Page 213 - The Apple Experience

employee objectives, compensation plans, and incentive programs,”
5
according to customer service expert Lior Arussy. “As consumers, we seek to

do business with companies that are constantly elevating the quality and

consistency of their customer experiences. We want to deal with empowered

employees who not only have the tools and authority to solve our challenges,

but the knowledge and background to truly understand our challenges and

how we perceive and appreciate value.”

Arussy believes that exceptional performance is the new standard, and
every leader and employee must meet those standards and demonstrate the

brand’s values to establish emotional connections that each and every

customer will remember and cherish. Apple is not alone in delivering a

consistent experience. It lives in a rare orbit, of course, but I’ve studied several

other brands that exist in the same galaxy. Two brands share many

similarities with Apple even though they are in completely different product

categories—soap and shoes.

Happy People Selling Happy Soap

At Lush, happy people make happy soap, literally—the handcrafted

cosmetics are fresh, free of preservatives, and made with ingredients not

tested on animals. I know because employees consistently tell me the same

story over and over (recall the sample message map based on Lush talking
points in Chapter 13).

The lesson of how Lush cosmetics grew from one small store in Poole,

England, to a worldwide chain of 700 shops in forty-four countries holds

four valuable insights for any business seeking to provide an Apple-like

customer experience.