We Work Hard to Make It Look Easy

My friend Norman Beck recently shared a quote that inspired him: We work hard to make it look easy. Isn’t that what the best people do? Whether it’s sports, entertainment, or business, some people are so good that what they do looks easy.  

I Googled the quote to find out who to attribute it to and found numerous variations:  

In sports, Ken Griffey Jr., a professional baseball player, said, “Just because I made it look easy doesn’t mean that it was, and you don’t work hard and become a Hall of Famer without working day in and day out.” 

In entertainment, Ben Mitchell, a fictional character from the BBC television series EastEnders, said, “It takes a lot of effort to make something look effortless.”  

And in business, Steve Jobs of Apple said, “It takes a lot of hard work to make something look simple.” 

There is some very practical wisdom in these motivational and inspiring quotes that we can apply to the customer service and CX world.  

Think of the best customer experiences you have had.

Perhaps it was a person who was helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly, which, by the way, are the three experiences customers say are most likely to get them to come back, according to our 2024 CX research (sponsored by RingCentral). They made your experience enjoyable and easy. What you probably don’t know is that other than a pleasant demeanor – hopefully a natural part of the employee’s personality – there was a lot of training to get this person educated about the company’s products so they could deliver a knowledgeable and helpful experience. 

Or consider the simplicity of ordering a product from Amazon. How complicated is the behind-the-scenes process that takes you from a few clicks on their website to what you ordered showing up on your front porch? It is incredibly complicated, but the Amazon experience is so easy! 

When I’m invited to speak to a group of business leaders as the keynote speaker, I often share my Six Simple Steps to Building a Customer-Focused Culture. Yes, the steps are simple, but that doesn’t mean they are easy. There’s a difference! 

The point is that simple is usually not easy. There’s lots of work, thinking, planning, practice, experimenting, training, and more that goes into creating an easy experience. And one thing customers really want, whether they express it or not, is an easy experience. So, consider this simple – but not so easy-to-answer – question: What do you do to give your customers an easy experience?

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.