Stop trying to “wow” your customers
We used to think that if you can wow customers, they’ll stay loyal. But when we surveyed 600 U.S. consumers in October 2025, a different pattern emerged.
Customers aren’t asking to be dazzled; they’re asking to be understood.
When we asked what matters most in a support interaction, the answers were decisive:
Notice what’s missing. No one said “being surprised” or “being delighted.”
Customers want their problems solved. They want clarity. And they want someone to acknowledge what they’re going through. When they get that, loyalty follows.
Research in 2025 found that customer satisfaction is 35% higher when customers feel genuine empathy from an agent. That’s not theatrics. That’s human connection.
Delight often becomes a distraction.
Teams invest in branded swag, cutesy chatbot language, surprise credits, and gamified support flows.
Meanwhile, customers are stuck repeating themselves across channels or navigating loops.
In our survey, customers repeatedly told us what would make support less frustrating:
“Listen first and acknowledge the customer.”
“Have a real person available to calm frustrations.”
“Actually resolve the issues I bring up.”
Delight doesn’t compensate for friction. Resolution does.
Delight is episodic, but empathy is foundational.
A surprise discount may generate a momentary boost. But if the original issue wasn’t handled well, that moment fades quickly.
Empathy, on the other hand, compounds.
When an agent:
The interaction feels human. In today’s world of AI acceleration, that human grounding matters more than ever.
Remember:
In many organizations, delight is layered on top of unresolved operational gaps.
Broken handoffs. Context loss. Bots that deflect. Metrics that reward speed over resolution.
You can’t “wow” your way out of structural friction.
The brands pulling ahead in 2026 understand this, and are shifting from performance to presence.
Instead of asking, “How do we impress customers?” They’re asking, “How do we make customers feel heard?”
Delight marketing assumes emotional peaks create loyalty, but that’s not the story that behavioral data is telling.
Loyalty is driven by:
If a customer believes their issue will be handled competently next time, they stay.
On the flip side, if they believe they’ll have to fight through loops and restarts, they leave quietly.
That’s why nearly 90% of surveyed customers said they would be unlikely to remain loyal if human support disappeared.
Trust, not surprise, determines retention.
So what does empathy in CX look like? It’s not about long, emotional scripts. It’s about clarity and competence delivered with care.
It looks like:
Let’s be clear: there’s still room for delight in customer experience. We’re not suggesting to take away all the fireworks. But those fireworks should be used as an amplifier, not a substitute.
When the foundation is strong, delight enhances it. When the foundation is broken, delight feels hollow.
Customers don’t want fireworks. They want fairness, follow-through, and to feel understood.
This article draws from Glance’s Customer Experience 2026 Trends Report, based on a survey of 600 U.S. consumers conducted in October 2025.
The full report explores:
Download the full report to see the data shaping CX in 2026.