As the year begins, many businesses are talking about speed. Faster service. Faster responses. Faster decisions. But speed in customer experience is not a one-size-fits-all concept. Done well, it builds trust. Done poorly, it creates frustration. And when speed turns into silence, it damages relationships beyond repair. ALSO READ: When ‘sorry’ is not enough Speed depends on context. In a luxury dining experience, guests don’t expect food to arrive in minutes. They expect pacing, presence, and attentiveness. In a casual restaurant during a lunch break, speed matters because time is limited. At an airport with a connecting flight, speed is not a preference, it is a necessity. In moments where decisions are time-sensitive or emotions are high, slow responses feel careless, even disrespectful. ALSO READ: When saying nothing says everything This is why customer experience today demands speed with care, not speed for the sake of it. What customers are really asking for is not instant solutions, but fast acknowledgment and clarity on what comes next. When something goes wrong, the anxiety of waiting without information often hurts more than the issue itself. Waiting with no updates is far more frustrating than waiting with clear communication. ALSO READ: How can we expect excellence from staff who’ve never experienced it? I’ve experienced this gap firsthand. Last year, I shared an experience with an airline that rescheduled my flight at the last minute, forcing me to buy another ticket to make an important business engagement. The check-in staff apologised sincerely, but after that moment, silence. No follow-up. No acknowledgment. No resolution. To this day, I am still waiting. The problem was not just the disruption; it was the absence of responsibility after the apology. ALSO READ: Expectation vs. experience: The real gap in customer service More recently, while returning from Johannesburg to Kigali with my family, we went to check in our luggage at a counter that was clearly marked as open. We were travelling with children and were only fifth or sixth in line, so we expected the process to move reasonably quickly. However, there were no airline staff at the desk when we arrived. When the crew eventually appeared, four staff members were present, yet the process moved painfully slowly. For long stretches, nothing seemed to happen. We watched staff pass each other tea, hug, laugh, and catch up, while only two were actually checking in passengers. Meanwhile, parents tried to calm restless children, queues grew longer, and frustration quietly built. There was even a sign indicating priority for parents travelling with children, but it was never acted upon. ALSO READ: Can you handle the truth? Learning to love feedback before it’s too late There was no explanation, no acknowledgment, and no communication. It wasn’t the wait itself that caused frustration; it was the silence and visible lack of urgency. A simple update, “We’ll be with you shortly” or “Thank you for your patience” would have changed everything. Instead, the absence of communication turned a manageable delay into a stressful experience. ALSO READ: Anticipating guests’ needs: The hallmark of excellent service This is where businesses misunderstand speed. Acknowledgment speed matters more than solution speed. Customers can be patient when they feel seen, heard, and informed. Without that, even a short wait feels endless. There is also a danger in mistaking slowness for thoroughness. Some organizations move slowly because they believe it shows care, caution, or professionalism. In reality, slow service often reflects decision paralysis, too many approval layers, fear of making mistakes, or lack of ownership. Thoroughness does not require silence. You can be careful and still communicate clearly. Leadership plays a critical role here. Speed is rarely a frontline issue. More often, staff want to act but are constrained by systems, rigid policies, or the fear of acting without approval. When every decision must travel upward, customer experience suffers. Delays become the norm, and apologies become routine. Cultural context also matters. Respect for hierarchy can delay decisions. Fear of “getting it wrong” can slow responses. Politeness sometimes leads to false hope, promising outcomes we know may not happen, simply to avoid discomfort. But customers would rather hear a clear “this will take time” than be left waiting for an answer that never comes. I once experienced this tension at passport control in Windhoek, Namibia. As a family, we approached the counter together, only to be met with a harsh tone telling us we were slowing things down and needed to split up. The officer was clearly focused on finishing quickly, but without care. As the first point of contact into the country, that moment shaped our initial impression and made us anxious about what lay ahead. Speed without empathy creates friction. Speed with hostility erodes trust. So, what does good speed look like in customer experience? Good speed respects context. It matches urgency to the moment. It prioritizes acknowledgment over perfection. It communicates delays before customers ask. It empowers frontline teams to act responsibly. And it aligns promises with delivery. Bad speed, on the other hand, rushes people instead of processes. It hides behind policies. It values internal convenience over customer reality. And worst of all, it confuses silence with professionalism. Slow responses cost businesses more than time. They cost trust. They damage reputation. They quietly push customers toward competitors who respond faster, even if their solutions are imperfect. As we move into 2026, customers will be less patient with uncertainty, excuses, and silence. They don’t expect perfection, but they do expect responsiveness. They want to know that someone is paying attention, that their time matters, and that there is a clear way forward. Speed in customer experience is not about rushing people through processes. It is about responding with intent, acknowledging quickly, and communicating clearly, especially when things don’t go as planned. Slow service erodes trust. Silent service destroys it. So, the real question for every organization as the year begins is this: are we fast where it matters most? Because in customer experience, speed is not measured by how quickly you complete a task, but by how quickly you make your customer feel seen, heard, and cared for. And silence, no matter how polite, will always be the slowest response of all. The author is a certified hospitality trainer and founder of Outstanding Solutions Afrika, a boutique hospitality and tourism consulting firm dedicated to transforming service excellence.
