We dropped off our cat at the vet for boarding. She’s been there before. Same pet. Same owners. Same information. It should’ve been a fast check-in. Instead, we got a full reset.
My wife had made the reservation online. They couldn’t find it. Luckily, they had space, but that was just the beginning. A clipboard appeared, along with a paper form that asked for every detail from scratch: emergency contacts, feeding instructions, medications, and four separate sets of initials. All information we’ve provided before. All information already in their system.
Here’s the twist. My wife didn’t mind. She just filled out the form without comment. Like most people, she’s been trained to expect friction. Conditioned to tolerate inefficient workflows. Numb to the fact that it doesn’t have to be this way.
Meanwhile, we dropped off our other cat and our dog at a dedicated boarding kennel. They use the exact same online reservation platform as the vet—but this time, everything was ready. The reservation was confirmed. The staff greeted us by name. The animals were checked in and we were back in the car within two minutes.
Same technology. Completely different outcome.
The problem isn’t the software. It’s the execution. One organization had the operational discipline to integrate tools into a functional process. The other had a disconnected intake routine that relied on friendly staff and clipboards to mask its inefficiencies.
This is where customer experience fails in the real world—not in flashy apps or glossy branding, but in the small, routine interactions that show whether or not a business actually knows you. The intake process is the front line of trust. It’s where repeat customers either feel remembered or forgotten.
And here’s the deeper risk: bad CX doesn’t always drive people away. Sometimes, it just makes them quietly available. They don’t churn out of frustration—they drift when someone else finally gets it right.
You don’t lose them because of one bad interaction. You lose them because someone else removes the friction you normalized.
Most businesses assume customers are loyal because they keep coming back. But often, they’re just too busy to look elsewhere—until the better option shows up.
Improving this doesn’t require a transformation initiative. It requires respect for your customer’s time and attention. If I’ve been there before, pre-fill my information. Let me confirm or update it online. Replace paper forms with mobile or tablet-based check-in. And time the process. If it takes more than two minutes, assume something’s broken.
The real competition isn’t your pricing. It’s your experience.
Your customers may not leave today. But if your intake is slow, repetitive, or disconnected, they’re going to remember the first company that makes it effortless. And once they experience that, they won’t come back.
If your systems can’t remember me, I won’t remember you.
#CustomerExperience #CXLeadership #DigitalExecution #WorkflowDesign #OperationalExcellence #ServiceDesign #RetentionStrategy #IntakeMatters #FrictionlessCX