I settled into my hotel room at about eleven o'clock at night. It had been a long day of travel: speaking in the morning in one city, flying to another city and then driving two more hours, the last hour of which was in the snow. Then, once I climbed the stairs with all of my luggage and arrived at my room, I had to cart all of my luggage back to the front desk so that I might make a request to change hotel rooms. They had assigned me a room overlooking the broken-down indoor swimming pool. I prefer a room with an outside view as I kind of enjoy the daylight in the morning and since there weren't a lot of guests in the hotel, there was no shortage of outside-facing rooms.
My presentation wasn't scheduled until the following afternoon so I made sure to place the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door as I knew I would have a little extra time to sleep in a bit the next morning. I brewed myself a cup of tea as a "late supper" since Room Service and the hotel restaurants had already closed for the night. I really didn't feel the least bit tempted to indulge in the three-dollar chocolate bars in the room (the same ones you'd pay a buck for at a store). I went over a little paperwork, watched a little TV and then drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, although I had been awake for a little while, a thunderous knock on the door bolted me me upright in bed at 9:45 am.
"Housekeeping," bellowed the voice.
"There's someone in here," I shot back with surprise.
"Are you checking out today?" questioned the voice.
"What time is check-out?" I asked.
"Eleven o'clock."
"And what time is it now?"
"About a quarter to ten," responded the voice.
"Is there a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door?" I questioned already knowing the answer.
"Yes."
"Then, if I have over an hour before check-out, and my sign's on the door, why are you disturbing me?" I asked dripping with sarcasm.
After a short pause, "I'll come back later," is all I heard through the door.
I simply shook my head, pulled out my Blackberry and began to record the events of what had just transpired. With about twenty minutes left until checkout, the phone in my room rang. As soon as I answered, the other party hung up. Who do you suppose could have been calling a hotel with all of the rooms empty except mine? I'm guessing it was my housekeeping staff who called to ensure I was roused out of my room.
As the last surviving customer of the hotel, I suppose I was in the way of the housekeeping staff going home early. But as a customer, I paid for my room, abided by the rules and l left my indication (the little sign) that I wished not to be disturbed - all of which were ignored.
Without customers, a hotel has no need for housekeeping staff do they? The same could be said of any business couldn't it? Without customers there really is no need for staff is there? So are you giving your customers the best experience possible or are you making it miserable for them to do business with you? Are you genuinely servicing your customers or annoying them? Is your customer in the way of you leaving early? Could you care less about their experience and do you care more about yourself?
The hotel I stayed in that night, had been in business for years. I am sure they have built a steady stream of repeat customers - the rest of the staff I encountered seemed normal in most every other way. Isn't it funny how years of hard work, dedication, attention to detail and genuine service by the rest of the staff could be undermined in one brief moment of selfishness by one staff member?
It's really not that hard to make the experience of doing business with your company positive for your customers. As an employee, remember that without a revenue stream (customers), there is really no need for useless expenses like - uh, oh I don't know ... employees!
The more happy customers you have, the more your company can reward employees. Customers are never an inconvenience. If ever you think they are, find a new line of work.
And if you give your customers some choices in how they choose to deal with you, then respect their choices. By respecting their choices, you have pretty much ensured that they will choose to business with you again.
Courtesy, respect and patience go a long way in turning an an ordinary customer into a happy customer. Happy customers spend a lot more money. Tick your customers off and they tell the world. Think before you act. Or maybe you were the one on the other side of my hotel room door. That would speak volumes.
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