Popsicle

Snow-covered grounds of a hotel in Nagano, with dark wooden lodge buildings, a steaming hot spring stream winding through deep snow, bare trees, and mountains under a blue sky. — The hotel in Nagano.

The article from Stanford Business "The Power of a Free Popsicle" caught my attention and is one of my favorite examples of customer experience done right.

And I've seen the same thing with my own kids.

Every winter we bring them skiing in Nagano. The hotel we stay at has a hot spring, and right outside the entrance area they have free popsicles and milk.

Ask the kids what they remember most.

The skiing?
The snow?
The mountains?

Nope.

The free popsicles.

Customers don't remember every interaction equally. They remember the moments that made them feel something.

The small surprise.
The thoughtful detail.
The thing that turned a normal experience into a story.

Great customer experience is not always about doing more.

Sometimes it's about choosing the right small thing.