The last few weeks have been quite busy. Kids returning to their campuses to start their fall semesters, holiday weekends, and – somewhere in there – squeezing at work, amongst all other things that happen.
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One week included time in my old hometown, hosting some clients at a football game, and catching up with some friends, and it was topped off by my son flying in so we could send him off to his second year of college. Then another week as a special guest at a concert for one of my favorite bands all-time.
While I was in Colorado, I had the unique opportunity to revisit one of the legendary local establishments, Casa Bonita. I would not be surprised if you are from somewhere else and have heard of it, and also not surprised if you are local and have never heard of it. It has been around since the 70’s and was more recently made “world famous” by the creators of South Park in an episode documenting the experience and their recent acquisition of the landmark following its closure during the recent pandemic. They went to great lengths to update the property, food offering, services and entertainment which resulted in a documentary that was recently released.
Growing up and in the later years before it shut down in 2020, it was known for a few things. It was a little gimmicky and had a run-down feeling. The lines could be long and the food was pretty much known to be basic. Not terrible or unhealthy, but it was all you can eat. And – of course – there were the unlimited sopapillas. There were cliff divers that put on a show that probably did not even meet high school theater standards. Why would someone go? Nostalgia, treat out-of-town friends to a unique experience and…sopapillas.
We were excited to win a lottery to get a reservation at the newly renovated Casa Bonita and enjoy some childhood memories, both from my childhood and my children’s childhoods.
I was expecting to make many new memories in this trip down memory lane. However, the experiences were different – for both good and bad reasons. To make the reservation, patrons now have to pay in advance – without any knowledge of the menu. You used to wait in a long line to order your all-you-can-eat dish, but now you wait in two lines: one is a security & reservation check, the other is to get to your table.
Once at the table, we waited to get menus, seeing the options for the first time. The options were a huge upgrade over the prior menu, but also quite limited – which meant some difficulty finding the right item for the child with dietary restrictions. The entertainment was a slight upgrade, and the venue was definitely better than before. There were just a few easter eggs referencing the show, but I expected more.
The one shocking element: you no longer had access to the unlimited sopapillas. After the first round, there was a nominal charge for additional orders of sopapillas. It was taking the most memorable part of the entire experience, and adding a price tag.
Anyone who hadn’t been there before would not know any better, but it changed the experience tremendously for me. Will I go again? Absolutely, but for a specific occasion, no longer for nostalgia. I owe dinner to a friend who ate there once before when he found out that Casa Bonita was a real place (thinking it was only a place made up for the show), so I know I have one more visit.
When thinking about customer experience, so much of what we discuss is focused on measurement, dashboards, analytics, and insights. However, the “product” that is provided can be just as important. There’s a reason why we offer the AskWhy question type at QuestionPro. Understanding the root cause of customer concerns cannot always be determined by analyzing drivers or through open-end topic analysis. Root Causes give the customer the chance to identify that “one thing” on the top of their mind that made a difference in the experience – good or bad. Even further, there is the option for customers to vote on other open-ended responses of customers to help innovate in a way never seen before. QuestionPro continues to innovate on the way Root Causes can help drive CX actions across an organization – at both the frontline and management levels.
Memorable experiences come in many forms, next week I’ll be discussing another experience on our way to concluding summer. This one involves one of our XDay speakers, Scott Steele.
You will want to join us for XDay 2024 on October 3rd in Austin, TX. Last year, this event sold out, and the feedback was outstanding. It will be a day of learning about Research, Customer Experience, and Employee Experience, and it will also be a lot of fun. Contact me if you want to be my guest with a complimentary ticket.
Find out more here.
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