Dubai Is nailing digital transformation - But here’s what’s missing

CX isn’t just a buzzword in Dubai - it’s the expectation.

Even public institutions are taking note, and the Dubai government is raising the bar for CX:

• Dubai Customs launched a “Customer Happiness Charter” to guarantee high service quality.
• There’s an abundance in seamless e-services and one-stop apps that make government interactions smoother, and at times setting a standard private businesses now have to match.

But here’s the problem - many digital experiences still hit avoidable roadblocks.

• A lack of a holistic view of digital architecture.
• A deadly dose of inadequate testing.

Sound familiar?

We’ve all run into these:

• Stuck on an ID renewal because an option wasn’t intuitive.
• A form rejects your inputs because English and Arabic versions handle numbers differently.
• Blocked from submitting an application for a minor translation mishap.

Most users won’t troubleshoot the system - they’ll get frustrated and abandon the process.

Example: While applying for my daughter’s papers, I got blocked because I selected “Ordinary Passport” instead of “Foreign Passport.” To me, my passport is ordinary. It just didn’t occur to me that Foreign was the required answer.

These tiny UX gaps turn a great digital service into a frustrating experience.

The lesson?

• Getting your digital architecture right is one thing.
• Nailing error feedback, UX, and communication is another.

If one fails, the other doesn’t matter.

Dubai is ahead of the curve, but there’s still work to do.

What do you think? Are businesses here truly embracing CX, or is there still room for improvement?