Wowing your customers should NEVER be an inconvenience
Posted by Mark Campanale on Sun, Aug 15, 2010 @ 05:10 PM
by Mark Campanale, Marketing & Social Media Manager
When we stay at hotels, whether for business or vacation, we expect that our reservations promise that our stay will be nothing more than pleasant; if something should go wrong, the hotel staff will do everything in their power to correct the issue. As professionals, our clients expect the same.
At my recent stay in New York, I had an issue, albeit extremely minor, with the TV in my room. So I called the front desk and explained the situation, and they said they would send a tech up immediately. The tech came within minutes and handed me a new remote. I asked him to stay while I checked to see if the remote worked - it didn't.
The Tech says before I could open my mouth:
"We just got all new TVs, and haven't programmed the remotes to fully work with them."
He also mentioned that programming the remotes was not not a priority for the hotel.
This is a minor, trivial issue at best - however:
- It shows that the hotel puts their priorities before the guests'
- It creates an issue as the guests enters their room
- and (depending on the issue) instantly has the guest comparing their brand to the brand of competitors
How we apply this to everyday business:
What we need to remember is that branding is a promise that you make to your customers, vendors, friends, non-customers, competitors, etc. The most important factor is that you keep that promise everyday, or suffer the consequences of word-of-mouth.
The hotel chain made a promise to deliver the ultimate-customer-experience, but on their terms. Yes they got fantastic new TVs, but if the remotes don't work, well, that just brings me back to the days when I had to get up to change the channel!
The take-away here is to keep your promises at all costs. If you want to be known for something, deliver on that promise consistently as if your business' success depends on it.
Cos it does.