I stayed in atown tucked away from the city over the weekend. I checked in a nice hotel and was given quite a large room. I liked the first impression. I went out to catch up with my friends who showed me around town. Moving from one place to another takes only about five to ten minutes. Food was unique and delicious. My friend was also very gracious enough to show me the hidden treasures of the town.
On the day that I was supposed to check out, I went back a little late to the hotel. I requested for a late check out for half an hour as it is a Monday and I didn’t think the hotel was fully occupied. The lady at the counter told me that it is a normal procedure that all late check outs will be charged additional amount. I enquired whether the hotel is fully occupied yet she refused to answer my question. She told me that she would allow me fifty minutes to pack. She never made me comfortable with all her explanations and a middle age person like her really did not know how to handle customers. I gave her my frank opinion and left to pick up my stuff in the room.
When I went back to check out and settle the bill, they wanted to impose additional charges because when I checked in, I requested for two electronic keys and I only returned one. I couldn’t find the other key. When I asked her why, she told me that the condition is written on the card. She was indirectly telling me that it was my fault for not reading the conditions on the hotel card holder.
Her handling of my situation compelled me to ask for her manager. Her manager, a middle age lady, was constantly being defensive by saying that she has been in the industry long enough to understand customer’s needs. Instead of trying to make me feel better, she was trying to tell me that it was my fault and I needed to pay the fine. She wasn’t been really helpful and I really wondered why both of them are in that position in the first place.
In the end, I left the hotel telling myself that I would never recommend anyone to stay there with such lousy customer service. The two middle aged ladies are not customer service oriented at all and even though I enjoyed the facility and the room at the hotel, the experience with these two ladies completely altered my perception of the hotel.
They have lost one customer however in effect they lost a lot more potential customers and people like me would not recommend any one of my friends to stay there and my friends, when they heard my remarks if they were to enquire from me, would probably find elsewhere to stay.
This is simply because both these ladies completely ruined the whole perception of a customer with their inefficient handling of a customer’s dissatisfaction.
Customer is the best salesman.
If a customer were to recommend to their friends about a certain product or service, most likely their friends will be more receptive compared to if a salesman were to try to get them to buy the same product or service.
Therefore the challenge is how to ensure a customer, especially the profitable ones always remained happy.
There is always a way to say no to a customer yet make them happy and understand at the same time.
The two middle aged ladies failed because they probably thought they are the best and the most effective handling of customer’s complaint is to make the customers feel bad. They never try to find ways to make a customer better and in fact, they frowned every time an enquiry is posed to them. They represent the face of the company and their actions reflect poorly on the management of the company.
Sometimes, I wonder why they are left with such responsibilities when somebody else could probably do a better job. The worse is that they subordinates would probably behave in a same way to since the subordinates would generally tend to follow the attitude of their superior.
When a customer buys a service or product, the customer is buying the ‘feel good’ feeling that he or she is projecting in the mind.
Until the customer feels that, it will be difficult to capture the sales.
That ‘feel good’ factor is usually best communicated via a competent salesperson.
In this case, the two ladies failed miserably.
It is never fully about the infrastructure and facility or the amount of discount packages that is being offered.
It is the ‘feel good’ factor that a customer ultimately seeks.
And a customer would most likely fork out the money without much hassle.
As the ‘feel good’ feeling is a priceless experience.
And no price tag can be attached to it.