Taking a cue from a long-time resort offering, many hotels are offering classes for guests. With cooler weather approaching and the need for indoor activities becoming imminent, I did a little digging into what hotels are offering and how these classes benefit everyone. Classes are a great way to infuse a local flavor into your guests’ experience. Depending on what you’re offering, there doesn’t have to be a ton of expense put into it. I’d start by finding a local expert to teach the class. Some hotels offer yoga or dance classes, but classes in mixology, cooking, gardening or herb preparation have the added benefit of take-hope items for guests to remember their stay. For instance, a local gardening expert with a knowledge of preparing and storing cooking herbs could teach a class on mixing or cooking with herbs. Guests go home with seeds and their own personalized herb blend, which sends them off with local flavor to remind them of their stay. You can pay a fee to the teacher for her time and supplies, and she can boost her income by selling extra herb blends or recipes after the class or even in your gift shop. (And the …
I read an interesting article this week that broke happiness down into a mathematical formula. The basic idea is: Reality – Expectations = Happiness. Although the idea is nothing new, this formula is fairly simple, makes sense, and applies directly to hospitality or any industry that hinges on the consumer experience. We all want happy customers, right? So what does this formula mean for hotels? Bad news first – if reality is less than expectation, guests will be unhappy in direct proportion. The two things that immediately come to my mind are doctored property photos and fake reviews. Someone looking at photos of a peaceful, empty beach is going to be very upset when they arrive to crowds. Fake reviews about a pristine and quiet hotel do not bode well for a hotel in the midst of a remodel. I’m not saying you can’t have a crowded beach or a remodeling project going on, I’m just saying to be honest about it. When reality meets expectation, the happiness of the guest lands in the neutral zone. At this point, loyalty and reviews are only swayed by how good or bad that reality actually is, which is good news for the …
Last week I experienced an unusual amount of poor customer service from various companies which led me to wonder if there is a common theme running through these industries. My personal belief is that attitudes are just different these days. Common courtesies are no longer common, and most companies haven’t begun training employees to use manners that were previously taught from childhood. My experiences over the last few days ranged from a mistake from a car dealer that cost me a lot of time and money, to a cashier at a local store handing me change with a very bold obscenity tattooed on her writs. While her wrist was calling me names, her voice was asking me to call the corporate office with my impression of the store. So what did all of these companies have in common? For me, the most noticeable lack was what used to be considered common courtesy, including the three listed below. The first thing missing was eye contact. Whether it was chewing gum while staring into space, or passively waiting on me to do the greeting, none of the people I dealt with made any effort to say hello or look up from what …
I read an business to business article last week by Janet Fouts talking about her frustration with a hotel’s customer service using social media. I thought she brought up some very good points, and highly recommend reading her point of view. The basic gist is to be sure that you are ready before you begin to offer customer service over your social networks. It seems like common sense, but I can see how it could easily be overlooked or forgotten over time. When a guest uses social media to reach out about a complaint or even just a simple question, they do expect a timely answer. They also expect the answer to cover the problem. All too often, the answer makes the problem worse. In the example contained in the link, the hotel did respond asking for her contact information, but never contacted her again. They took a bad situation and made it worse by using Twitter to make it appear to the public that they were helping her when they never actually did anything about it. I’ve experienced quite a few “overly canned” responses to problems and those always annoy as well. You aren’t expected to draft a new …
No matter how great your staff is, and how high you set your service standards, mistakes are bound to be made. The good news is that it is not the mistake that leaves a lasting impression for your guest, it’s how you fix it that matters. Apologize. I think this is obvious, but I’ve noticed that there seems to be a new trend of service staff refusing to offer an apology. Whether the mistake was made by you or a team member, or even if your guest is upset over nothing, a simple “I’m sorry” goes a long way. Fix the problem as quickly as possible. If you can’t empower your staff to offer resolutions, then a member of the management team should be readily available to deal with the situation right away. If a guest is complaining about a particular staff member, do not, under any circumstance, send that staff member to remedy the situation. Aside from making both parties feel completely awkward, you should understand that trust has been lost there, and will not be regained by a forced interaction. If you cannot resolve the problem to the satisfaction of the guest, apologize again. There is no pleasing …