It should be continuous and coherent across all "touchpoints". Bullshit. Or does anyone know of any examples? Just because the packaging of an Apple product feels good doesn't make it a customer experience.
Today I went to a concert at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg for the first time. Even the building from the outside is so impressive: a sail? A ship? A wave? In any case, it towers proudly and beautifully into the sky. The long curved escalator takes you to the top. Through huge expanses of glass, you look out over the water and the city. Across the plaza up to the hall. Light wood, bright light, everything classy, huge but not gigantic. Going into the Great Hall is like coming to a place that until then you had only known from movies: familiar and yet new and exciting. Everything is well thought out: the orchestra in the middle, everywhere you are close. The tiers are so steep that no one is in front of you. In every seat, you sit in the front row, as if you were the most important guest. And then the first notes: how does that work without amplification? Each plucking and bowing so clear and soft and brilliant. Every single instrument is audible, as if you were sitting between the musicians. After a few minutes, people notice that every whisper, rustle and whisper can also be heard everywhere. They become quieter, more focused. Thank God. The program is first class, the musicians great, a delight. At the last piece it is quiet as a mouse. The last note. Silence. Then the enthusiasm of more than 2000 people erupts. Rousing applause. Cheers. I have goose bumps and only start clapping a few seconds later. That's what I call customer experience - continuous and coherent, sublime and beautiful from the first to the last moment. Thank you, Hamburg, for this, this concert hall is worth every one of the many millions.
