The importance of Core Product experiences

Our shopping yesterday at Spar (Oasis Center, Bangalore) was near perfect except for the problem we faced while lugging our grocery bags to the car. I had parked the vehicle at level Zero whereas Spar's at Level 4. Again, that in itself would not have been a problem except that the elevators would only go down till Level 1 where the exit would be at the Lifestyle store. And Lifestyle would not allow the movement of grocery bags on its floor.

So for me the only way out was to go down and get the car on to Level 4, which I did. Next time, I will drive the car up to Level 4. But what's interesting to note is that I wasn't hassled by my having to the get the car up. That's because the shopping experience at Spar was flawless.

Customers would be willing to overlook minor irritants should the core product or service deliver on a great experience. 'Recoveries' in such cases are quite possible, unlike scenarios where the product or service in itself is 'just satisfactory'. Minor lapses in such cases are magnified leading to customer dissatisfaction accompanied by a zero possibility of re-purchase.