Don’t risk alienating customers

Kym Illman - Canity founder
The Hotel St Paul in Montreal is an impressive, lush-looking, boutique hotel and I chose to stay there while photographing the recent Montreal Grand Prix. BUT my breakfast experience was somewhat baffling.

I arrived early; in fact, I was the first to roll up for breakfast and found the restaurant devoid of any staff. The buffet was set up but not a single human being was visible. I could hear a few in the kitchen and there they remained while I proceeded to feed myself.

About eight minutes later, a staff member finally emerged from the kitchen and asked me if anyone had taken my room number? After this lacklustre start, things didn’t get any better.

You see, I had finished with a couple of plates and a glass full of yoghurt and pushed them to the other side of the table expecting them to be cleared at some point. After two staff members walked past the table a couple of times, I realised that they hadn’t noticed them. Other guests started filing in and some may well have spotted this growing pile of dirty crockery and cutlery.

Five more passes and still neither of the two staff members noticed the build-up. In fact, it wasn’t until I asked for some sauce/ketchup that the plates were cleared. And they weren’t cleared by either of the two staff who’d by then passed the table a total of 11 times; it was cleared by the kitchen hand who delivered the condiment!

Now, I reckon those plates sat there for a good 20 minutes and, in any restaurant, that’s not acceptable. It sends the wrong signal not only to me, but to every diner who walks past and sees the dirty build-up. Oh, and the following morning it took 13 passes before the plates were cleared.

If the two staff members in question here were switched-on, if they were paying attention and wanting to exceed expectations, then this would not have occurred.

Great customer service is all about keeping your eye on the ball. Get distracted and you run the risk of alienating customers and in a market where customers have choices, you can’t afford that.

[Kym Illman](/content/resources/author/kymillman/ "Posts by Kym Illman"/index.html)
2017-11-16T15:19:45+08:00 June 28th, 2017