Has this happened to you? The taxi stops in front of your hotel, your new home during the work conference. On your way from the airport, you've already had a first impression of the metropolis: big, crowded, noisy—and, most of all, anonymous. At this moment, someone says your name. In my case: "Welcome, Ms Schenkewitz."
Wow. No more anonymity. Who said it? The hotel porter!
While I was paying the taxi driver, the hotel porter took my luggage and glimpsed my name on the bag tag. His simple gesture, paired with a smile, caught my full attention. Simple and powerful. I no longer felt like a complete stranger in this big, anonymous city.
This happened to me this summer. I was so surprised and delighted that it made my evening, simple though it was—and it got me thinking about customer experience.
Great in its simplicity
For me, this anecdote is an example of great service. The porter understood the importance of the moment of arrival, when guests are travel-weary and maybe bewildered. He kicked off the whole customer experience.
Some will say I'm focusing on something small, a footnote—but for a business to win key moments that matter to clients, the minor actions matter too. And great service has to come from somewhere; it needs to be planned. The hotel must decide what kind of experience their customers should have, create a clear vision of that, and act on enabling it. Truly excellent service will bring customers back again and again.
However, the hotel's management can only define the vision and lead by example. It struck me that great customer service lies at the heart of each employee. What does that mean for customer service strategies?
Winning over digital customers with amazing service
Come and join us for the Digital Fund series on 27 September, in which our lineup of expert speakers will tackle customer experience from a digital angle, and show how to win the moments that matter to our customers.
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