The bunny effect: how small gestures create lasting customer experiences

Businesses have the power to transform fleeting moments into lasting impressions. Every interaction, no matter how small, shapes the customer experience. You can survive one negative review. Two, and the customer starts rethinking their options.

One Stuffed Regret

Some kid leaves a stuffed animal in the lobby of our hotel. I think it’s a stuffed rabbit. Yeah, it’s a rabbit. We don’t think much about it, so we toss it in the lost and found with sunglasses and stinky bathing suits. 

A few days later, the mom called. I hear the kid in the background screaming his lungs out. I’d muzzle the little brat, but that’s just me. 

I put the call on hold, grabbed a coffee, and after a bit of searching, I found the fing rabbit. “Yes, Mom, we’ll put it in the mail. No worries.” It took me a few days to find a large envelope. I shoved the rabbit in it. Problem solved? 

No. The problem isn’t solved. There’s more.

Mom calls again, claiming the rabbit arrived in a bad way, the envelope was torn, and the rabbit stinks from the air freshener we use in the lost and found room to cover up the swimsuit odors. 

Now, I hear the kid crying in the background like it’s the end of the world or something.