That red chair always made us remember the customer and to consider what they would be thinking. The red chair on many occasions served as a great balance to our conversations and thinking.

A closely related topic that helped balance our thinking and conversations and served our organization well was a deep appreciation and understanding of two types of logic: consumer logic and producer logic.

But consumer logic looks at the same issue from a very different perspective…, “That’s a lot of fries in the queue. I wonder when they get to the fries, are they going to be hot and fresh?” Consumer logic makes you stop and reexamine your choice to make sure it is really the best option for the customer. This type of thinking helps create a healthy tension and balance to ensure value for the customer and makes your service more remarkable.

Another example we can all relate to comes from the airline industry. Many airlines (pre-COVID) charged fees for any changes to your flight. This was a producer logic way of thinking. At $200 per change, those fees were great for the airline and their bottom line! This sounds great from their perspective!! But what would customers think if they were in the meeting room when that conversation was happening? Would they walk away thinking that the airline had their best interests in mind? Were they putting the customer first? Would this result in their customers becoming fans of their brand?

And yet in that same industry we find a participant who has a very different perspective on the same issue. They use the lens of consumer logic and come to a very different conclusion. Southwest Airlines doesn’t charge you to change your flight or check your luggage. They could make money by charging those fees, but are more focused on adding value for customers.