Sam Walton said, “The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best but legendary.” To better understand legendary customer service, on June 23, 2017, I moderated a roundtable discussion at the world’s largest academic customer experience conference, The Frontiers In Service Symposium hosted by Fordham University. We discussed, great customer experience today and tomorrow and insights on how leaders think.

The three executives were:

Adam Goldstein, President, Royal Caribbean Cruises. The company created the first smart ship in the industry as its 49 ships and 65,000 employees have reinvented the travel experience. http://www.royalcaribbean.com

Sharon John, President and CEO, Build-A-Bear Workshop, which offers the “only interactive, make-your-own stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience” and has been on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list 9 consecutive years. http://www.buildabear.com

Dan Hesse, former CEO, Sprint. Hesse has a history of achievement including turning Sprint into the #1 customer service company in wireless and the most improved US company in customer satisfaction in any industry according to the ACSI, and having been named “Most Influential Person in Mobile Technology” by Laptop Magazine (Steve Jobs was #2). http://www.danhesse.com

Robert Reiss: What is the one word that describes the changing customer experience?

Adam Goldstein: Excalibur: Be the company that pulls the sword out of the stone. The question is, how do we do digital enablement in a non-intrusive way that benefits our customers? How do we arm employees with even more information through digital and artificial intelligence that saves them time rather than producing more work?

Sharon John: Storytelling: Tech for tech sake will not be a solution. Build-A-Bear has consumer permission to engage in a different way in order to expand beyond retail and move into more of a content property. Even our unique retail experience can drive story with the potential for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to be woven into the Build-A-Bear customer experience.

Dan Hesse: Mobile: Customers increasingly prefer to provide “self-care” on their mobile devices. Also, with wireless chips part of so many products, the 24x7 always-connected “internet of things” is changing relationships between companies and their customers, providing more opportunity for customer intimacy. And, video cameras on phones capture the customer experience for all to see as we witnessed with the United Airlines incident.

src: forbes.com