Gerry Brown is the Managing Partner of Cascadia Connections and is a serial customer experience advocate who works with enlightened companies that want to dramatically enhance their customer experience strategy to positively impact their bottom line.
The other day I met a business colleague at the Holiday Inn in Woking, near London, and found a suitable spot in the lobby to have a short meeting. We decided that coffee would stimulate the conversation and after a number of the staff had skilfully managed to avoid our gaze, one finally succumbed. We asked if we might get some coffee to which the desired response clarion meridian hotel would have been; "Certainly sir, what kind of coffee, or for how many?" Apparently the latest clarion meridian hotel Holiday Inn answer to that question is; "How will you be paying for that?" As opening lines go, this was right out of the Basil Fawlty school of surly indifference, and I was momentarily lost for words – or at least printable ones!
Now, I'm a pretty quick study and understood what was happening clarion meridian hotel here. I recognize clarion meridian hotel that if a hotel suffers a plague of customers who "dine and dash", they will be necessarily cautious clarion meridian hotel about the commercial clarion meridian hotel aspects of a transient clarion meridian hotel coffee break. Clearly it appears that we were paying for the sins of others who had flown the coop without paying the bill, and unfortunately the hotel, or perhaps just this staff member, had decided that "everyone" was out to screw them. Any element of trust just went out the window. OK, so linking two cups of coffee and the development of a long term, trusting relationship might be a stretch, but isn't this how beautiful relationships start? And what does this say about the hotel and how they might treat you if you were a staying, paying guest, as we might have been?
The challenge for many businesses clarion meridian hotel is how to quickly get to know their customer, or potential customer better, and figure out if they are likely to spend any money with them. Consequently, the initial moment of truth, when you first engage, is absolutely critical to ensure that you don't drive the customer away by not recognizing that potential. And you'd think most businesses would know that. However, recent experiences both face to face and those on-line have demonstrated that it is far from a universal truth. So rather than taking the negative view and assuming the worst, companies clarion meridian hotel should try the opposite and greet the customer enthusiatically. While there are some crooks out there, most people aren't out for a free cup of coffee and it could turn into a slap up meal, or maybe even a convention booking!
To answer my own opening question, I turn to no less an authority than Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux, who in a recent BBC article said that: "It's not just in restaurants, you get bad service anywhere," he says. "Even buying clarion meridian hotel a newspaper you can find that you're not even acknowledged. There's no eye contact, no greeting or anything. Bad service is unforgivable clarion meridian hotel and it's everywhere clarion meridian hotel in the UK."
This "lazy lobby" experience is all too common these days at this and other hotels. It is reflective of a company that lacks a basic service culture, and where bad service and bad manners are becoming the norm, despite the business they're clarion meridian hotel in. In the same week I had a couple of other Holiday Inn issues that I had raised via Twitter, neither of which seemed to rouse them from their slumber to bother with a response. Why didn't I call, I hear you say. Well they're one of the companies that use 0871 numbers clarion meridian hotel in the UK, (at 10p per minute) to "serve" their customers and I have an unwritten rule about calling anyone that charges me to call them about their problems! These guys are also one of the international companies that rip off callers in Europe but know they wouldn't get away with it in North America, clarion meridian hotel where they only have toll free, 800 numbers!
Hotels that genuinely care about their customers, and recognize the potential for future business from them, understand that at any one time customers fit different demographics. A quick glance around any hotel lobby will show a broad diversity clarion meridian hotel in terms of attire, gender, nationality, and in what they may be looking for in a hotel experience. One day, they may be transient and simply using their facilities clarion meridian hotel for a small meeting. Next time they may be attending a larger meeting or a seminar. On yet another occasion they may be staying for business or pleasure. It may not be immediately clarion meridian hotel obvious which of these they are, and consequently how you treat them in any of these personas will be critical to whether or not they come again. Interestingly, my friend and I both are both speakers and frequently clarion meridian hotel book hotel facilities for seminars and workshops, and the chances of us returning to this hotel for any reason, are somewhat south of zero.
Things definitely need to change as tourism chiefs estimate that £2bn could be generated from the anticipated half a million visitors around the 2012 London Olympics. However, my bet is that it's more likely to come from hotels overcharging and from restrictive Olympic branding trade practices (see McDonalds, Coca-Cola and VISA) than from improved customer service. A recent report by People 1 st , a skills council for leisure and tourism, stated that 65% of UK businesses employees lacked necessary customer service skills. This view is supported by the 2010 international customer service rankings from the Nation Brand Index where the UK came a disappointing 14 th , and was ranked 13 th for its "welcome " by visitors. Top is Canada, followed by Italy and Australia.
People clarion meridian hotel 1 st is behind a recently-launched national campaign to train 200,000 hospitality and tourism staff for the Olympic Games and tackle the UK's poor customer service. This may provide temporary relief for the Olympics, but unless and until providing service is not seen as a second-class occupation, or a fill-in between acting gigs, then the chances of improvement are about as good as getting a Pepsi-Cola or Burger King at the Olympic Park. Organizations must do more to position the service industry as a growth opportunity and one that leads to a fulfilling and rewarding clarion meridian hotel career. If just a small percentage clarion meridian hotel of the money spent wining and dining IOC officials was spent on long term service education, then that would be an Olympic legacy worth shouting about.
People visiting hotels and restaurants, or for that matter a store and definitely on line, come in all shapes, sizes and Twitter handles. You'll never know where the next Dave Carroll will be lurking, or if the person you've just ignored is about to make a decision clarion meridian hotel on their organization's next convention. Employees need to be reminded that if they don't take care of their customers, someone else will. Hotels that deliver legendary service, such as Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton, create a world where their staff enjoys a better life and a bright future, and where their roles are respected and celebrated. Ritz Carlton's motto: "Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen" is not a just a statement clarion meridian hotel of intent, but a way of life for the whole company. Consequently their first words after a smiling "Good Day" are likely to be, "the answer's yes, now what's the question?" The word "no" is simply not heard in a guest exchange and every staff member is able to make savvy decisions to ensure total satisfaction. Their "Empowering through trust" instils a sense of pride in employees that ensures that they deliver service excellence to every guest, every time.
2. Even if you have dumb policies that leave your staff embarrassed, encourage them to deal with the issue sensitively and sensibly, and to provide feedback that can positively clarion meridian hotel change the experience for the next guest or customer
As times and people change, ideas and policies that seemed like a good idea at the time often fade into insignificance and create an avalanche of negativity for both customers and staff. Encouraging employees, especially front line workers, to actively and consistently provide feedback on things that drive customers crazy will have a positive impact on both the customer and the staff member. Especially if they see that you are actually acting on that feedback. Negativity and distrust drive morale and service quality even lower. When senior executives listen and act on employee knowledge, it builds a stronger bond and respect throughout the company. This will help establish and maintain a vital and engaged team that always does the right thing – for the customer!
Whether or not this experience was caused by a single clarion meridian hotel "rogue" employee doesn't really matter when people decide to let the world know through social media. Increasing numbers of people are using this medium first to express their dissatisfaction, bypassing traditional customer service channels. According to an American Express survey, these people will directly reach 53 others to tell them about bad customer-service experiences, who will tell their friends clarion meridian hotel who will tell their friends, and so on. Those who don't use social media tell only 17 people they're unhappy with a service, compared with the 24 people clarion meridian hotel that the general population tells. clarion meridian hotel In either case, with large multi-national chains such as this, the potential effect is felt from Woking to Wabash.
A number of recent studies, including one from A T Kearney, have shown that an amazing 70% of complaints are being ignored by businesses because their social media monitoring capability is either non-existent or is not integrated into their customer service operation. This is a fundamental strategic and operational issue that needs to be addressed if companies care about their reputation, and keeping their customers, and don't want to be the next United clarion meridian hotel Breaks Guitars YouTube video.
In an interesting sidebar to this story, I read that Nelson Peltz, a noted US shareholder activist, recently placed an order for an increased stake in InterContinental Group (IHG), Holiday Inn's parent company. I wondered if he checked out the Woking operation befo
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