Ever heard of the restaurant that gives free whiskey?

Their waiting time is shit because they are understaffed. Their food isn’t the best in the area — and costs slightly more. The restaurant is crowded; not ideal for a date or business meeting.

Yet it is the most popular restaurant for middle income professionals working around who, quite honestly, can afford much better restaurants in the same area.

Because it serves free whiskey shots to customers who buy certain foods.

Attract whiskey lovers who want filling food and loud, merry whiskey shots with friends after a long day at work (professionals in the city have long, fast, hard days which they just want to close with a bang). Smart.

If a restaurant with average food and a shitty environment, and nothing interesting about it, briefed an advertising agency to get them more customers, what would the agency have done?

What if that was a CX brief? What would the CX professionals have recommended?

Perhaps the ad agency would have worked out some brand truth, thought about an appropriate proposition for middle income professionals — something respectful of professionals — , written a clever line, and perhaps some very creative activation.

Maybe the CX-ers would have analyzed the customer journey, mapped out the detractors, and recommended ways to fix them so that customers have seamless experiences.

1 + 1 = 2. (Advertising)

Less bad = good. (CX)

Very rational.

And flat.

The restaurant owners didn’t have the resources to hire either — never even crossed their minds. And despite their rather unimpressive everything, they make more money than many more impressive restaurants in the area. Thanks to free whiskey and the less impressive everything else.

Let me digress a bit. In my line of work, we would call this a strategic case study. We would analyze it and see how we can replicate what they have done. That’s not the point of case studies — to replicate them. The point of case studies is to challenge our notions of what works and what it possible.

Back to track. What is the best way to advertise, and what is the best way to create amazing customer experiences? By the way, these 2 are essential to business growth.

Answer. Do something so surprising that it brings the people you want.

Human beings are curious. They want to be excited by things. In fact, they don’t want the “perfect” experience. That’s why they are drawn to “interesting”, “impressive” people. Not people who do everything right.

Thus, most 5 star hotels are elegant, not exciting. Few people travel to stay in a 5 star hotel for the sake of it. Most people stay in the 5 star hotel but go out to experience exciting and interesting places.

There are many more toxic relationships than “good” ones. More affairs than stable marriages. More bad, populist leaders getting elected. Human beings are drawn to excitement, not necessarily perfect states of things, well balanced, and perfectly rationalized.

That’s where we go wrong with marketing and CX. We focus on getting to seamless experiences and the right messages.

Instead, we should surprise — sustainably of course.

The restaurant owners took all the unimpressive things about the restaurant, added a surprising element (free whiskey shots), and created a not-so-professional environment, because, in any case, professionals are too ‘professional’ during their day that they want to unwind differently when and where they eat.

So, in effect, they turned a restaurant into a social house with lots of food, lots of loud, excited banter — made even more exciting by the free whiskey shots.

Maybe CX is not about creating flawlessness. That’s flat.

It is more about adding texture, taste, and colour to people’s lives.

Not tastier food, and cheaper, more space, quieter environment, and nearly perfect turnaround time (although these things are good). But free whiskey shots after lunch or dinner.

Effective advertising is not just about standing out. Not “Great food for a long day”.

But getting people to tell their friends, “Ever heard of the restaurant that gives free whiskey?”

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[Don’t get offended; that restaurant is fictional.]