Experience economy in Singapore 

The Experience Economy has been talked about for at least 20 years, ever since Pine & Gilmore published their book Experience Economy. The place where the lessons have been put into practice in the purest form is Changi Airport in Singapore.

I visited some places that have turned a travel necessity into such an experience for many travelers that some even come to visit.

What the theme park offered that made the airport the best in the world for 7 years in a row by Skytrax? And what could it teach us in the USA about business and customer service?

The first thing that comes to mind is the confidence to create something big. Whether you think about it’s unparalleled, the world’s largest cinematic work of art or an inland waterfall will provide a wow experience. 

And that, in turn, is, if anything, a macro level of social media marketing: people are happy to share on social media the experiences that have blown up their minds.

But this alone is not enough. I would argue that without an excellent service experience and a well-designed basic service concept, these glittering experiences would not warm the core of your heart.

A butterfly garden is not much of a comfort if you miss your connecting flight due to poor airport planning.

After flying 12 hours in economy class, I was pretty stunned by the time I got to the airport metro station. 

A friendly lady at the ticket counter guided me on how to buy the right ticket. She also advised me to save my money and not buy a 3-day tourist card, as it was already afternoon and I would have lost the first of three days on the journey from the airport to the hotel. 

This made me feel good: I had arrived in a place where I wouldn’t be ripped off for every tourist dollar. I believe customers worldwide want to experience the same thing, being more than walking wallets. 

Another excellent service experience was checking into the hotel. Checking in online beforehand made things quicker, and all I had to do was wave my passport and lie down—another point for the traveler where the extra hassle is not of interest.

Smoothing things over and making things as seamless as possible is probably the fundamental characteristic of this place. No unnecessary hassle to leave room for the great experiences and the moments that matter.

This is a good time to continue the research at this point. 😊

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