Lacking Service

It happened again. Of course it really isn't any big surprise. Service is so bad in so many places that it is what people expect, no matter where they go.

Today I had a small snack and a bottle of water at a nice little place in town. I had a book with me to just sit in a quiet corner and read. That was not a problem, the place was quiet and the chair was quite comfortable. The service, on the other hand, was lacking. I stood there for over five minutes before the girl working even bothered to look at me and say she would be with me in a moment. I know it as five minutes because I have a habit of looking at my watch. Comes from years of watching and timing my own staff. She could see me, I watched her make up three fancy drinks for customers waiting outside the drive through window. If I had a piece of paper to wad up I could have gently tossed it and it would have made contact. I say this without fear of exaggeration. I would never do that, she was that close to me that I could have.

When she did notice me she rang up my purchase and walked away to do some other work. No 'thank you', no 'have a nice day', just turned away.

With service so bad in so many places it really doesn't take very much to stand out. Little, simple, easy things can make all the difference you need to be the best in your guest's (customer's) eyes. So, why not do it?

Will Maguire

Hospitality is Kindness

An online dictionary, Wordnet by Princeton University, gives a definition for hospitality that I like. Hospitality is “kindness in welcoming guests or strangers.” For most of us, most of the time, the guests who come to our hotels are strangers to us. By using the one simple word, kindness, we find hospitality described in an easy to remember form that all of us can understand. We can approach any guest contact situation with kindness. I find that the word kindness evokes a pleasant and positive feeling for people when they hear it. To apply kindness to hospitality really helps anybody understand what is meant by hospitable service.

Extra Special service does not mean elaborate service.

Good service doesn't get you any extra points. Providing good service is simply giving the guest, or customer, exactly what they expected. They are pleased, they are happy, but they got what they feel they should have gotten in terms of the service. Essentially, nothing to write home about.

Bad service will give the guest plenty to write home about. Bad service gives the guest a story to tell, and they will tell the story over and over. Poor service has the same effect, they will tell the story.

To make extra points, with the guest and also on the service scores, you need to give extra special service. You still want the guest to tell the story, but you want it to be a story about how great you are. This extra special service doesn't have to be anything elaborate, just as long as it is special. Give your guest an extra touch that is special for them.

Stephanie is one example. She went across the street to purchase a news paper for a guest. The hotel provided the USA Today for every guest, but this guest wanted the Wall Street Journal. Stephanie ran across the street and bought the Journal for him and delivered it to him in the restaurant while he was having breakfast.

What Stephanie did was nothing elaborate but it as special and it made that guest feel special. What she did wasn't expensive, it didn't break the bank, but it meant a great deal to the reputation of the hotel.

Did we get extra points? We sure did, and some extra business as well from that guest's company.

Book Update

My book, X-cellent Guest Service, What Every Hotel Should Know About Serving Generation X, is currently in the edit process. Because I am very limited on funds, this process will take some time.

A friend told me long ago that you never edit you own work. So I have asked some friends and family to read through my manuscript and give me their thoughts or corrections. I am grateful to them for doing this, since it saves me money, but they do have lives. It will take time for them to get around to my book.

As soon as the book is ready, I will make an announcement here.

Thoughtful Young Man

A young man came to the door yesterday. He introduced himself, handed me a half sheet of paper, and explained the reason for his visit. I thought I was in for a sales pitch of some kind, maybe the local high school is doing a fund raiser, or maybe he wants me to subscribe to magazines, but I was wrong.

The reason for his visit was to let me know he was having a party in a couple of days and said he would do his best to keep the noise level down, but if the party got a little too loud his phone number was on the paper he gave me and he said to call him right away. He just wanted to make sure the neighbors were aware of the party and that he cared about his neighbors.

Well, needless to say, I was impressed with this thoughtful young man. Because of his foresight and his concern for his neighbors, I don't care how loud they get, I will allow him his fun. The fact he took the initiative to type out and print his little notice, and to walk door to door in order to distribute them really tells me a lot about him and the level of responsibility he feels for the community.

If he were to apply for a job with my company, and if I had an opening, I would hire him. He has shown me a very good character. We need more responsible young people like him.

Tanner, I hope you have a wonderful birthday party.

Who ever's Next

One thing to remember when providing service is the choice of words we use. Some words can come across as rude or surly to others, even though we don't realize it when we speak.

My mother was an English teacher and I grew up having y grammar corrected on a regular basis. As I write I can hear her voice in the back of my head correcting me when I use poor English. She left this world six years ago, but I still hear her.

Anyway, today I went to a coffee shop and had to wait in line. As the person in front of me got served the girl at the counter said "I can help who ever's next." My thought was she may be able to, I am sure she 'can' help, but does she want to? And, I am here to spend some money, I am the customer, I don't like being refered to as 'who ever.' (My mother's voice pops into my head when others use poor English as well.)

I don't think the girl at the coffee shop meant to be surly, she probably had no idea how she came across. It would have been better to say "May I help the next person in line, please?"

Managers: create simple scripts for your employees to use. Make them easy to remember and use positive reinforcement to encourage your employees to get in the habit of saying the right thing. I am positive this one step will improve your service scores. it can't hurt, it can only help.

People in Hospitality

I just started a Google Group called People in Hospitality.

The intent is to provide a place where people in the hospitality industry can share thoughts, ideas, and stories as well as help each other improve.

http://groups.google.ca/group/people-in-hospitality