Gary David on Perception, Expectations, and the Customer Experience

This episode is definitely different.

Gary David, PhD, is a professor of sociology and a conversational analyst. He brings a lens to customer experience you won't hear from most CX practitioners, and it changed how I think about expectations.

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Originally aired December 22, 2022 as Episode 13 of The Trusted Guide Podcast (then The Delighted Customers Podcast).

What we cover

• What his dissertation research at an immigrant-owned liquor store in downtown Detroit taught him about emotional connection across difficult social divides

• The role expectations play in customer experience, and how they're shaped by far more than your brand

• "The collective": how our experience changes when we share it with others

• Gartner's definition of customer experience, and Gary's slightly different spin on it

Expectations don't start with you

Customers arrive with expectations formed everywhere else in their lives. That's humbling for any organization that thinks it controls the experience. Gary helps us see the bigger picture, and what we can still influence within it.

About the guest

Gary David is a Professor of Sociology and Experience Design at Bentley University. He is a speaker and consultant focused on workplace communities, belonging, and experience design, and co-host of the Experience by Design podcast.

If this conversation was useful, you'll find more like it in The Trusted Guide Newsletter: practical insights on trust, influence, and leading change.