
Absolutely true.
So this first headline that Ihave for us kinda fits into that
world of you know, is it luxuryand authentic and all those
things?
This is about a trend that isreally about going to authentic
experiences, and this articlefrom Investopedia actually
points out this is kind of forthe wealthy, but this is the
headline is luxury travelersprefer spending thousands on
authentic Nonna's kitchen overlavish hotel suites.
(05:07):
So they're spending time inpeople's homes with Italian
grandmas and they're learninghow to cook with them and we're
doing all of these interestingthings.
And you know, I could reallythis stood out to me for a
couple of reasons.
One is that I think that whenwe think about being in
someone's home, like that, beinginvited, that can feel really
(05:29):
special and inclusive.
And I think about some of themost unique experiences I've had
as a guest, and some of themare.
You know, there was a phasehere in Chicago where there was
a whole thing with supper clubswhere you would literally be
with 10 people and the chefwould be coming in and out of
(05:50):
her own kitchen and it was justreally it was so intimate and
special.
And then the other, my familyand I just went and spent a
couple weeks in Japan and therewas a restaurant where it was
like 10 seats around a counterand I just remember feeling so
like I don't know invited youknow, I think that was part of
(06:13):
it.
So this was pointing out likethat that this isn't a either or
the wealthy travelers are notsaying like we're never going to
a five-star resort, they'rejust mixing this up as part of
their travel plan.
So what's your take on that?
A lot of this is around thatauthenticity, I think.
Neen James (06:32):
A hundred percent.
And let me just talk to youabout some travel trends as well
at the same time.
Right now we're talking aboutmulti-generational travel, where
often grandma is funding theentire experience for the whole
family to take the cruise or togo and experience Italy in a
different way.
So one of the trends isgenerational travel, also to
have a think of youngergenerations, where they're
(06:53):
really craving experiences overthings and that's been seen.
They're very altruistic.
But when I look at the luxurymindset research study of the
four mindsets, let me tell youwhat this appeals to.
One of them is this personwho's the luxury lover.
Because what they want isbehind the scenes exclusive
access.
If Nonna is going to add alittle bit of flour to your
(07:16):
dough because you don't have itquite right, they love that.
The luxury lover wants behindthe scenes access, the mindset
of the pro prioritizer.
Them, luxury is all aboutreputation and career and
development.
They are so engaged when abrand is authentic to your point
and when it's sustainable.
(07:37):
So what they love is workingwith things like a tour of
Nonna's Kitchen because we'resupporting the local community.
They love society andenvironmental impacts.
The third mindset that I thinkthis experience also helps us
with is the confident andcontent mindset, because to them
they say luxury, I don't needit, but you know how I'm going
(07:58):
to use it to create memories ofpeople I love.
And so, of the four mindsets,three of them are being appealed
to here, because in the luxurytravel space, the ultra high net
worth clientele and think ofthese as like your top tier
clients.
Maybe you're not working withthe ultra high net worth client,
but you have top tier clients.
Something we can learn from theultra high net worth is they
(08:18):
want to be pioneers.
They want to experience thingsothers haven't.
They want to be in Nonna'skitchen.
They want to be some of thefirst to do that.
They want to be in locationsthat others haven't been to
before.
That is the privilege of some ofthe wealth being able to have
these experiences.
But if you translate that foryour own business, maybe your
(08:39):
clients want to have a tour ofthe physical therapy practice
that you're running.
Maybe they want to meet theengineers who designed the
particular products that youcreated, so you can still offer
something similar.
But what clients want is anauthentic connection, an
emotional connection to you andyour brand.
(09:00):
Now, one of the other thingsthat this article is brilliant
at is it engages all five sensesand luxury brands are genius at
this.
So the taste of the actual pastathat you're making, the feel of
the dough, as Nonna is addingthat extra kind of flour, the
smell of the garlic, that is allcrisply, oh, it's just
(09:20):
delicious.
So, when you think about theseauthentic experiences, what we
can also think about as brandsis how do we bring more of the
five senses in to elevate thatexperience.
Jeannie Walters (09:30):
Yeah, for sure, for sure.
One of the things I've talkedabout sometimes is I have this
really strong memory of thefirst time I ever walked into an
Aveda store because of thesense, but then they offered me
tea.
They they came up and said youknow, would you like a cup of
comfort?
And it's called comfort tea.
And it was just one of thosethings where I was like where am
(09:54):
I and can I live here now, like
Neen James (09:58):
I love it.
Jeannie Walters (10:00):
But I do think like there there is so much that
can be evoked when we reallytap into, kind of, the whole
person, right, and that part ofit.
Neen James (10:09):
Yes, and I think brands who are doing this.
Well, if you think about ifyou've ever experienced an
Edition hotel, if you go to theTampa Edition I know you work
with the city of Tampa.
If you go to the Tampa Editionhotel, it smells the same as if
I'm in Madrid at their Editionhotel, because they have a
signature scent and so we canall think about how to bring
more of these senses in, becauseour sense of smell is so
(10:31):
directly connected to ouremotional connection to what it
is and we can remember thoseexperiences.
So travel industry are doingthis well, because they're
leveraging the five senses,they're giving exclusive
experiences.
And here's the other thingthey're making it share worthy,
because people want to takethose photos, post it on
Instagram and then go tell theirfriends.
(10:52):
This was the experience that Ihad.
So what memories are wecreating with people that are
authentic, by really and notcurating the authenticity to
your point before people cansmell that a mile away it's
genuine.
It's not that Nonna reading offa script.
She's got some old familyrecipe that she's gonna tell you
how to make.
She'll probably tell you aboutthe mistakes that have happened
along the way, and you'll bepart of that that conversation
(11:14):
rather than a presentation.
Jeannie Walters (11:16):
Yes, yes, that's well said, well said, and
I think this whole um, thiswhole discussion is, first of
all, making me hungry, but it'salso, I think, the whole like
connection between authenticityand and how we feel about those
relationships.
This is really interesting,because the next thing that I
(11:38):
would love to talk about withyou is a little bit of the
opposite of that, because thisis about a, I mean it is a
little performative, frankly,but it's still something that I
think people will appreciatebecause it's a little different,
it's unique, all the thingsthat you talked about.
So this is from Reuters and theheadline is a luxury experience
(12:02):
.
In China, global high-end brandsbet on conceptual stores to
review sales.
This is specifically aboutLouis Vuitton and how they have
a flagship store.
That is, that looks like a ship.
I'm going to bring over avisual here from another site,
(12:29):
but this is let's see, this isthe ship you can see here and
this is the inside When you walkin and it's, they play up their
trunks, their famous trunks,travel trunks, and they have
kind of exhibitions throughout,and then they make a point in
this article from D-Zine that itis basically ending up in the
gift shop,
Neen James (12:46):
You bet!
Jeannie Walters (12:48):
Which I thought that's really unique, because
you have to kind of go through abunch of different places in
order to get to the actual store, which is what they're putting
there.
So there was a lot in this, butone of the things that also
stood out to me about thearticle in general is that
regular luxury brands like thisthey're closing their typical
(13:12):
stores, but they're investing inthese flagship experiential
stores.
So this store that we'retalking about also has a cafe.
They have different thingsgoing on.
It reminded me of a few yearsago, when I know Nordstrom and
Macy's and those stores werestarting to experiment with
(13:32):
things like bringing incelebrity chefs to do cooking
demonstrations, bringing infitness instructors to do actual
events, so I think that there'sa lot of tie in with this.
What really struck me about theLouis Vuitton example, though,
was they're evoking all thatemotion as you go through before
you get to the gift shop.
(13:53):
Just like a museum, right, likeit's just like a museum.
So what are your thoughts here?
Neen James (14:01):
You know, I think LVMH, Louis Vuitton Moet
Hennessy, if you think aboutthey have like Bernie, Bernard
Arnault, he has like 75 brandsin his portfolio, but what he's
been continually genius at iselevating the experience.
And so think about it.
If you think about the flagshipstore of the Landmark Store of
(14:21):
Tiffany in New York, when theywere refurbishing it, the
temporary store was stunninglybeautiful.
The facade that they used wasincredibly clever.
Look at what they did withLouis Vuitton's store in New
York when they were building thenew one.
They wrapped it in luggage soit looked like it's one of the
most photographed things in NewYork right now, while they had
(14:43):
the temporary building with theLouis Vuitton Cafe, et cetera.
So what this brand has donewhich a lot of brands are doing
well now when it comes to that,especially luxury retail, is
they understand what I said atthe beginning.
Luxury is about experiences,not things, and they're
leveraging both, because even ifyou just purchased a little
(15:08):
bookmark at the gift store, youstill feel like you can take
home your experience of visitingthat store.
What they are doing is, insteadof spending $15,000 on a
particular bag, you might spend$100.
You might spend $50 onsomething that they can take
home with them, and thatartifact becomes a time and a
(15:30):
memory creator for you.
So they're also making theirproducts a little bit more
approachable.
They're also appealing to adiversity of audience.
Now, with China, for example,we know that the spending had
dropped in the luxury market,and so one of the things they're
trying to do is reinvent.
What are the things that reallyappeal to them?
But here's the other thing Ifyou go to this particular store
(15:52):
whether it's the New York storeor if it's in China you're
spending longer in store.
When you spend longer in store,you get more exposed to the
different products and servicelevels, and you might be more
tempted to invest or trysomething you hadn't before.
At the Louis Vuitton Cafe in NewYork, it's not just the cafe,
which is one of the hardestreservations to get, but it's
(16:13):
the little chocolate shop besideit.
The people will queue up for anhour to pay premium for a logo
on a chocolate so they can showit on social media and gift it
to someone who's important tothem.
So I think this performancearound luxury has always been
there, but now, because ofsocial media, they've had to
(16:34):
amplify it.
One of the things we talk aboutin the Exceptional Experiences
book is thinking about creativeways to be share worthy.
Now, hoteliers, retailers, touroperators, restaurants they're
creating Instagrammable spacesbecause they're hoping that the
people who are visiting theirpremise will then take photos
and share it.
(16:54):
So they're literally like thechefs all know that the camera
eats first now, because we wantto photograph the plate before
we even take a sip or a bite,because we want to share it with
our friends, right?
So the performance of luxuryhas been elevated like theater,
like a museum.
It's all part of the culturalexperience.
Jeannie Walters (17:16):
I love it.
I love it.
And I think the point aboutInstagram is so interesting too,
because I think now some placesare trying to find that balance
because they're having too muchof that and not enough
purchasing or not enough.
There was that cafe I think itwas in New York really quaint
little neighborhood cafe andthey were just cute.
(17:38):
It was super cute.
And they had to actually saylike you are allowed, like one
picture, basically because theywere having a backlog of people,
um, who were setting up lightsand they were ordering one
coffee and staying there forfive hours and taking a table.
So they really had to kind ofsay that's not why we're here.
(17:59):
We love you sharing, weappreciate that, you appreciate
the decor, but we're here as acoffee house for the
neighborhood and they reallykind of put their foot down.
But the fact that youappreciate the decor, but we're
here as a coffee house for theneighborhood and they really
kind of put their foot down, butthe fact that you and I are
talking about that also showsthat that was kind of a
brilliant move too.
Neen James (18:16):
Shareworthy.
Correct.
So there's a there's a clientthat I have and people, it's a
beautiful, premium hotel andpeople love to take a photo on
the staircase.
It's a very famous staircase.
What they realized was peopleare making reservations, coming
in, taking a photo, cancelingthe reservation and then leaving
.
Yeah, because it is a verypremium location and it's an
(18:36):
exquisite staircase.
And so what they had to do wasthey had to then change the
reservation procedure as far ascancellation fees when they got
wise to what was actuallyhappening.
Now what they've done is they'vetrained their team around the
staircase to offer to take thetwo photos and then move people
through.
So we've come up with acompromise, but I think what
(18:59):
businesses can take away fromthis is we need to really pay
attention to what experiencesour clients, our guests, our
members, our students arenoticing and then look to see
how can we elevate that, or dowe need to put some different
processes in place.
So this ship that they designedin China as an experience,
(19:20):
using the best practices ofpeople, movement, design,
experiential design and,ultimately revenue, because not
only are you and I talking aboutit, it's being shared
everywhere because of thevisuals.
And because they're alsoappealing to a particular
consumer who wants to be able toshare that with others.
Jeannie Walters (19:38):
Mm, hmm, it is, I mean, I think, now, anybody
who is serving customers,serving anyone really Really, we
need to just think so kind offour .
now.
Now We we have to think aboutnot only you know, how can we
set those expectations, how canwe make sure we're delivering
great service just like always,but all these other factors of
(20:01):
how can we both make it shareworthy and make the experience
kind of balanced for everybody.
So there's not a line orwhatever.
we were in Japan recently, wehad a tour of a very well-known
place in Tokyo, a temple andlovely grounds all around,
(20:22):
including some smaller shrines,and as we were walking up to the
shrine there was a big signsaying no pictures and our tour
guide said you know what that'sto prevent this and that and
like all these lines that theywere having.
So she said we're not, as longas you're not disruptive, like
it's okay to take pictures.
It was more about thedisruption of the experience .
(20:47):
to I felt like that was sointeresting too, because when we
saw it we thought, oh, it mustbe a rule, like we can't take
this.
You know, we took it veryseriously and she was kind of
like no, you can go aheadbecause you're
Neen James (20:58):
Doesn't it feel special, for you to have that
extra permission.
Jeannie Walters (21:01):
It does.
Yes!
Neen James (21:01):
It's a shame now, though, that we have to tell
people what's appropriate andwhat's inappropriate, and I
think and you know the theinternet is full of examples
where people have got too closeto extinct animals, or they have
got, you know, potentially invery dangerous or damaging areas
next to artwork, and all sortsof horrible things have happened
because people are quitethoughtless.
(21:22):
Yes, one of the things I thinkwe need to think about is, yes,
we want to create experiencesthat people talk about, we want
to create advocates for ourbusiness and our brand, but what
we can also do is get back tothe fundamentals using people's
names, looking people in the eye, correctly spelling their names
.
You and I know what luxury is,but we also know what luxury is
(21:43):
not.
So if we have to fill out thatextra form that we've already
given all our details or we'retalking to the bot or the lines
are too long.
We know that doesn't feel likea luxury experience and, like I
said, you don't have to have aluxury product to provide a
luxury level of service.
It's about also eliminatingthose friction points.
So if you're, you'll get yourbeautiful tour guide knew the
(22:04):
friction point was theexperiences being disturbed by
all the cameras.
I'm so glad they took theopportunity to put some signage
up, but what I love is she gaveyou permission to take that
photo if you wanted to.
That's actually very clever onher part.
Jeannie Walters (22:17):
Yeah, yeah, it was great.
It was great.
And I think that when we thinkabout any experience, so much of
it is about expectations.
Right, we have to make sure weknow what we're walking into,
and you and I were talking alittle bit before recording
about how you know when you gointo certain places and you know
it's the same, no matter where.
(22:39):
That's reassuring, that'ssomething that's like comfort.
Our friend, Stan Phelpseverywhere he goes in the world
he goes to McDonald's first.
Neen James (22:47):
Right, it's so funny .
Consistent.
Jeannie Walters (22:50):
Right, and he also wants to see like there are
different regional things andthings like that.
But one of the places that Ithink this comes up is the you
know all of our favorite coffeeshop, starbucks.
So this is from Yahoo Financeand Fortune.
The headline is Brian Niccol,who, by the way, is the CEO of
(23:11):
Starbucks, wants your Starbucksdrink to be made within four
minutes of ordering.
But really this was an articleabout some of the changes that
he's starting to make based onthe fact that he wants to bring
Starbucks back to being kind ofthe third place, the place that
people feel connected.
He got a lot of positiveresponse when he talked about
(23:32):
buying 200,000 Sharpies becausehe wants them to go back to
writing and different thingslike that.
But he also recognized and I'llgive the last CEO some credit
here, because this wasrecognized that the wait time
because of mobile orders andbecause of drive through and
because of all these things,wait time was getting pretty
(23:53):
crazy.
There were some reports up to40 minutes in some locations.
Neen James (24:00):
Nope, nope, not for me.
Jeannie Walters (24:01):
Exactly.
In fact, you owe me time now.
I'm not sure how he talkedabout four minutes, and there
were a couple of things thatstood out to me.
One is I like that he's tryingto achieve this balance of
connection, of being that placeand also recognizing, you know
what, speed is important,efficiency is important.
(24:23):
That is part of the experience.
The other thing is he's talkingabout four minutes.
I don't think that's based ondata.
I think he just came up withthat number.
I think he just as far as Icould tell, which I think is
great because he's basicallyputting a line in the sand and
saying let's go for it.
And it reminds me of some of thegreat stories of how Porsche
(24:45):
decided one day that they weregoing to be in racing and
decided to win the race.
He just announced it andeverybody had to go with it and
all these different things.
And so I think that part ofwhat appealed to me about this
kind of attitude is I've been inrooms I'm sure you have too
where leaders know what theright thing to do is.
(25:06):
They know that it's not rightto help to have people wait for
40 minutes, but they say thingslike well, I guess we'll, you
know, survey or we'll find outwhat the ideal time is.
Like, sometimes we spend somuch time and effort on research
that we're not actually justmaking things happen for our
(25:26):
customers, so that's what reallystood out to me about this.
And then he also branded allthis as the Green Apron
Experience, and I loved that too.
So all of those things I'malways like rooting for
Starbucks.
I hope they do well.
So I'm curious about your takeon all of those little changes.
Neen James (25:49):
One of the things that I talk about regularly with
my clients whether it's in theconsulting arrangements I have,
whether it's as a keynotespeaker, and we talk about this
a little bit in the book andthat is that we have this
opportunity to move our clientrelationships from transactional
to transformational.
What Starbucks has been havingthis situation is very
transactional.
I order, I pick up.
(26:10):
There's no connection withanyone, right?
What they're trying to do, whatBrian?
He's trying to create atransformational experience
where he wants these people tobe advocates of his brand and,
using something like Green ApronService by naming it, he also
wants to ensure peopleunderstand what he's trying to
achieve.
Some people want atransactional relationship with
(26:30):
the brand.
They want to be able to driveup, get their coffee and move on
with their day.
And if we truly want to elevateand apply the luxury principles,
I think we should look for allopportunities to make them more
transformational.
So if speed is going to import,which so many people, luxury of
time is one of their number oneluxuries, right?
(26:51):
So if we know that that'simportant, you can still do that
transaction with atransformational luxury approach
, and the way you can do it isyeah, you can bring back the
sharpie and handwrite the nameor put a smiley face on the cup
or look someone in the eye.
We can do that and it takesmoments.
What I think we need to thinkabout is I say this all the time
(27:14):
I think we have to think like aconcierge, not a bellhop.
See, a bellhop is going toquickly move your bags through
the foyer and get them to yourroom, and we want efficiency.
We love that.
A bellhop is vital to the hoteloperation.
They're going to move bags.
A concierge is going to createmoments because they're going to
(27:35):
anticipate needs you didn'teven know you had.
They're going to suggest thatfabulous restaurant.
They're going to give you thatticket to that private event
that you wanted.
And, as leaders, we need tothink like a concierge, not a
bellhop.
And what Starbucks needs to dois they need to have their
baristas, their team members,thinking like a concierge, where
(27:56):
they can anticipate what theclient wants and they can
suggest the upsell.
They can make it an experience.
So they create a moment.
We call those champagne momentsin the book Something that
brings you joy or makes yousmile, taking an ordinary thing
and making it extraordinary.
I think starbucks has so manyopportunities to do that, as to
so many people listening here.
(28:17):
What are those touch points youhave with clients?
You could turn into champagnemoments.
Jeannie Walters (28:22):
For sure, for sure.
Well, I'm still rooting for them, because I think that one of
the you know the, the lastcouple of I don't know how long
now five plus years they'vereally been kind of trying to
find their footing again, and Ithink one of the lessons we can
all take from this is you know,it's okay to kind of stay stable
(28:46):
while you're experimenting andnot go too far, like you don't
have to leap every time, becauseI think they took a lot of big
swings and chances and it justand the world changes to
expectations change.
You know, the way that weinteract as customers change.
So I think that they'restarting to almost go back to
(29:08):
what made them them, and that'swhy I'm kind of rooting for them
, because it feels like oh yeah,this is the Starbucks that we
know,
Neen James (29:14):
and that's your authenticity, you said before.
It's that authentic connectionthat we had with our barista.
When our barista recognizes usand their eyes light up and they
smile, that moment, thatchampagne moment, that costs
nothing, right, that's what Ithink we're missing.
So if we can bring more of thatback, plus they're trying to
(29:34):
resource up, I agree with you.
I think they have such anability and they have such a big
footprint.
They could have a massiveimpact on our day just by
starting our day or ending ourday in this kindness, with this
systemized thoughtfulness.
I believe they could absolutelydo that.
So like you, I'm rooting forthem as well.
Jeannie Walters (29:56):
Well, I think you know, maybe next month we
can get Brian Niccol on CX PulseCheck and he can tell us all
about it.
But well, this was so much fun,as I knew it would be, and thank
you for bringing your wisdomand your expertise, and your
book is coming out when
Neen James (30:15):
October 14th.
Exceptional Experiences
Jeannie Walters (30:18):
and pre-orders are available now, so go ahead
and check that out.
It's full of great stuff andI'm sure we'll be talking about
it more and more in the comingmonths as well.
But, Neen, thank you so much.
This was absolutely a pleasure,and if our listeners and our
viewers want to know more aboutyou, what's the best way for
them to reach out?
Neen James (30:40):
Please connect with me at neenjamescom.
You can follow my adventuresevery day on Instagram at Neen
James or reach out to medirectly on LinkedIn.
Thank you for having me on theshow.
I love what you do in the world.
It was a privilege to be yourguest.
Jeannie Walters (30:49):
Thank you so much.
Well, thank you, and thank youfor listening and for being here
week after week with theExperience Action Podcast.
Don't forget, you can ask me aquestion about anything customer
experience or employeeexperience related at
askjeannievip.
I will see you next week anduntil then, keep your finger on
(31:10):
the pulse.
We've got a lot of work to doin customer experience.
See you next time.
It's another episode of CX Pulse Check, where
I talk to some of my amazingfriends who are experts in their
field and get their take onsome relevant and timely
headlines in the customerexperience world.
Today, I'm so thrilled to bringwith me none other than Neen
James.
Neen, how are you?
Neen James (00:31):
G'day.
What a treat to be back on yourshow.
Like being with you and seeingwhat you've evolved this into.
Amazing.
It's a privilege to be backwith you.
Jeannie Walters (00:40):
Well, thank you so much.
We're so honored that you'rehere with us and, of course, you
were on the last podcasttalking about attention and
talking about that book.
You have an exciting new bookcoming out I would love for you
to share.
Yes, tell us all about it.
Neen James (00:55):
So this is called Exceptional Experiences which I
know your listeners and yourwatchers will love.
Five luxury levers to elevateevery aspect of your business.
So this is truly like aplaybook full of systems of
elevation that every businesscan use if you want to drive
revenue and create advocates inyour business.
Jeannie Walters (01:16):
Excellent, and I know you have so much
background, especially aroundluxury experiences, and so one
of the things that I wanted tokind of dive into today was how
are we defining luxury anymore?
Right Like, this is reallysomething that I think we look
back on, kind of the golden erathe 50s, 60s it was very obvious
(01:36):
, right Like who, where was theluxury?
And now I think we're alldefining that a little
differently.
So how would you define that?
How would you define luxury?
Neen James (01:46):
I think the word is very divisive, because I think,
honey, there's still a leftoverthought of elitist and not
approachable, and I believe thatpeople define luxury very
differently.
I have a friend and he definesit by the luxury of time, others
by texture and feel.
But I did a research study intowhat I believe is luxury as a
(02:08):
mindset, and I've alwaysbelieved luxury as a mindset,
but there was no research studyto prove it.
So I commissioned the onlyresearch study of its kind in
the world to discover there'snot just one, there's four
mindsets.
But before I get into that,what we discovered is there were
(02:28):
five key characteristics thateveryone surveyed agreed on.
They all said that luxury ishigh quality, long lasting,
authentic, unique and indulgent.
Now, four of those five words,honey, I think they apply to us
as leaders, and it doesn'tmatter what kind of product or
(02:49):
service you have.
You don't have to have a luxuryproduct to provide a luxury
level of service, and so thosewords, I think, define so much
about what many of the peoplelistening to this do anyway.
Jeannie Walters (03:01):
Yeah, I totally agree, and I think the word
authentic in the middle there isreally important and it's also
something that you know we're,over the last decade plus,
people have been asking for moreauthenticity,
Neen James (03:15):
Right
Jeannie Walters (03:15):
, and people can really kind of smell it when
it's not right, right, likethey can.
They can really understand whenit's not authentic.
And that's what I think is sointeresting about kind of the
shift of that mindset thatyou're talking about, because
it's not really all about thatindulgence, it's about being
authentic with that as well.
Neen James (03:35):
Yeah, and interesting too, despite what
mindset people had in theresearch study, regardless of
which of the four they were,they agreed on two things.
Jeannie, they said that luxuryis a reward for hard work, and I
think that's really cool.
Second thing they said is luxuryis about experiences, not
things and I know that peoplelistening to this would agree
(03:58):
with that wholeheartedly,because it's not about the fancy
handbag or the fancy car, it'sabout the experience you create,
and so I believe my whole bodyof work is about getting people
to feel seen, heard and valued,and so that's really the stealth
message in this book.
You mentioned my work inattention.
For sure, attention is aboutconnection, but I think luxury
(04:21):
is about human connection, andluxury brands know more than so
many how to make people feelseen and heard, and it doesn't
always have to be expensive tomake people feel valued.
Jeannie Walters (04:46):
That's absolutely true.
Absolutely true.
So this first headline that Ihave for us kinda fits into that
world of you know, is it luxuryand authentic and all those
things?
This is about a trend that isreally about going to authentic
experiences, and this articlefrom Investopedia actually
points out this is kind of forthe wealthy, but this is the
headline is luxury travelersprefer spending thousands on
authentic Nonna's kitchen overlavish hotel suites.
(05:07):
So they're spending time inpeople's homes with Italian
grandmas and they're learninghow to cook with them and we're
doing all of these interestingthings.
And you know, I could reallythis stood out to me for a
couple of reasons.
One is that I think that whenwe think about being in
someone's home, like that, beinginvited, that can feel really
(05:29):
special and inclusive.
And I think about some of themost unique experiences I've had
as a guest, and some of themare.
You know, there was a phasehere in Chicago where there was
a whole thing with supper clubswhere you would literally be
with 10 people and the chefwould be coming in and out of
(05:50):
her own kitchen and it was justreally it was so intimate and
special.
And then the other, my familyand I just went and spent a
couple weeks in Japan and therewas a restaurant where it was
like 10 seats around a counterand I just remember feeling so
like I don't know invited youknow, I think that was part of
(06:13):
it.
So this was pointing out likethat that this isn't a either or
the wealthy travelers are notsaying like we're never going to
a five-star resort, they'rejust mixing this up as part of
their travel plan.
So what's your take on that?
A lot of this is around thatauthenticity, I think.
Neen James (06:32):
A hundred percent.
And let me just talk to youabout some travel trends as well
at the same time.
Right now we're talking aboutmulti-generational travel, where
often grandma is funding theentire experience for the whole
family to take the cruise or togo and experience Italy in a
different way.
So one of the trends isgenerational travel, also to
have a think of youngergenerations, where they're
(06:53):
really craving experiences overthings and that's been seen.
They're very altruistic.
But when I look at the luxurymindset research study of the
four mindsets, let me tell youwhat this appeals to.
One of them is this personwho's the luxury lover.
Because what they want isbehind the scenes exclusive
access.
If Nonna is going to add alittle bit of flour to your
(07:16):
dough because you don't have itquite right, they love that.
The luxury lover wants behindthe scenes access, the mindset
of the pro prioritizer.
Them, luxury is all aboutreputation and career and
development.
They are so engaged when abrand is authentic to your point
and when it's sustainable.
(07:37):
So what they love is workingwith things like a tour of
Nonna's Kitchen because we'resupporting the local community.
They love society andenvironmental impacts.
The third mindset that I thinkthis experience also helps us
with is the confident andcontent mindset, because to them
they say luxury, I don't needit, but you know how I'm going
(07:58):
to use it to create memories ofpeople I love.
And so, of the four mindsets,three of them are being appealed
to here, because in the luxurytravel space, the ultra high net
worth clientele and think ofthese as like your top tier
clients.
Maybe you're not working withthe ultra high net worth client,
but you have top tier clients.
Something we can learn from theultra high net worth is they
(08:18):
want to be pioneers.
They want to experience thingsothers haven't.
They want to be in Nonna'skitchen.
They want to be some of thefirst to do that.
They want to be in locationsthat others haven't been to
before.
That is the privilege of some ofthe wealth being able to have
these experiences.
But if you translate that foryour own business, maybe your
(08:39):
clients want to have a tour ofthe physical therapy practice
that you're running.
Maybe they want to meet theengineers who designed the
particular products that youcreated, so you can still offer
something similar.
But what clients want is anauthentic connection, an
emotional connection to you andyour brand.
(09:00):
Now, one of the other thingsthat this article is brilliant
at is it engages all five sensesand luxury brands are genius at
this.
So the taste of the actual pastathat you're making, the feel of
the dough, as Nonna is addingthat extra kind of flour, the
smell of the garlic, that is allcrisply, oh, it's just
(09:20):
delicious.
So, when you think about theseauthentic experiences, what we
can also think about as brandsis how do we bring more of the
five senses in to elevate thatexperience.
Jeannie Walters (09:30):
Yeah, for sure, for sure.
One of the things I've talkedabout sometimes is I have this
really strong memory of thefirst time I ever walked into an
Aveda store because of thesense, but then they offered me
tea.
They they came up and said youknow, would you like a cup of
comfort?
And it's called comfort tea.
And it was just one of thosethings where I was like where am
(09:54):
I and can I live here now, like
Neen James (09:58):
I love it.
Jeannie Walters (10:00):
But I do think like there there is so much that
can be evoked when we reallytap into, kind of, the whole
person, right, and that part ofit.
Neen James (10:09):
Yes, and I think brands who are doing this.
Well, if you think about ifyou've ever experienced an
Edition hotel, if you go to theTampa Edition I know you work
with the city of Tampa.
If you go to the Tampa Editionhotel, it smells the same as if
I'm in Madrid at their Editionhotel, because they have a
signature scent and so we canall think about how to bring
more of these senses in, becauseour sense of smell is so
(10:31):
directly connected to ouremotional connection to what it
is and we can remember thoseexperiences.
So travel industry are doingthis well, because they're
leveraging the five senses,they're giving exclusive
experiences.
And here's the other thingthey're making it share worthy,
because people want to takethose photos, post it on
Instagram and then go tell theirfriends.
(10:52):
This was the experience that Ihad.
So what memories are wecreating with people that are
authentic, by really and notcurating the authenticity to
your point before people cansmell that a mile away it's
genuine.
It's not that Nonna reading offa script.
She's got some old familyrecipe that she's gonna tell you
how to make.
She'll probably tell you aboutthe mistakes that have happened
along the way, and you'll bepart of that that conversation
(11:14):
rather than a presentation.
Jeannie Walters (11:16):
Yes, yes, that's well said, well said, and
I think this whole um, thiswhole discussion is, first of
all, making me hungry, but it'salso, I think, the whole like
connection between authenticityand and how we feel about those
relationships.
This is really interesting,because the next thing that I
(11:38):
would love to talk about withyou is a little bit of the
opposite of that, because thisis about a, I mean it is a
little performative, frankly,but it's still something that I
think people will appreciatebecause it's a little different,
it's unique, all the thingsthat you talked about.
So this is from Reuters and theheadline is a luxury experience
(12:02):
.
In China, global high-end brandsbet on conceptual stores to
review sales.
This is specifically aboutLouis Vuitton and how they have
a flagship store.
That is, that looks like a ship.
I'm going to bring over avisual here from another site,
(12:29):
but this is let's see, this isthe ship you can see here and
this is the inside When you walkin and it's, they play up their
trunks, their famous trunks,travel trunks, and they have
kind of exhibitions throughout,and then they make a point in
this article from D-Zine that itis basically ending up in the
gift shop,
Neen James (12:46):
You bet!
Jeannie Walters (12:48):
Which I thought that's really unique, because
you have to kind of go through abunch of different places in
order to get to the actual store, which is what they're putting
there.
So there was a lot in this, butone of the things that also
stood out to me about thearticle in general is that
regular luxury brands like thisthey're closing their typical
(13:12):
stores, but they're investing inthese flagship experiential
stores.
So this store that we'retalking about also has a cafe.
They have different thingsgoing on.
It reminded me of a few yearsago, when I know Nordstrom and
Macy's and those stores werestarting to experiment with
(13:32):
things like bringing incelebrity chefs to do cooking
demonstrations, bringing infitness instructors to do actual
events, so I think that there'sa lot of tie in with this.
What really struck me about theLouis Vuitton example, though,
was they're evoking all thatemotion as you go through before
you get to the gift shop.
(13:53):
Just like a museum, right, likeit's just like a museum.
So what are your thoughts here?
Neen James (14:01):
You know, I think LVMH, Louis Vuitton Moet
Hennessy, if you think aboutthey have like Bernie, Bernard
Arnault, he has like 75 brandsin his portfolio, but what he's
been continually genius at iselevating the experience.
And so think about it.
If you think about the flagshipstore of the Landmark Store of
(14:21):
Tiffany in New York, when theywere refurbishing it, the
temporary store was stunninglybeautiful.
The facade that they used wasincredibly clever.
Look at what they did withLouis Vuitton's store in New
York when they were building thenew one.
They wrapped it in luggage soit looked like it's one of the
most photographed things in NewYork right now, while they had
(14:43):
the temporary building with theLouis Vuitton Cafe, et cetera.
So what this brand has donewhich a lot of brands are doing
well now when it comes to that,especially luxury retail, is
they understand what I said atthe beginning.
Luxury is about experiences,not things, and they're
leveraging both, because even ifyou just purchased a little
(15:08):
bookmark at the gift store, youstill feel like you can take
home your experience of visitingthat store.
What they are doing is, insteadof spending $15,000 on a
particular bag, you might spend$100.
You might spend $50 onsomething that they can take
home with them, and thatartifact becomes a time and a
(15:30):
memory creator for you.
So they're also making theirproducts a little bit more
approachable.
They're also appealing to adiversity of audience.
Now, with China, for example,we know that the spending had
dropped in the luxury market,and so one of the things they're
trying to do is reinvent.
What are the things that reallyappeal to them?
But here's the other thing Ifyou go to this particular store
(15:52):
whether it's the New York storeor if it's in China you're
spending longer in store.
When you spend longer in store,you get more exposed to the
different products and servicelevels, and you might be more
tempted to invest or trysomething you hadn't before.
At the Louis Vuitton Cafe in NewYork, it's not just the cafe,
which is one of the hardestreservations to get, but it's
(16:13):
the little chocolate shop besideit.
The people will queue up for anhour to pay premium for a logo
on a chocolate so they can showit on social media and gift it
to someone who's important tothem.
So I think this performancearound luxury has always been
there, but now, because ofsocial media, they've had to
(16:34):
amplify it.
One of the things we talk aboutin the Exceptional Experiences
book is thinking about creativeways to be share worthy.
Now, hoteliers, retailers, touroperators, restaurants they're
creating Instagrammable spacesbecause they're hoping that the
people who are visiting theirpremise will then take photos
and share it.
(16:54):
So they're literally like thechefs all know that the camera
eats first now, because we wantto photograph the plate before
we even take a sip or a bite,because we want to share it with
our friends, right?
So the performance of luxuryhas been elevated like theater,
like a museum.
It's all part of the culturalexperience.
Jeannie Walters (17:16):
I love it.
I love it.
And I think the point aboutInstagram is so interesting too,
because I think now some placesare trying to find that balance
because they're having too muchof that and not enough
purchasing or not enough.
There was that cafe I think itwas in New York really quaint
little neighborhood cafe andthey were just cute.
(17:38):
It was super cute.
And they had to actually saylike you are allowed, like one
picture, basically because theywere having a backlog of people,
um, who were setting up lightsand they were ordering one
coffee and staying there forfive hours and taking a table.
So they really had to kind ofsay that's not why we're here.
(17:59):
We love you sharing, weappreciate that, you appreciate
the decor, but we're here as acoffee house for the
neighborhood and they reallykind of put their foot down.
But the fact that youappreciate the decor, but we're
here as a coffee house for theneighborhood and they really
kind of put their foot down, butthe fact that you and I are
talking about that also showsthat that was kind of a
brilliant move too.
Neen James (18:16):
Shareworthy.
Correct.
So there's a there's a clientthat I have and people, it's a
beautiful, premium hotel andpeople love to take a photo on
the staircase.
It's a very famous staircase.
What they realized was peopleare making reservations, coming
in, taking a photo, cancelingthe reservation and then leaving
.
Yeah, because it is a verypremium location and it's an
(18:36):
exquisite staircase.
And so what they had to do wasthey had to then change the
reservation procedure as far ascancellation fees when they got
wise to what was actuallyhappening.
Now what they've done is they'vetrained their team around the
staircase to offer to take thetwo photos and then move people
through.
So we've come up with acompromise, but I think what
(18:59):
businesses can take away fromthis is we need to really pay
attention to what experiencesour clients, our guests, our
members, our students arenoticing and then look to see
how can we elevate that, or dowe need to put some different
processes in place.
So this ship that they designedin China as an experience,
(19:20):
using the best practices ofpeople, movement, design,
experiential design and,ultimately revenue, because not
only are you and I talking aboutit, it's being shared
everywhere because of thevisuals.
And because they're alsoappealing to a particular
consumer who wants to be able toshare that with others.
Jeannie Walters (19:38):
Mm, hmm, it is, I mean, I think, now, anybody
who is serving customers,serving anyone really Really, we
need to just think so kind offour .
now.
Now We we have to think aboutnot only you know, how can we
set those expectations, how canwe make sure we're delivering
great service just like always,but all these other factors of
(20:01):
how can we both make it shareworthy and make the experience
kind of balanced for everybody.
So there's not a line orwhatever.
we were in Japan recently, wehad a tour of a very well-known
place in Tokyo, a temple andlovely grounds all around,
(20:22):
including some smaller shrines,and as we were walking up to the
shrine there was a big signsaying no pictures and our tour
guide said you know what that'sto prevent this and that and
like all these lines that theywere having.
So she said we're not, as longas you're not disruptive, like
it's okay to take pictures.
It was more about thedisruption of the experience .
(20:47):
to I felt like that was sointeresting too, because when we
saw it we thought, oh, it mustbe a rule, like we can't take
this.
You know, we took it veryseriously and she was kind of
like no, you can go aheadbecause you're
Neen James (20:58):
Doesn't it feel special, for you to have that
extra permission.
Jeannie Walters (21:01):
It does.
Yes!
Neen James (21:01):
It's a shame now, though, that we have to tell
people what's appropriate andwhat's inappropriate, and I
think and you know the theinternet is full of examples
where people have got too closeto extinct animals, or they have
got, you know, potentially invery dangerous or damaging areas
next to artwork, and all sortsof horrible things have happened
because people are quitethoughtless.
(21:22):
Yes, one of the things I thinkwe need to think about is, yes,
we want to create experiencesthat people talk about, we want
to create advocates for ourbusiness and our brand, but what
we can also do is get back tothe fundamentals using people's
names, looking people in the eye, correctly spelling their names
.
You and I know what luxury is,but we also know what luxury is
(21:43):
not.
So if we have to fill out thatextra form that we've already
given all our details or we'retalking to the bot or the lines
are too long.
We know that doesn't feel likea luxury experience and, like I
said, you don't have to have aluxury product to provide a
luxury level of service.
It's about also eliminatingthose friction points.
So if you're, you'll get yourbeautiful tour guide knew the
(22:04):
friction point was theexperiences being disturbed by
all the cameras.
I'm so glad they took theopportunity to put some signage
up, but what I love is she gaveyou permission to take that
photo if you wanted to.
That's actually very clever onher part.
Jeannie Walters (22:17):
Yeah, yeah, it was great.
It was great.
And I think that when we thinkabout any experience, so much of
it is about expectations.
Right, we have to make sure weknow what we're walking into,
and you and I were talking alittle bit before recording
about how you know when you gointo certain places and you know
it's the same, no matter where.
(22:39):
That's reassuring, that'ssomething that's like comfort.
Our friend, Stan Phelpseverywhere he goes in the world
he goes to McDonald's first.
Neen James (22:47):
Right, it's so funny .
Consistent.
Jeannie Walters (22:50):
Right, and he also wants to see like there are
different regional things andthings like that.
But one of the places that Ithink this comes up is the you
know all of our favorite coffeeshop, starbucks.
So this is from Yahoo Financeand Fortune.
The headline is Brian Niccol,who, by the way, is the CEO of
(23:11):
Starbucks, wants your Starbucksdrink to be made within four
minutes of ordering.
But really this was an articleabout some of the changes that
he's starting to make based onthe fact that he wants to bring
Starbucks back to being kind ofthe third place, the place that
people feel connected.
He got a lot of positiveresponse when he talked about
(23:32):
buying 200,000 Sharpies becausehe wants them to go back to
writing and different thingslike that.
But he also recognized and I'llgive the last CEO some credit
here, because this wasrecognized that the wait time
because of mobile orders andbecause of drive through and
because of all these things,wait time was getting pretty
(23:53):
crazy.
There were some reports up to40 minutes in some locations.
Neen James (24:00):
Nope, nope, not for me.
Jeannie Walters (24:01):
Exactly.
In fact, you owe me time now.
I'm not sure how he talkedabout four minutes, and there
were a couple of things thatstood out to me.
One is I like that he's tryingto achieve this balance of
connection, of being that placeand also recognizing, you know
what, speed is important,efficiency is important.
(24:23):
That is part of the experience.
The other thing is he's talkingabout four minutes.
I don't think that's based ondata.
I think he just came up withthat number.
I think he just as far as Icould tell, which I think is
great because he's basicallyputting a line in the sand and
saying let's go for it.
And it reminds me of some of thegreat stories of how Porsche
(24:45):
decided one day that they weregoing to be in racing and
decided to win the race.
He just announced it andeverybody had to go with it and
all these different things.
And so I think that part ofwhat appealed to me about this
kind of attitude is I've been inrooms I'm sure you have too
where leaders know what theright thing to do is.
(25:06):
They know that it's not rightto help to have people wait for
40 minutes, but they say thingslike well, I guess we'll, you
know, survey or we'll find outwhat the ideal time is.
Like, sometimes we spend somuch time and effort on research
that we're not actually justmaking things happen for our
(25:26):
customers, so that's what reallystood out to me about this.
And then he also branded allthis as the Green Apron
Experience, and I loved that too.
So all of those things I'malways like rooting for
Starbucks.
I hope they do well.
So I'm curious about your takeon all of those little changes.
Neen James (25:49):
One of the things that I talk about regularly with
my clients whether it's in theconsulting arrangements I have,
whether it's as a keynotespeaker, and we talk about this
a little bit in the book andthat is that we have this
opportunity to move our clientrelationships from transactional
to transformational.
What Starbucks has been havingthis situation is very
transactional.
I order, I pick up.
(26:10):
There's no connection withanyone, right?
What they're trying to do, whatBrian?
He's trying to create atransformational experience
where he wants these people tobe advocates of his brand and,
using something like Green ApronService by naming it, he also
wants to ensure peopleunderstand what he's trying to
achieve.
Some people want atransactional relationship with
(26:30):
the brand.
They want to be able to driveup, get their coffee and move on
with their day.
And if we truly want to elevateand apply the luxury principles,
I think we should look for allopportunities to make them more
transformational.
So if speed is going to import,which so many people, luxury of
time is one of their number oneluxuries, right?
(26:51):
So if we know that that'simportant, you can still do that
transaction with atransformational luxury approach
, and the way you can do it isyeah, you can bring back the
sharpie and handwrite the nameor put a smiley face on the cup
or look someone in the eye.
We can do that and it takesmoments.
What I think we need to thinkabout is I say this all the time
(27:14):
I think we have to think like aconcierge, not a bellhop.
See, a bellhop is going toquickly move your bags through
the foyer and get them to yourroom, and we want efficiency.
We love that.
A bellhop is vital to the hoteloperation.
They're going to move bags.
A concierge is going to createmoments because they're going to
(27:35):
anticipate needs you didn'teven know you had.
They're going to suggest thatfabulous restaurant.
They're going to give you thatticket to that private event
that you wanted.
And, as leaders, we need tothink like a concierge, not a
bellhop.
And what Starbucks needs to dois they need to have their
baristas, their team members,thinking like a concierge, where
(27:56):
they can anticipate what theclient wants and they can
suggest the upsell.
They can make it an experience.
So they create a moment.
We call those champagne momentsin the book Something that
brings you joy or makes yousmile, taking an ordinary thing
and making it extraordinary.
I think starbucks has so manyopportunities to do that, as to
so many people listening here.
(28:17):
What are those touch points youhave with clients?
You could turn into champagnemoments.
Jeannie Walters (28:22):
For sure, for sure.
Well, I'm still rooting for them, because I think that one of
the you know the, the lastcouple of I don't know how long
now five plus years they'vereally been kind of trying to
find their footing again, and Ithink one of the lessons we can
all take from this is you know,it's okay to kind of stay stable
(28:46):
while you're experimenting andnot go too far, like you don't
have to leap every time, becauseI think they took a lot of big
swings and chances and it justand the world changes to
expectations change.
You know, the way that weinteract as customers change.
So I think that they'restarting to almost go back to
(29:08):
what made them them, and that'swhy I'm kind of rooting for them
, because it feels like oh yeah,this is the Starbucks that we
know,
Neen James (29:14):
and that's your authenticity, you said before.
It's that authentic connectionthat we had with our barista.
When our barista recognizes usand their eyes light up and they
smile, that moment, thatchampagne moment, that costs
nothing, right, that's what Ithink we're missing.
So if we can bring more of thatback, plus they're trying to
(29:34):
resource up, I agree with you.
I think they have such anability and they have such a big
footprint.
They could have a massiveimpact on our day just by
starting our day or ending ourday in this kindness, with this
systemized thoughtfulness.
I believe they could absolutelydo that.
So like you, I'm rooting forthem as well.
Jeannie Walters (29:56):
Well, I think you know, maybe next month we
can get Brian Niccol on CX PulseCheck and he can tell us all
about it.
But well, this was so much fun,as I knew it would be, and thank
you for bringing your wisdomand your expertise, and your
book is coming out when
Neen James (30:15):
October 14th.
Exceptional Experiences
Jeannie Walters (30:18):
and pre-orders are available now, so go ahead
and check that out.
It's full of great stuff andI'm sure we'll be talking about
it more and more in the comingmonths as well.
But, Neen, thank you so much.
This was absolutely a pleasure,and if our listeners and our
viewers want to know more aboutyou, what's the best way for
them to reach out?
Neen James (30:40):
Please connect with me at neenjamescom.
You can follow my adventuresevery day on Instagram at Neen
James or reach out to medirectly on LinkedIn.
Thank you for having me on theshow.
I love what you do in the world.
It was a privilege to be yourguest.
Jeannie Walters (30:49):
Thank you so much.
Well, thank you, and thank youfor listening and for being here
week after week with theExperience Action Podcast.
Don't forget, you can ask me aquestion about anything customer
experience or employeeexperience related at
askjeannievip.
I will see you next week anduntil then, keep your finger on
(31:10):
the pulse.
We've got a lot of work to doin customer experience.
See you next time.
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