Well, I’m on the horns of a dilemma. It’s Sunday night, and I’m spending the night in a hotel room, as I do many nights these days. My hotel isn’t a cheap one; it’s a good one. But there’s one little problem.
The TV doesn’t work.
And by that I mean that it doesn’t turn on. Not with the remote (which does work, because it lights up), and not by pressing the button on the side of the TV. It’s kaput. As Monty Python would say, “This TV is no more. It is an ex-TV.” I should point out that I just discovered this fact, as I hadn’t turned on the TV before.
So here I am, in a nice hotel room, probably an hour or an hour and a half before I turn in for the night, with no TV. I have books and I’m an avid reader, and obviously I have my laptop. But one of the entertainment sources (really, the only one that the hotel provides) is out of action. And I’m not happy.
Of course, I could see about rectifying the situation. I could call the front desk and tell them that the TV doesn’t work. They, then, have two options:
1. They could move me into a room with a working TV. I’m not a fan of this option, since I’m already unpacked, relaxed, and again, it’s a short time before I go lights-out.
2. They could send someone up to check it out, and either fix or replace (most likely) the TV. I’m not a fan of this option, either. I’d have to get dressed (perhaps I’m sharing too much at this point), and the rigamarole would take up the last hour and a half of waking time in my room – time that I’ve dedicated to unwinding.
No, I’m going to do without, and then I’ll comment in the morning. And they’ll ask me why I didn’t call. So I’ll explain the above reasons, and then I’ll give them a very valuable piece of knowledge. I’ll tell them what I (and most of their customers) really want:
I want things to work. I want them to work the first time. I’m sure they’d have worked to ‘rectify’ the problem. I don’t want the problem in the first place.
“But, Troy,” you’re thinking, “Things can’t always be perfect.” (Correct.) “And how could they know that the TV doesn’t work if you don’t tell them?”
I have an answer for this one. Keep in mind that this is a higher-end hotel, and the room rates reflect that. It seems to me like it would be 20-30 seconds well spent for the housekeeping staff to quickly turn on the TV in each room for a spot-check when they clean. I don’t think that little extra is too much to ask at a high-end hotel.
Which brings us to the moral of this story. Problems are best fixed BEFORE your customer notices and complains. If you want to improve your customer service and retention, ask yourself this question: What spot-checks can I make BEFORE my customer interacts with my product or service? What problems can I catch before it’s a problem for my customer?
Do those things…implement those procedures….and your customers will be happier.
Now, if you’ll excuse me….I guess I’m going to read one of my books.
