I was recently reminded of  this customer experience principle in, of all places, the bathroom. To be specific, it came to me while I was standing in front of my bathroom mirror at the gorgeous Old Edwards Inn, a luxury resort in Highlands, NC. (No, this isn’t how I always travel, I’m afraid. I was there for work. But I didn’t enjoy it any less.)

The version of my face that I saw smiling back at me had a healthy glow and an almost halo-lit appearance.  Optimistically, if preposterously, I was tempted to attribute this to my brief time in the North Carolina mountain air.  Whatever the source, looking good was an immediate boost to my spirits, particularly since I was slated to step onstage within the half hour.

But I am a curious lad, and after a moment I began to suspect the lighting, not the fresh mountain air.  So, even though this is probably not optimal resort-guest behavior, I unscrewed one of the handsome sconces to see what the Old Edwards Inn operations team might have hiding within. Aha: the most unusual, heavy, and expensive looking Philips bulb was hiding within, doing its magical work to make me look good and feel good about myself. Mountain air and my years of at least intermittently healthy living had nothing whatever to do with it.

• When a customer is wrong—yes, this happens!—do you “school them” on the error of their ways or do you make the mistake seem like one that could have happened to anyone? (Or, best of all, if it isn’t necessary, do you simply not point it out to them in the first place?)
• Have you taken a good hard (and recent) look at whether your customer experience is easy to use, self-explanatory, streamlined, relaxing? Or do you just assume that since your insiders (employees) understand it, that it’s clear enough and easy enough for customers to use as well? Believe me, feeling lost and frustrated by a counterintuitive customer experience doesn’t make anyone feel good about themselves.
• Do you use indecipherable company jargon that makes a customer feel dumb? Or do you translate your thoughts into language that makes a customer feel good about themselves–because they actually can understand what you’re saying without strain?
• Do you respect your customers’ time, or do you drag things out in a way that seems disrespectful, like their time is less valuable than yours?
• Do you make customers feel like they’re an interruption of your work, rather than central to it?

It’s hard, when Yelp and TripAdvisor reviews seem to be all about the superficial aspects of your business, to keep this customer experience principle in mind.  But remember: those reviews are written by customers, and when a customer feels and looks good during their time with your business, they’re going to feel better about you, too.

Micah Solomon, recently named the “new guru of customer service excellence” by the Financial Post, is a customer service consultant, customer experience consultant, keynote speaker, trainer, and bestselling author. Click for two free chapters from Micah’s latest book, The Heart of Hospitality or watch Micah’s new customer service keynote speaker video.