On a recent trip to an upscale hotel, I had dinner with the restaurant manager. He explained to me that one of the restaurant’s main goals was for guests to rate the restaurant a “5”, as measured by their guest satisfaction survey. The survey asks guests a series of questions, and each question has a corresponding scale that follows: (1=very dissatisfied, 2=dissatisfied, 3=indifferent, 4=satisfied, 5=very satisfied). The manager told me about all the initiatives he recently implemented to get the 5 rating from guests.

There was a new coffee cup storage system he just implemented that will ensure that cups are always available for service. Then, there was the cycle-time initiative that tracks the length of elapsed time from the guest’s food order being taken to the minute the first course is brought to the table. I told him that those initiatives sound good, but none of them would help the restaurant get 5’s. He looked confused. I explained that when I order coffee or tea, I EXPECT the beverage to be served on time. When I place my dinner order, I EXPECT the food to be served in a reasonable amount of time (unless I am proactively told otherwise, as in, a well-done steak or a soufflé).

The “4” represents satisfaction, which basically means that the restaurant did what the guests expected it to do. The staff was friendly…food came on time…everything tasted good…no roaches scurrying around, etc. I went on to explain that to get a 5 from a guest, first you must understand what the 5 represents. He really started to listen then. I explained that to get a 5 you must not only meet, but exceed expectations. You can’t just put processes and standards in place to avoid messing up. The guest does not expect you to mess up. Instead, actually exceeding expectations and impressing the guest is what leads to a 5.

Submit your Wow Stories! - We would be honored if you can share a “wow story” from your organization. Basically, examples of when your staff exceeded a customer's expectations and created a memorable experience for them.  Just email the story to us! Please note if you would like us to not share your company's name. A paragraph (or 2) should be suffice. Just enough to clearly explain what the wow story was about and how the employee's actions made a positive difference. The first 5 submissions will receive a signed copy of Bryan’s book! So don’t hesitate!