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How Well Do You Read Clues?

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Second only to personal and meaningful relationships, this will make or break you...especially in the service business.

Clues spark conversation, they get things started...they allow things to progress to a higher, more meaningful level. Without them, we're relegated to surface talk...simple "hello's", "good bye's" and "did you have a nice trip?" Armed with information like personal hobbies, favorite foods, where they've traveled from, or how their favorite sports team fared, you can head in a different direction...you can tell stories and most importantly, you can do the unexpected. Remarkable possibilities abound.

Imagine an arriving guest is an avid fisherman, a golfer or wine connoisseur. What unexpected treat might await them in their room? Imagine someone who just experienced two four-hour flight delays and lost luggage...would you ask if they had a nice trip? 

Everyone offers clues. Some are simple...you can read it in tone, body language and facial expressions (if you have children, you have practice). Others require some digging. Thanks to technology, that's gotten easier too.

How do you find info? Try these for starters...

  • Previous interaction...learn as you go...take lots of notes...find a way to gather tidbits, then stuff them into a computer
  • Gatekeeper's...talk to assistants...they almost always want things to go splendidly for their boss
  • Google...there's a reason it's a verb
  • Company website...lots of info in the About Us section

Gathering clues isn't always easy. Knowing what to do with them is even harder. Go surprise someone today.

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Why Staged Doesn't Work

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This letter explains why. Why impromptu is better than rehearsed, why seeing is believing, why capturing the real experience is so important to getting your message to spread. It also explains why stock photography, scripted answers and form thank you letters don't work. Staged doesn't work because it's expected. So, it's not worth remembering, and not worth talking about. There's no story in staged.

Figure out ways to infuse experience and improv into what you do...to surprise and strike an emotional chord with people. For instance...

  • if guests expect to be shown where to go, escort them instead
  • if guests expect to be asked 20 questions at check-in...don't
  • if someone asks you for a resume, send them to your website
  • if people expect to see stock photography on your website, show them pictures of real guests doing real things at your property (taken by real guests)
  • if people expect to receive your newsletter crammed full of romance packages and Saturday night getaway specials, feature stories like the one about the housekeeper that volunteers her time at the local children's hospital instead

You get the picture.

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Why Are Room Service Menus Boring?

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Often, they're loaded with text, and stuck in an in-room directory or some other underwhelming book or binder. If you have an in-room dining experience worth talking about, you need to treat it as such...give people a path to find it.  Next time you decide to upgrade yours, consider:

  • using lots of photos
  • a personal note from the chef
  • chef signed copies for VIPS
  • adding guest comments to item descriptions
  • make it a stand alone item in the room, again, with a lot of visual appeal (photos, photos and more photos)
  • change the menu at least quarterly...add more photos (this doesn't need to be expensive...do it yourself)
  • add photos of the process...give people a place to go online to see a blog, guest reviews, newest items, etc.

Let me know if you have any other ideas...

Meistro Mesnier at the Capital Lab

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Every once in a while you have the rare opportunity to listen to someone magical. Dr. Roland Mesnier is exactly that type of person...I met him for the first time yesterday.

He, my friend, Chuck, and I spent about an hour together...I didn't do much talking, that would have been foolish. Of course, I enjoyed a few funnies about the behind the scenes goings on at the White House. But, the real treat was learning about his early career at some of the world's best hotels, including the Savoy and George V. We mixed it up about the lost art of hospitality and what's wrong with so many of the "chain" hotels today. He perfectly exemplified everything we so often find missing in our business...passion for excellence, strict adherence to what you stand for, and doing what you say you are going to do. My two cents...we've become asset managers, and have forgotten to be hoteliers.

If you get a chance to see Dr. Mesnier, I highly recommend it. It will be well worth the price of admission and your time. And, I'm sure you will come away as rejuvenated as I did.

Service Failures and Plane Crashes

Both are costly, both preventable. You just need to know to look for clues. They have a lot in common...except perhaps for the price of the outcome. Why do airplanes crash? The answer is not as obvious as you might think...like, the aircraft decelerating at a high rate of speed...hitting something hard or running out of gas, etc.  That might be the final problem. But, getting to that point is almost always a series of failures and/or poor decisions on the part of the pilot. And, had anything been done along the way to break the chain of events, the accident may likely have been prevented. For instance, when you review the famous JFK crash,
 

What Do You Need Done?

One of the best questions I've been asked by a job candidate. Demonstrates confidence in their ability and willingness to solve problems. And, turns the interview over to the candidate to show their stuff.

If you asked a CFO this question, you might hear, "develop an annual strategic and financial planning system". Your response would include remarkable projects like the budget and cash analysis program you recently implemented at XYZ company. You would go on to give the name of the person to call who thought you hung the moon with that project, and then you would ask the interviewer to go to a special website you created to show samples of this and other great projects.

The point is...you must be able to do more than just answer the question. You must be able to show relevant things...and be able to show things period. You also need to be prepared to show "how" you did it, especially for less tangible things like, service culture improvement, etc. Imagine showing your prospective boss a video of the guest arrival experience you created at your last hotel, or photography of signature food dishes, or maybe just a team photo with you up on everyone's shoulders.

You need to make an immediate impact in a job interview...start by asking, what needs to be done?

The Power of Caring

A couple of short stories...

A young boy recently lost his iPod while staying at the Capital Hotel...left it in the room on the bed when he and his mom went out for the evening. They returned to find it missing. Everyone looked everywhere for that iPod...no luck. The company thing to do was to take a report, impersonally apologize, suggest using the in-room safe, deny any accountability and wish them good luck. The human thing to do was to care...and that's what the staff did...called to apologize, promptly sent the boy a new iPod (no questions asked) and threw in an iTunes gift card for good measure. Later, the mom called amazed the hotel would do such a thing...the boy penned a thank you note that would make any parent proud. The power of this story will live a long time...for both sides. No need to ask if it was worth the $350.

A gentleman recently  came to the front desk of this same hotel looking for a tie. Seems he had forgotten his and had a an important dinner to attend in two hours. Unfortunately, the men's clothing store, located in the lobby, was already closed. A "company" hotel would apologize, say how bad they feel and offer directions to the nearest mall. A caring hotel staff (like this one) would call the men's store owner, who would immediately come down and open the shop, provide fashion guidance and make sure the man had the perfect tie...and a lifetime customer service memory.

Personal care is the most powerful tool in your box. And, it happens to be the one used the least often. Imagine the opportunities.