I have been thinking about hospitality a lot lately. And I seem to be getting a second sense of the good and the bad examples. What is causing this variance, and how can you limit it in your own organization?
Hospitality is a lot depending on the person you have in front of you I find. Like last month when I was in a very chique incredibly nice garden and house decoration shop. I would have bought all the vases and furniture around if I could. I was on a tight schedule however and promised myself I would come back. Which actually happened sooner than anticipated as I thought I had lost something there in the parking lot. I went back the same day and could not find it. Hoping another customer had found it and brought it to the counter, I went in to ask. After waiting at the counter for over 5 minutes with another customer who wanted to pay for something, having waved at all employees while being completely ignored, and finally being helped by someone who looked stressed and less than pleased I was even there I literally got the response “No not found, maybe you have to look harder” and went off. By the way, the paying customer in front of me was not helped in a better capacity. Do you think I will ever go back to that shop? Even though I found what I had lost in my car at the end of the day? You must crazy to go back to that kind of service, right?!
So where do I see the error in hospitality, and how do I think you correct it? By hiring the right people and being very clear about what you as a company find important (think of Disney, there is a brilliant story in my favorite book “The last stand” in which the author explains how a minor event in his youth has kept him going back to Disney with colleagues, friends and his own family).
I always state to my customers, attitude is something you hire and you can further refine afterward, skills can be taught. But you have to have a clear vision, and set of rules and you have to stick to them and give your employees the freedom and trust to outshine themselves to the customers.
You can not dictate your people to genuinely smile and be customer friendly (in my opinion), but you can give them the tools and responsibility to offer remarkable service.