Stephanie and I have a great discussion on this week's show about remarkable customer service and how to make it happen. I've listed the key points below (a preview of my Art of Hospitality service workshop). Click on the indieHotelier logo to go to the website. Or, on the podcast button to open the MP3.
Key Points from the show...
Why
- marketing- the delivery is the root of all marketing...and your success.
- rise above the clutter
- different
- well- most everyone is average....your opportunity to be different...to be the best
- choice- there are very few monopolies left
How
- long-term- think long, not short
- passion- everyone, especially those at the top
- compensation- create models which reward hospitality
- engage- your priority must be to engage with your customer, all of them, at every turn...remove barriers (physical, SOP's, etc.)
- focus- ***key***
- listen
- improvise
- adapt
- customize
- bespoke
- random- act of kindness
- eliminate distractions
- surprise vs. setting expectations way high, and failing ( Robin's story from Seth)
- open source, let your cutomers help you.
When things go bad...
- empathy vs. apathy (the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner)
- fast
- care- all about actions...not what you say you're going to do.
- improvise
- adapt
- create
- solve
Things you can do to create immediate results...
- Have a live person answer the phone
- Call people back!, promptly
- Get personal...send personal notes calls, etc. No form letters
- Change e-mail blasts to "opt-in", not "opt out", no trickery
- Be honest in your message...stop the spin, can you back up claims with delivery? every time?