Monday morning, like many mornings, I woke up in a hotel. A brand spanking new Comfort Inn Suites in Tampa , Florida. Like many mornings the phone rang at 6:30 and stirred me out of a deep sleep.
“Beeep -beeep – beeep -beeep,” was the first sound I heard.
Dumb-dumb-dumb. Here was the hotel’s opportunity to make a “first impression” on me this morning and they did a poor job. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
As I was getting ready for the day I recalled the full spectrum of wakeup call experiences I’ve had in all the years I’ve been waking up in hotels.
At one end of the extreme is the call I received today – at the other end the LIVE bright and cheery voice of a hotel employee actually talking to me and telling me what the weather was and how happy they were I was in THEIR hotel.
In between is the automated call that gives the date, the weather and any other topics of interest (perhaps a breakfast special in the coffee shop, or free coffee service in the lobby.)
As I was reviewing all these messages in my head, I realized that there is a full spectrum of touching going on in any activity.
Pretend there is a scale. At one end of the scale is Hospitality with a big “H” – warm, friendly, inviting. At the other end of the scale rudeness, abruptness and maybe even contempt (thinly veiled of course.) Now take a look at all the touchpoints in your organization and see where you rate on that scale.
Find any wake up calls?
Wake up because in THIS marketplace – if you snooze, you lose.
