Yes of course it certainly helps, and I have always noted that consistency is key, and it still is. But we are all fallible, things will and do go wrong. It is how we deal with them that counts and determines a great customer experience or otherwise.

I had the perfect first-hand experience of this the other day, while waiting to pick up my click and collect order - yes this happened during stage 4 lock down!

I turned up and parked outside in the allotted spot, and gave my name to the waiting attendant. But they got my order wrong, and over the next 30 minutes I waited and watched as car after car came and went. Sounds awful doesn’t it? Well yes, it wasn’t ideal, but also during that 30 minute wait, the attendant came over to me no less than 3 times, apologised and told me exactly what was going on and what they were doing.

I actually quite enjoyed the wait; it was nice to get out the house. But more than that, by being told what was happening and what they were doing, I always felt like I was being looked after and that they were doing their best. I’ll be back.

So yes, consistency is key, but so also is keeping customers informed. We can’t always get everything right, but if we deal with it in the right way, then it doesn’t have to mean a bad customer experience.