95 more to go for 2010. As I write this one I am smiling coz the goal is to write 100 blogs this year and this is one way to be reminded. Time is not an excuse, neither is it that I cant find good things to write. What's keeping me away? - May be I need a bit of motivation with more comments from You - the Reader.
Yesterday was very special. I grabbed an opportunity to go back in time, perhaps back to when I started my career as receptionist at a 4 star hotel. Now, I am consultant and my client who is a 4 star hotel want their front office customer ratings going up. When I started interacting very close with the team last week, they seemed very worried. I had to tell them the TRUTH.
The TRUTH - I am training them for one reason: The team is doing WELL and they are capable of doing VERY WELL. Not the other way round as most people think and say - "Send the team for a training session because their performance is poor". How can the performance of an entire team be Poor?.
Anyway besides telling them the truth, I also needed to be involved with them and the best way I felt was to work along. I chose to be at the hotel reception & in the lobby for a few hours.
It was fun, real fun. My day was just about complimenting customers who were checking in, talking to those in house, following up to resolve few complaints. I was also glad to be a part of the little laughs and giggles owing to mistakes that happen at work (that don't necessarily affect customer satisfaction). In fact make it better.
One example is when the receptionist said; "Welcome to the Hotel _______" when the guest was actually checking out. She apologized and after the guest left we rolled out laughing.
As human as it can get, to the next guest who was checking in she said; "welcome" in a very soft tone. I was quick to intervene and mentioned in a bold voice - "JECY, THEY ARE CHECKING IN. I am sure about that and your WELCOME can be louder". The guest looked at me surprised and I shared the joke with them. The arriving Guest, Jecy and I - all of us started laughing again. Good arrival experience - ain't it?. Involve the customers, they love it.
I met another guest who had stayed in this hotel 40 years ago when it opened. I thanked him for patronizing and his comment instantly was "Good Hotels and Great Service deserve to be patronized" - Wow!. There was another couple from Romania who reminded of a wonderful friend from this beautiful country and I told them so. It was fascinating to get introduced to some of them most loyal and regular guests at this hotel.
I went about the rest of the time complimenting different guests for their smiles, their ties, their watches, salwars and suits. One Gentleman from the USA who was checking in said "Nice Big and Beautiful Hotel". I thanked him for the compliment and welcomed him with a big cheerful smile. He made my day by saying "You are the first guy I have met after landing in country, who is genuinely welcoming and cheerful. I now feel I am in India". He mentioned his experience with the immigration and the local taxi driver who did not sport a smile or speak a word. I told him the rest of the staff are as good or even better and that he can look forward to a lovely stay in this hotel.
With all that time spent interacting with customers, I also made some wonderful observations about the processes that need improvements and the team's current performance on the shop floor to get the ratings up. So I got to work with the team on those while you can wait to hear from me again.
Delight yourself first in order to delight people around you. Most importantly, make your choice NOW!
Meet me at: www.gettingtodelight.com
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