Evaluating

Peak-End Rule

Our brain simplifies complex memories by employing System 1 thinking, which reduces the cognitive resources needed for memory storage. This cognitive shortcut helps manage the vast amount of information we encounter daily. However, this process makes us susceptible to biases such as recency bias, where recent events are remembered more vividly; the representativeness heuristic, where we judge the probability of events based on how much they resemble other events; and memory bias, which can distort our recollections over time. These biases influence how memories are encoded, stored, and recalled, often leading to simplified and sometimes inaccurate representations of our experiences.

For Example

A person goes on vacation and has a wonderful time, enjoying the beach and top-rated restaurants. However, upon returning home, they discover their luggage has been misplaced. When friends ask about the vacation, the person describes it as not that great because of the lost luggage. Despite several highlights during the trip, the negative experience at the end overshadowed their overall perception of the vacation. This demonstrates the impact of recency bias, where recent events disproportionately influence our overall assessment of experiences.

Similar Biases

Levelling and Sharpening

We tend to remember tasks and goals that are not completed.

The Evidence

The Impact of the Peak-End Rule on Perceived Experience

In an experiment, participants were instructed to submerge their hand in very cold water for 60 seconds. In a subsequent scenario, participants were asked to keep their hand in the same cold water for 60 seconds, followed by an additional 30 seconds during which the water was slightly warmed. When asked to choose which scenario they preferred, most participants opted for the second scenario, despite its longer duration of discomfort. This preference is attributed to the Peak-End Rule, as the warming of the water towards the end of the experience created a more favorable final impression, influencing their overall evaluation.

The Evidence

The Influence of Feedback on Perceived Test Difficulty: Evidence of the Peak-End Rule

In another experiment, children were split into two groups and given two tests. The first group received negative feedback, while the second group received positive feedback. The first test was shorter, and the second was longer and slightly more challenging. After the second test, the group receiving negative feedback experienced the least negative feedback at the end. The results showed that children in the second group found the longer and slightly more challenging test more pleasant and less difficult to process. This outcome highlights the influence of the Peak-End Rule, as the positive feedback at the end improved the overall perception of the experience.

The Evidence

The Peak-End Rule in Pain Perception: Insights from Colonoscopy Procedures

In another experiment, researchers explored the Peak-End Rule in the context of pain perception. Colonoscopy patients were randomly divided into two groups. One group received a typical colonoscopy, while the other group underwent a colonoscopy that included an additional 3 minutes where the scope was not moved, causing discomfort but not pain. Results indicated that the group with the extra three minutes in the procedure reported lower overall levels of pain compared to the group that received the standard colonoscopy. This finding illustrates the Peak-End Rule, where the final moments of the experience, being less painful, significantly influenced the overall perception of the procedure.

Affected Problems

Check the problems below the bias can help you fix in customer experience

Features

Price

Time

Experience

The Peak-End Rule significantly influences how we remember our experiences, as we tend to focus more on the most intense moments (peaks) and the concluding part (end) of an experience rather than the entire duration. This cognitive bias means that our overall perception and memory of an event are disproportionately shaped by these key moments, often leading to a skewed recollection that emphasizes highlights and endings over the complete sequence of events.

Efficiency

These should appear once a challenges is submitted

Let's remove the button below and "still have questions" text

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Customer Experience Pillars

Here I need 10 horizontal dots, the ones that empty can't be clicked, others that are lit (blue color) can be clicked and content shows. A small text. Each dot has a name like Recognition, Integrity, expectations etc.

We should have two rows - one for Higher Order Needs and the other one for Lower Order Needs

Challenges

Customer Experience Pillars

Application Touchpoints

Interfaces where it can be applied most efficiently

Instruction for below blog

In the blog below, it would lead to our normal blog, with regular page structure, but once a blog article is published we should have an option to check if it's a bias realted USE CASE. Then it attributes it to this bias and lead the traffic to a generated page which has only posts / USE CASES related to this bias.

Behavioral Blog

Use Cases

Check the use cases to inspire the application of this behavioral bias

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Msheireb Downtown Doha. Customer Loyalty Program Experience Journeys

We revamped Msheireb's loyalty program by redesigning tailored customer journeys for residential tenants, visitors, and commercial tenants. This project included mapping out key stages—such as discovery, lease, and renewal—across all segments to enhance engagement and ease of use. Each journey was captured in an animated video to illustrate the improved CX flow, ensuring a seamless and satisfying loyalty program experience.
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Msheireb Downtown Doha. Customer Loyalty Program Strategy

We developed a comprehensive loyalty program for Msheireb Properties in Qatar to boost customer retention and drive revenue. The program featured a 9-stage customer journey, segmented by customer archetypes, and incorporated a closed-loop feedback strategy using NPS, CSAT, and CES surveys. Key initiatives included defining member levels, benefits, and a phased implementation plan to enhance customer experience and program viability.
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Teyaseer. Elevating CX with Real-Time Customer Feedback Integration

For Teyaseer, we mapped a 9-stage customer journey from awareness to handover, integrating NPS, CSAT, and CES surveys to capture real-time feedback via email, SMS, and calls. Automated triggers ensured timely feedback collection, enabling immediate insights and actions to enhance CX at each touchpoint.
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Aldar Hospitality. A Comprehensive Approach to Customer Experience (CX)

Aldar Properties sought to enhance customer experience across five hotels from their hospitality portfolio. Analysis of touchpoints, design of journeys and playbooks, COVID-19 game plan and other efforts led to immediate improvements in service interactions and long-term strategies for boosting guest satisfaction and loyalty.
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Aldar Education. Transforming Customer Experience (CX) through the Admissions Process

Aldar Academies revamped their admissions process by assessing the existing workflow and designing a more efficient future process. This overhaul reduced process time by 88 hours, cut complexity by 3%, decreased effort by 34%, and increased automation tenfold, streamlining operations and enhancing overall efficiency.
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Aldar Academies. Designing Escalation Strategy for Education

Aldar Academies developed a comprehensive escalation strategy to enhance customer support operations. This strategy introduced an 8-level priority system, 4 escalation stages, and a detailed escalation matrix to streamline case management and ensure timely resolution of issues.
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Wasl. Voice of Customer (VOC) Strategy Development

Implemented a comprehensive Voice of Customer (VOC) strategy for Wasl, analyzing four distinct customer types and covering 100+ touchpoints across customer journeys. A closed feedback loop was established to drive continuous customer insights, enhance service delivery, and improve overall satisfaction.
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Wasl. Customer Experience (CX) Journey Mapping in Real Estate

Defined over 90 stages and developed 18 detailed customer journeys for Wasl, spanning residential, commercial, and land leasing categories. Conducted four workshops to align stakeholders on improving customer-centric experiences and optimizing processes for future journey enhancements.
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Wasl Mobile App & Self-Service Digital Transformation

Developed over 500 wireframes and conducted a comprehensive audit of 300+ screens to optimize Wasl’s digital platforms. Created two digital strategies to streamline user journeys, focusing on a super app versus specialized apps to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency.
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Wasl. Customer Service Design for Real Estate

Renascence conducted a comprehensive customer service analysis for Wasl, a leading real estate developer in Dubai, to drive digital transformation and enhance customer experience through data segmentation, pain point identification, and strategic recommendations.
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Swarovski. Boosting retail CX through mystery shopping strategy & audits

Explore how Swarovski leverages mystery shopping insights to refine customer experiences (CX) and encourage positive shopping behaviors through targeted engagement strategies.
No items found.

Nudging customers to book services and attend their ladies salon appointments

The goal of the project was to encourage customers to make bookings after calling & improve attendances of all bookings made.
Zeigarnik Effect

Emaar Properties. Transforming conversion power, experience & design of a property sales kiosk

Emaar asked us to check how effective their current kiosk was and come up with a set of improvement or a model that can become a benchmark amongst property sales kiosks.
Zeigarnik Effect

Chalhoub Group. Transforming internal culture through a group-wide CX Academy

Our engagement with Chalhoub Group was about educating several retail brands on the importance of CX and showcasing an approach to customer experience design.
Zeigarnik Effect

Reel Cinemas. Complementing journeys & operations with a new cinema info screen UI

Reel Cinemas decided to transform the space, revamp operations by digitising them & reducing the human factor. The new screen was supposed to complement the transformation.
Zeigarnik Effect

Chalhoub Group. Putting customer experience in the center of fashion & beauty retail

Supporting Chalhoub Group in building a CX practice that would then take over the group's customer experience intiative and arming them with a bullet-proof cx design toolkit
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City Walk by Meraas: Defining what a shopping & leisure destination of the future is

How one would define a destination of the future? How can a group manage multiple destinations of different formats and consistently deliver to a range of customers?
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Transforming group-wide customer experience in Emaar Properties

Multiple departments, multiple business verticals, 18 months of engagement and many great products
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Level Shoes Behavioral & Customer Experience Transformation

Our efforts were aimed at understanding the customer and the way he shops in the fast-paced retail environment to build a cutting edge experience around him.
Sunk Cost Fallacy

Dubai Properties Real Estate Customer Experience Transformation

From signing a SPA, through the journey of becoming a homeowner in Dubai
Sunk Cost Fallacy

Provis & Khidmah: Designing & refreshing the complaint escalation matrix

As part of the engagement we were tasked to define the complaint management approach: deliver the escalation matrix with cases, SLAs, roles & priorities.
Sunk Cost Fallacy

Aldar Group Customer Experience Transformation

The engagement was driven by the group management. The effort was aimed at making Aldar a company that is driven by customer-centric solutions and services
No items found.

Emaar Customer Happiness Center CX Design & Transformation

The goal of the project was to understand how well the customer happiness center supports, guides, navigates & satisfies customers
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Transforming Free Zone Customer Journeys, Processeses and Systems

We redesigned all processes from the ground up with a customer centric approach to enable a new improved customer journey.
No items found.

Renascence Advice

When leveraging the Peak-End Rule in customer engagement, it is essential to balance its benefits with potential pitfalls. Focusing on creating memorable peak moments and positive endings can enhance overall customer satisfaction and retention. However, overemphasizing these aspects at the expense of the entire experience can lead to customer dissatisfaction. Additionally, manipulative use of this principle may erode trust. To avoid these issues, ensure that the entire customer journey is consistently positive, integrating meaningful peaks and endings naturally without overshadowing other elements of the experience.

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