Our waiter at Costa Chica Grill in Johnson City, Tenn., provided a fun, memorable customer experience for us when he came to our table wearing an avocado outfit and asked, “Would you like a side of avocado?”
Last week we dived deep into the world of CX (customer experience).
Seldom a day passes when you don’t have some type of CX.
It may even be a micro-CX.
It’s still a CX.
Better CX = More Profits
Every CX has a direct impact upon a business’s PR, internally and externally. Ultimately, it affects the bottom line.
Check out some of these stats:
- Companies prioritizing proactive customer experience achieve 41% faster revenue growth and 51% better customer retention. (Forrester Research)
- Bad customer experience could cost companies $3.8 trillion globally in 2025 — based on insights from nearly 24,000 consumers across 23 countries. (Qualtrics 2025 Consumer Experience Trends)
- Customer-centric companies achieve 2x the revenue growth of their less customer-focused peers. (McKinsey & Company)
- Improving a company’s Customer Experience Index score by just one point can generate more than $1 billion in additional revenue for mass-market auto manufacturers — and close to $570 million for auto insurers. (Forrester Research)
I promised to share some of my CX stories with you, the good and the bad. I have numerous. This week I’ll share some of my good CX stories.
Good CX: Waiter Was LITERALLY a Side of Avocado
Last week Leticia and I met another couple for dinner at the Costa Chica Grill in Johnson City. First time there for all of us.
Little did we know how Michael, our waiter, was soon to turn our visit into a highly memorable, entertaining and enjoyable CX.
Michael was born in Miami to Cuban immigrants. His family and relatives escaped the Communist regime on a boat. Sounded like quite the harrowing experience.
Obviously, the CX (in this case, “citizen experience”) was pretty awful for his relatives in Cuba.
Michael was super nice as he patiently answered our questions about the menu and provided guidance regarding what we should order.
About halfway through our meal, Michael appears out of nowhere wearing a giant avocado costume and asks in a deadpan manner, “Would you like a side of avocado?”
To me, the unexpected is always some of the funniest humor. We all laughed and laughed. He let me take a picture of him. (Yes, I immediately realized this would make for great newsletter content.)
I’ve never experienced anything like that in a restaurant before.
But he didn’t stop there.
As we were finishing our meals, he re-appeared holding a one-inch square box and asked if we’d like a little take-home box.
As a finishing touch, when I opened our bill holder, inside I found a rubber chicken pen that squeaked when you squeezed it.
I bet with these silly antics, Michael’s tips are consistently higher than the other servers in the restaurant — especially since we didn’t see any other servers engaging in such silliness.
I felt compelled to increase our tip for him.
Good CX: The Pampered Recycle Bin
Every Wednesday is garbage and recycle day on our street.
About a year ago, one of our two maroon-colored rectangular recycle bins mysteriously disappeared.
It even had our address written on it.
I looked at my nearby neighbors’ just-emptied bins to see if it accidentally got placed with theirs.
Nope. It was nowhere to be found.
On a subsequent visit from the recycling truck I asked the workers about it.
“Did you happen to recycle my recycling bin last week,” I half-jokingly asked.
Sterling, the supervisor of this crew, was baffled. He said they never take a bin.
Here’s where remarkable CX kicked in.
All recycling bins and garbage canisters are placed on the opposite side of the street from us.
Now, nearly every week after emptying our recycle bin, Sterling or one of his crew members will take the extra 14 seconds to walk our bin across the street and set it on the side of our driveway.
This was a CX decision made by Sterling. We never asked for this special treatment.
Kudos to you, Sterling!
Great CX delivered in just 14 seconds weekly. Even though it’s a small gesture, this is something I’ll remember for a lifetime.
And to think it only takes an additional 14 seconds to execute weekly.
You know what I need to do? I need to share this story with Sterling’s supervisor.
The 3 Big Takeaways
- Make CX a companywide imperative. Research shows it can boost your bottom line.
- Depending on the business and the setting, sometimes putting yourself out there and doing something fun or funny can lead to memorable CX.
- Managing a small detail that requires only seconds extra of your time weekly can provide a substantial boost to your CX.
What CX stories impressed you? Do share!
Stay authentic — and committed to delivering the kind of CX PR pros feature in their blog.
Jeffery E. Pizzino, APR (seen here in a vintage photo circa 1983 serendipitously doing a Clash impersonation in a since-forgotten location) is a spin-free public relations pro who is passionate about telling the why of your story with clarity, impact and authenticity. He began his PR career in 1987 at Ketchum Public Relations in New York City but has spent the majority of his career as a solopreneur. He’s the Chief Authentic Officer of the Johnson City, TN-based public relations firm, AuthenticityPR. He also functions as the fractional CCO for his clients.
Jeff has an MBA in Management from Western International University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications — with an emphasis in PR — from Brigham Young University (rise and shout!). He’s also accredited in public relations (APR). This Milwaukee, Wisconsin native holds an Italian citizenship and plans to live and work there someday. Jeff and his storyteller wife Leticia have four children and four grandchildren. In his extremely limited nonwork hours, he studies Italiano, practices guitar, write songs, gardens, works out, disc golfs, reads, listens to New Wave music, serves as an assistant communication director in his church, watches BYU football, enjoys watching the original Mission Impossible TV series, and plays board games (mostly Dominion and Seven Wonders). No, this guy’s never bored and looking for something to do. Email Jeff.
