customer service

You Shouldn’t Have Told Me That

Shep Hyken | December 5, 2019

By Shep Hyken The other day I went out to breakfast with some friends. There were eight of us, so we needed two tables pushed together. The restaurant was crowded. The hostess pointed to a table and said when that party got up, we could have their table and the table next to them, which was empty. It looked like they were almost finished with their breakfast, but we had no idea how long that might be. I noticed that on the other side of the occupied table there was another empty table. It looked like there was enough room to bring that table over to the empty one she was holding for us. I asked if she could do that. Her response was, �...

Auditing the Auditors: What Happens When Quality Assurance Morphs Into PR & Marketing?

Steven Ferry | December 2, 2019

By Steven Ferry, Chairman, International Institute of Modern Butlers If Quality Assurance had not been taken over by such interests, it would be focused on operational audits and follow-up actions that result in improved service and thus influenced guest perception based on real-world intentions and actions. This hijacking of QA could explain some very real problems that hoteliers are facing today in their operations and even with guest perceptions.... Did you hear about the case of the incredible disappearing hotel manager? No? Well, this is not so much a joke or a detective story as the beginnings of an obituary for the old-t...

Auditing the Auditors: A Quality Assurance Program for the 21st Century

Steven Ferry | November 27, 2019

Part III of IV By Steven Ferry, Chairman, International Institute of Modern Butlers In the first two articles in this series, we looked at how independent Quality Assurance programs have fallen into a conventional wisdom and modus operandi that is out of touch with their clients' and their guests' needs and then examined the challenges and relevance of QA in helping their client's assess their performance in a world increasingly guided by the megaphone of social-media reviews. In this third and last article, we look at what an ideal QA program would look like, in the hope that third-party QA companies, and/or internal QA programs are...

A Dramatic Change Doesn’t Have to Be a Traumatic Change

Shep Hyken | November 21, 2019

By Shep Hyken The word dramatic is a great word. When you use it to describe changes you make to improve customer service, it has a positive meaning. It sounds like you’re making big changes for the better. However, if you shorten the word to drama, it takes on an entirely different meaning—one that’s negative. Merriam-Webster’s definition for how the word is used in this context is that it is “a state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces.” So, make dramatic changes, but don’t let them cause any drama. That drama could turn your dramatically positive experience into a traumati...

10 Years Ago, Customer Service Was Appreciated—Today, It’s Expected

Shep Hyken | November 14, 2019

By Shep Hyken It wasn’t that long ago that you would go to a store, dine at a restaurant, do business with a vendor or call a customer support center and notice how good the customer service was. A great service experience stood out. It was noticed. It was a differentiator. I started my speaking business in the 1980s. I know, I look much younger than I actually am, but it really was that long ago. Back then, the rock star company that was known for customer service was IBM. They recognized that if they created enough value beyond the actual product, that price would seem less important. That brings me to Lou Sterns, Distinguished Prof...

Give Me Some Relief

John Hendrie | November 11, 2019

By John Hendrie We in hospitality have a critical directive – provide succor and comfort to an American guest landscape which is suffering. The marketplace is in arrears; it is tired, unappreciated, fractured and downright scared. The next twelve months will be instructive, no matter the political party. But, make no mistake, people are nervous and worn out already. What a great opportunity for hospitality professionals to show their stripes and dedication to the craft. Your guests seek diversion, care and consideration. You see them entering your establishment, whether hotel, restaurant or attraction/recreation. They are harried, smi...

Give Recognition Where It’s Due

Shep Hyken | October 31, 2019

By Shep Hyken There are some pretty important people in your organization, and I bet many of them don’t know just how important they are. Most likely, they aren’t getting the recognition they deserve. I was talking about this concept with my friend, Kent Higginbotham, and he shared a perfect example of this. Kent was in the Navy, and we affectionally nicknamed him “Admiral.” While in the Navy, Kent flew helicopters. Kent mentioned that most people think the pilot and co-pilot are the most important jobs on a helicopter. No doubt, without these two—or at least one of them—the helicopter can’t take off and land. However, Ken...

Bad Timing or Bad Decision

Shep Hyken | October 29, 2019

By Shep Hyken Recently, my wife and I went out to dinner. We planned to go to a movie afterward but couldn’t decide what to see. Easy solution—we decided to go home and watch one of our favorite shows on Netflix. We arrived home, got comfortable, turned on the TV and… nothing. The TV went on, but there was no cable or Internet signal. There was an outage. Obviously, the cable company didn’t do this on purpose. It was out of their control. Sometimes things happen. It was just bad timing. A couple of weeks later, I attended a conference at a hotel in Orlando. We enjoyed the speakers in the morning session, and after about two hour...