Michael Bair on What Makes CX Truly Memorable

Is it the person or the process?

It’s a question many CX leaders grapple with, and one that Michael Bair, Founder, Bair Consulting — a thoughtful voice in the customer experience space — explores beautifully in our CX-WISE podcast.

Whether you’re in the thick of designing feedback systems or chasing down those elusive wow moments that customers remember long after the transaction ends, this episode will hit home. Bair brings a rare mix of warmth, operational know-how and straight talk — and his take on how brands can (and should) rethink their CX strategies is as inspiring as it is actionable.

Here’s a preview of the key themes and stories from the episode:

'Is this the person or is this the process?'

Bair shares a deceptively simple framework for understanding great CX. On one end, there’s the frictionless experience — what the customer expects, delivered smoothly. No speed bumps, no delays. It’s clean, efficient and, frankly, forgettable.

On the other end? The personal touch. The human element. The warmth, creativity or thoughtfulness someone brings to an interaction — the kind that makes you pause and go, “Wow.”

“When that happens, I'm trying to figure out is this the person or is this the process?” says Bair.

It’s something CX leaders should give some serious thought to: Are your best experiences repeatable or are they one-offs created by individuals going above and beyond? And if it’s the latter — how can you scale that?

The CX feedback gap: listening beyond the pain

When it comes to the state of customer feedback systems today, Bair admits candidly:

“My guess is most [organizations] don’t do this well.”

According to him, too many companies rely on outdated or overly expensive VoC (voice of the customer) tools — or worse, cobble together piecemeal efforts that don’t scale. Listening posts, he argues, are often reactive, focused on damage control rather than on learning what customers love. “Most organizations are pretty good at hearing the pain points and sometimes trying to solve those. Very few organizations are really good at hearing what people love and figuring out how to do more and extrapolate that across the organization.”

What Bair is effectively saying is that businesses have trained themselves to fix what’s broken, but not to amplify what’s brilliant. As a CX leader, ask yourself:

• Are we capturing feedback at the moments that matter — across digital, physical and human touchpoints?
• Are we acting on what customers enjoy, not just what they complain about?
• And perhaps most importantly: is that feedback system baked into our process or dependent on heroic efforts by a few?

The granola jar effect: designing experiences that linger

Toward the end of the podcast, Bair shares a story that encapsulates everything we admire in exceptional experience design.

He recounts a visit to Eleven Madison Park, a high-end NYC restaurant, where the final course isn’t on the menu — it’s the morning after your meal. As you leave, they hand you a small glass jar of granola. It’s meant for the next day’s breakfast — a thoughtful detail that extends the memory of the meal beyond the restaurant, beyond the night.

And the brilliance doesn’t stop there — the jar has the Eleven Madison Park logo on it. It becomes a small artifact in your home, a souvenir of sorts after a sumptuous night out. Now, isn’t that a masterclass in how physical tokens can deepen emotional memory?

This isn’t just a fine-dining tactic. As Bair points out, any business — no matter the industry or budget — can design small, intentional moments that leave a lasting impression.

Your CX takeaway: operationalize the extraordinary

Bair’s perspective is a refreshing reminder that great CX isn’t just about smoothing out friction. It’s about intentionally building systems that:

• Listen at scale (and beyond complaints)
• Capture and repeat the magic of personal, human touches
• Extend experiences in creative, memorable ways

So, is it the person or the process?

The answer, of course, is both. But the magic happens when your process empowers more people to deliver those standout moments — not as exceptions, but as part of your brand DNA.

Ready to hear more? Listen to the full episode with Michael Bair and get inspired to rethink your CX — from your feedback loops to your “granola jar” moments.