I'm currently sitting at Roma Termini on my way to Naples (great food hall by the way… 10/10 🇮🇹).
There are over 50 high-speed trains running between Rome and Naples every single day (apparently up to 70?!) and the trip takes just over an hour.
My Canadian brain can never fully process how good the European rail network is every time I'm here and don't even get me started on the trains in Japan.
What struck me this time though is this. When was the last time you stopped to think about the infrastructure of something as common as a train?
Most people focus on the trains themselves, just like companies often focus on the design and UX. And I get it, that's what customers actually see.
But rarely do people stop to question the infrastructure underneath it all.
And here's the reality: the CX of any product depends entirely on what's behind the hood.
You can build the coolest or nicest looking app in the world, but if the infrastructure underneath is unstable or outdated, eventually the experience starts to break. A high-speed train is only impressive because the rails and systems supporting it were designed for that speed in the first place.
The best companies understand this.
Netflix isn't great because of a play button. Amazon didn't win because of a quick checkout. Uber isn't seamless by accident.
They became leaders in their own space because they invested heavily in their infrastructure long before customers ever noticed it.
You just can't build world-class experiences on weak foundations (something my team knows a thing or two about). The organizations getting ahead today are the ones investing in the infrastructure underneath it all and that's the part customers rarely see, but always feel.