The Conquest of Happiness

I recently re-read Bertrand Russell's Conquest of Happiness, a book that is largely about developing a functional personal philosophy, but one which I hoped would help me in my current attempt to understand the source of customer satisfaction (as being something other than the minimization of nuisance).   I was largely wrong about that - it's a good read for personal development, but doesn't seem to have much applicability to customer experience.   There are only a few ideas that are worth considering in that regard.

The Cycle of Happiness

One problem with discussing happiness is that it's a vague word, much like "love," in that it means different things to different people at different times.   It's imprecise and is bandied about without much consideration - any time we are not experiencing pain or distress, we are "happy."   And in our role as consumers, we say that we are "happy" with any good or service that is not causing dissatisfaction at the moment - or even one with which we are wholly dissatisfied, if we suspect that the person who's asking has some intent to sell us something even worse.

Instead, consider that there is a cycle of happiness that pertains to any change in a person's situation, but which seems especially germane to the purchase of a good or services:

• Elation - Follows a change, and is a very intense feeling of satisfaction with having recently achieved something positive, or a feeling of relief at having escaped something negative.
• Contentment - Follows rather quickly after elation.  The new sensation is no longer new, and we grow accustomed to the situation after having made a change (by way of a purchase).  The intensity of emotion has decreased, but it is still positive.
• Indifference - May proceed from contentment.  The emotions we feel about a given situation do not necessarily switch from positive to negative quickly, but fade from positive to neutral
• Dissatisfaction - May also proceed, or may set in immediately after elation has faded.   In this instance, a neutral emotional state has degraded, or a negative state has set in suddenly.  The dissatisfied person may eventually seek to make another change to restore himself to happiness or contentment.

I do not expect this is a cycle so much as a flowchart.  A change may elicit immediate dissatisfaction without elation or contentment.  And while I can accept that elation is short-lived, it seems entirely possible for a state of contentment to be indefinite, never degrading to indifference or dissatisfaction.

So all in all, I don't have a sense that I can rest on this perspective on happiness - it seems a step in the right direction, and helps grant some greater and much-needed specificity to "happiness" - but is not so well baked-out that I can stop meditating on the matter.

Happiness and Expectations

One perspective that isn't really that new is that happiness arises as a result of expectations - specifically, that experience is as good or better than expected.  

"Meeting customer expectations" is a common phrase in the industry, and my concern is that this is all most firms seek to do - to meet the minimum requirements for a customer to be satisfied enough not to return the product or initiate a lawsuit.  Or to use the same terms as above, meeting expectations creates contentment, or sometimes mere indifference, rather than elation.

I could likely gnaw at that a bit more, or more aptly allow it to gnaw on me - but my sense is that I've likely given it enough consideration, given the degree to which it is already acknowledged.

Resignation

Russell defines two paths to avoid unhappiness: effort and resignation.   Those who choose the path of effort undertake action to change their external environment to achieve satisfaction or happiness.  Those who take the path of resignation undertake a more internal effort, to adjust their attitude and become resigned to accept that something that makes them unhappy cannot be changed, and it's best not to dwell upon it.

In terms of customer experience, many firms mistake resignation for happiness.   A customer who is resigned to accept a product they find less than delightful or even satisfactory is mistaken for a loyal customer who is enthusiastic about a brand - when they are really a person who is resigned to accepting mediocrity until the find a more attractive alternative.   The question of "why do loyal customers defect?" is likely answered "because they were never happy with you in the first place."

This also speaks to the previous notion of customer expectations - and the way in which some firms seek to lower expectations rather than elevate the quality of their product.   That seems rather weak to me, but I can't argue that it can be a valid way of avoiding dissatisfaction, but likewise leaves a provider in a precarious position, likewise vulnerable to the discovery of alternatives.

Unhappiness as Opportunity

And finally, the incidence of unhappiness creates an opportunity for those who can grant happiness.   This notion also extends to a more general consideration but seems particularly germane to commercial interests - in that a product that offers a promise of happiness is attractive to consumers.

But that alone is only half the struggle to get a person to accept change: the prospect of obtaining a thing or attaining a state must not only promise happiness, but must be achievable with a level of effort and inconvenience that does not counterbalance the happiness that will be earned by its achievement.

My sense is that this is where customer experience is presently focused, and it seems to me rather short-sighted.   It is assumed that the outcome is desirable and makes the path to success less onerous - but people do not undertake to do things because it is easy to do them, but because they anticipate a positive outcome once they are done.

With this in mind, customer experience (and producers in general) are missing a great many opportunities to appeal to potential customers, and often mistake ease of acquisition as a substitute for the benefit of ownership.

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Admittedly, this has been a bit random, and I'm piecing together a few stray bits from Russell's philosophy of happiness and stretching them a bit to fit the interests of a customer experience practitioner.   To return to my earlier point, I don't have a sense the exploration was sufficient, but a step in the right direction - or said another way, I am neither happy nor particularly discontented, but perhaps a wan shade of contentment or indifference.