When I was 10 years old, during the summer months when we were out of school, my friends and I used to walk to a local shopping center to buy packs of gum or candy bars—whatever we could get for 50 cents or so. I remember how hot the summers
Personal importance is often misunderstood at the frontline service provider level in the hospitality industry. I’ve had participants in customer service classes who challenge the notion that anyone should be treated any differently than anyone else. Some see acknowledging one’s personal importance or “Elite” status as favoritism. Others see it
Last month, I presented a customer service message to a group of managers from Townhouse Inns of Montana, a division of Town Pump, Inc. During my work with them I learned that the company founder, Tom Kenneally, Sr., began the company in Butte, Montana as a single full service gas
There is a restaurant in my neighborhood named Wine Experience Café & World Cellar. This restaurant is unique in that two-thirds of the space is used as a bar area and dining room and the other third is used as a liquor and wine store. The owner, Eldon Larson, had
Last week, I worked with the general manager of a Hampton Inn hotel who shared this story: Shannon, a front desk agent, had recently joked with a repeat guest (with whom she had a nice rapport) about aging. The guest was a bit self-deprecating about his own age and referred
Earlier today, I stopped by one of those cookie specialty stores to pick up an order of one dozen cookies that had been decorated as pineapples. (In case you’re wondering, the pineapple serves as a symbol of hospitality and warm welcome.) As I’m preparing to pay, the clerk said, “So
I met with a colleague this morning who shared a great story to underscore the importance of reinforcing trust with customers. Trust is a two-way street: customers have to trust the companies with whom they do business and companies have to trust the customers they serve. If customers don’t trust
For my 40th birthday, my wife and I traveled to Las Vegas where we met up with several other couples to hang out by the pool, see a show, and play a little Blackjack. My wife had made reservations at Caesars Palace which, ironically, was also celebrating its 40th year
A good friend of mine, Shawn, travels nearly every week with his job as a regional sales manager for a large technology company. Shawn is a member of United Airline’s Mileage Plus frequent flyer program and recently achieved its elite status, 100K (which recognizes 100,000 actual flight miles traveled within
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