Arrive as a guest...Leave as a friend!
By Rowdy McLean. July 2009
My brother relayed to me a great customer service experience he had when he made a booking at a bed and breakfast for his family recently.
He had visited this B&B some time ago and contacted them again telling them that his family had enjoyed their stay 3 years earlier, would be passing through again and asked whether it would be possible to book the same room he had back then.
From a customer service perspective the reply from the B&B was everything all businesses should strive for – it was warm, welcoming, showed recognition (they remembered his youngest daughter and couldn’t believe that she was four years old now, commenting “how time goes by!”) and offered them a better solution (last time they stayed in a one bedroom apartment with pullout sofa beds, this time they were told that the 3 bedroom apartment was available and offered it to him for the same price so that “everyone could sleep comfortably”).
My brother understandably was thrilled with this level of service (remember they had only stayed one night 3 years ago!) and as such relayed the story to me and here I am relaying it you all - not bad word of mouth marketing is it!
You know you don’t have to be in the hospitality business to use these customer service techniques. In our Service Culture program (click here for more information) I talk about the simple technique of treating customers who come into your business like you would a guest to your home for a party, dinner or even just a cuppa.
Think about what you would say in that situation…
“Hello”
“How are you?”
“Welcome to my home”
“Good to see you"
“Come in”
“Sit down”
“Make yourself comfortable”
“What can I get you?”
“Can I get you anything else?”
“How was everything?”
“Thanks for coming”
“I hope to see you again soon.”
Take the time this week to discuss this simple technique with your team, you may be surprised by the results a few small changes could make to your business.
By the way the B&B was called Bonville Lodge on the Mid North Coast in NSW. The web address www.bonvillelodge.com.au and their motto 'Arrive as a guest...Leave as a friend'
Ron McLean is an international author and customer service strategist. If you think your organisation would benefit from having Ron present his Service as a Business Strategy message to your team, please contact us on 1800 GET REAL or email emma@creatingsynergy.com
Copyright 2009 Ron McLean
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