GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT
Creating Exceptional Service
Jan Smith
Inland Management Group
Recently, a colleague of mine sent out a message on Twitter soliciting restaurant recommendations to celebrate her wedding anniversary. The criteria, simple: It must be in town and it must have exceptional customer service. Interestingly, there were very few responses. I tried to come up with a list of a couple of places to recommend, and kept getting stuck on the “exceptional” requirement.
If you were asked for a recommendation for any type of service organization that was:
· Exceptional
· Great
· Outstanding
· Remarkable
· Extraordinary
· Incomparable
Could you do it? Would your organization make the list?
If you haven’t recently done so, look online at the various social media sites where reviews are posted, (Twitter.com, Yelp.com, TripAdvisor.com, Dine.com, TemeculaRestaurants.com, and Boorah.com, etc.). See how your organization is being reviewed by guests. If the majority of comments state you operate a “good” or “mediocre” business, it’s time to step it up and turn things around. Providing only mediocre service will not give you the competitive edge, especially in this market.
As an owner or manager of a service organization, you should insist on exceptional service from your employee. The difference between mediocre and exceptional service is that exceptional service offers value to your guest, gives more than the guest expects, and often surprises them in the process!
General George Patton once said, “Always do more than is expected of you”. Treat your guest to exceptional service and they will return. Give them mediocre, or even worse, bad service, and they’ll continue on to one of your competitors.
In the book, A New Gold Standard, there’s a story about a gentleman who calls up to make a reservation at a Ritz Carlton Hotel. He states he is surprising his wife, who is pregnant, with a weekend away for their anniversary. When the couple checks in, they are greeted by the front desk representative with a warm welcome, and by name! Once they arrive in their room, they observe a beautiful bouquet of red roses and rose peddles spread across the bed. A bottle is chilling in a wine cooler with a note attached, “Mr. and Mrs. Jones, thank you for joining us for your anniversary”, signed by the General Manager.
The husband affirms his decision to stay at the Ritz Carlton. He lifts the bottle out of the wine cooler to open, and the two laugh when they look at the label. It’s sparkling water! The Ritz remembered the guest is pregnant!
Exceptional, Great, Outstanding, Remarkable, Extraordinary, and Incomparable service at its best! This type of exceptional service is why organizations like the Ritz Carlton thrive through the current economic climate.
Following are some tips to help create exceptional service….the type that keeps your guests loyal and committed to your organization.
Jan Smith
Inland Management Group
Recently, a colleague of mine sent out a message on Twitter soliciting restaurant recommendations to celebrate her wedding anniversary. The criteria, simple: It must be in town and it must have exceptional customer service. Interestingly, there were very few responses. I tried to come up with a list of a couple of places to recommend, and kept getting stuck on the “exceptional” requirement.
If you were asked for a recommendation for any type of service organization that was:
· Exceptional
· Great
· Outstanding
· Remarkable
· Extraordinary
· Incomparable
Could you do it? Would your organization make the list?
If you haven’t recently done so, look online at the various social media sites where reviews are posted, (Twitter.com, Yelp.com, TripAdvisor.com, Dine.com, TemeculaRestaurants.com, and Boorah.com, etc.). See how your organization is being reviewed by guests. If the majority of comments state you operate a “good” or “mediocre” business, it’s time to step it up and turn things around. Providing only mediocre service will not give you the competitive edge, especially in this market.
As an owner or manager of a service organization, you should insist on exceptional service from your employee. The difference between mediocre and exceptional service is that exceptional service offers value to your guest, gives more than the guest expects, and often surprises them in the process!
General George Patton once said, “Always do more than is expected of you”. Treat your guest to exceptional service and they will return. Give them mediocre, or even worse, bad service, and they’ll continue on to one of your competitors.
In the book, A New Gold Standard, there’s a story about a gentleman who calls up to make a reservation at a Ritz Carlton Hotel. He states he is surprising his wife, who is pregnant, with a weekend away for their anniversary. When the couple checks in, they are greeted by the front desk representative with a warm welcome, and by name! Once they arrive in their room, they observe a beautiful bouquet of red roses and rose peddles spread across the bed. A bottle is chilling in a wine cooler with a note attached, “Mr. and Mrs. Jones, thank you for joining us for your anniversary”, signed by the General Manager.
The husband affirms his decision to stay at the Ritz Carlton. He lifts the bottle out of the wine cooler to open, and the two laugh when they look at the label. It’s sparkling water! The Ritz remembered the guest is pregnant!
Exceptional, Great, Outstanding, Remarkable, Extraordinary, and Incomparable service at its best! This type of exceptional service is why organizations like the Ritz Carlton thrive through the current economic climate.
Following are some tips to help create exceptional service….the type that keeps your guests loyal and committed to your organization.
Service Tips
1. Create a paradigm shift in service philosophy. Transform from mediocre to exceptional!
2. Talk with your service team and provide exceptional service standards. If you don’t have
them, create, and communicate them now.
3. Be passionate about serving your guest.
4. “Inspect what you expect” to insure your standards are being upheld.
5. Hold your service team accountable, and do not compromise on exceptional service
3. Be passionate about serving your guest.
4. “Inspect what you expect” to insure your standards are being upheld.
5. Hold your service team accountable, and do not compromise on exceptional service
standards levels.
6. Anticipate your guest’s needs and expectations and give them a service experience they
6. Anticipate your guest’s needs and expectations and give them a service experience they
will go away talking about in positive terms!
Many service workers think there is little reason to offer more than mediocre service. They know the guest tends to accept less than deserved, almost as if the guest has been conditioned and accustomed to bad service.
What would happen if every guest demands exceptional service? No tip unless exceptional service is given…I’d wager the service levels would rise. What if you only hired and retained staff who exhibited exceptional guest service? You’d likely see more tables and rooms filled, and more products purchased!
Don’t commit the sin of mediocrity, and remember that being good isn’t good enough. Good is the enemy of Great. It doesn’t take more effort to give exceptional service over mediocre service, yet the rewards are so much greater!
Jan M. Smith is the Founder and Principal of Inland Management Group, a Human Resource Consultancy located in Temecula, specializing in the Hospitality and Entertainment industry. You can contact Jan at (951) 302-6483, www.inlandmgtgroup.com, or email at jsmith@inlandmgtgroup.com.
Many service workers think there is little reason to offer more than mediocre service. They know the guest tends to accept less than deserved, almost as if the guest has been conditioned and accustomed to bad service.
What would happen if every guest demands exceptional service? No tip unless exceptional service is given…I’d wager the service levels would rise. What if you only hired and retained staff who exhibited exceptional guest service? You’d likely see more tables and rooms filled, and more products purchased!
Don’t commit the sin of mediocrity, and remember that being good isn’t good enough. Good is the enemy of Great. It doesn’t take more effort to give exceptional service over mediocre service, yet the rewards are so much greater!
Jan M. Smith is the Founder and Principal of Inland Management Group, a Human Resource Consultancy located in Temecula, specializing in the Hospitality and Entertainment industry. You can contact Jan at (951) 302-6483, www.inlandmgtgroup.com, or email at jsmith@inlandmgtgroup.com.
