In our customer experience workshop, Align, we ask our clients to think about customer experiences that they have seen, experienced, or read about to inspire fresh thinking. Based on those stories, we work with them to innovate their products, services, and processes to create better experiences for their customers. As we wrap up the year, we asked our own pack members to share some of their most memorable customer experiences from 2016 to get our creative juices flowing and ready to innovate in 2017.

JetBlue
Back in March, JetBlue expanded its Mint flying experience, and marketing SVP Vanessa Thompson snagged a seat on an inaugural flight from Boston to San Francisco. She and the other passengers were greeted with balloons and music as they boarded and played in-flight trivia to earn miles. Vanessa tweeted to JetBlue that it was also her birthday and jokingly asked for an upgrade. Within five minutes, JetBlue responded on Twitter with a birthday greeting, and a flight attendant came to her seat to inform her that they would have offered an upgrade, but didn't have any more available. Talk about a personalized and thoughtful experience!

Home Depot
Remodeling a home is tough, but building one from the ground-up is a massive undertaking. Jennifer Franko, a global talent manager, just broke ground for her home project and went to Home Depot on Black Friday to see if she could get some good deals on appliances. After helping Jenn pick out a washer, dryer, and dishwasher, an employee discovered that she wouldn't be installing them until late next year. Rather than trying to make a commission on a large sale, he told Jenn to come back on July 4 to get the same deal -- that way the insurance wouldn't run out just a month or two after the installation. He put her needs above his and while she didn't purchase anything that day, she'll definitely be back over the summer.

Ben & Jerry's
We all have moments where we wish we could snap our fingers and have a delicious treat magically appear. No one has mastered that trick yet, but Ben & Jerry's is getting close. David Trinh, a market industry lead, was in London on an uncharacteristically warm day and tweeted at Ben & Jerry's to say how good ice cream sounded on such a hot afternoon. The company responded to him with a link to a Ben & Jerry's Communities Site for a coupon and directions to their nearest store. They combined social listening, Salesforce, and Watson to deliver a personalized, timely, and relevant response to cool off and delight David while he was on the go.

What are the best customer experiences you've had in 2016 and how have those affected your expectations and ideas for 2017? Let us know in the comments or get in touch.