A service that helps you transport your grandma in a wheelchair is helpful but definitely not something that seems exciting or surprising. Now imagine that the guy bringing the wheelchair is dressed like a ninja and not in a classical service uniform. Suddenly the whole service experience is surprising!
That’s precisely what happens to Caio and his family (1). They are visiting a castle in Japan during their holidays. Years later, Caio still remembers this moment. And he is proud to share the photos of the service staff members dressed as ninjas who helped them during that day.
Thanks to Caio for having shared with me this lovely photo of that experience
A boring service can become a family memory that people display proudly in their family albums.
Is your service staff in the photo albums of your users?
As service creators, we sometimes think: “Okay, this service is boring, but it works perfectly. We’ve done our job”.
This story of Caio and his family shows that a little bit of something special can be added even to the most boring service.
So let me ask you this:
What’s one part of your service or product that is boring? What a simple thing you could change to make that part exciting and memorable?
Footnotes
(1) You can watch the full 47 minutes conversation we had with Caio about this experience on the co-creator community. A big thank you to Caio for his contributions to the Service Design community.
Daniele's personal notes
This is the first draft of this Service Design Principle.
As always, feel free to share comments, feedback or personal stories to improve this principle.
2 comments
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 19, 2022
The second draft of this Service Design Principle
A guy who transports your grandma in a wheelchair is helpful but not exciting. Imagine that the guy bringing the wheelchair comes in a ninja costume. The service experience is now surprising, and you’ll remember it your whole life!
A tourist attraction in Japan does precisely that. Caio (1) still remembers this moment years after his family holidays in Japan. This boring service is now a souvenir part of the family album.
This story shows that a tiny, inexpensive spark can make even the most boring service memorable. So let me ask you this:
What’s one part of your service or product that is boring? What could you change to make that part so exciting that people have it in their family albums?
Footnotes
(1) You can watch the full 47 minutes conversation we had with Caio about this experience on the co-creator community. A big thank you to Caio for his contributions to the Service Design community.
Daniele’s notes
This is the second draft of this principle.
I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 39% compared to its first draft.
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 31, 2022
The third draft of this Service Design Principle
A guy who transports your grandma in a wheelchair is helpful but not exciting. Now, imagine this guy comes in a ninja costume. That’s surprising. You’ll remember it your whole life!
A tourist attraction in Japan that Caio B. Nishihara de Albuquerque (1) visited does precisely that. This story shows that a tiny, inexpensive spark can make even the most boring service exciting.
So let me ask you.
What’s one part of your service or product that is boring? What is something unexpected you could add to it?
Footnotes
(1) A big thank you to Caio B. Nishihara de Albuquerque for sharing the service experience that inspired this principle with the co-creator community.
Daniele’s notes
This is the third draft of this principle.
I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 28 % compared to the previous draft.
