Guest Blog: The Power of One
This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Doug Sandler shares a terrific story illustrating how the power of one person can influence the customer experience. – Shep Hyken
I had an opportunity recently to speak to a group of associates at the Ritz Carlton about customer service and the importance and impact of just one single action made by just one human being. As a side note, employees at the Ritz Carlton are empowered to make decisions without checking with management if the associate feels as though the decision made will positively impact a guest’s stay. I’m not just referring to front desk or concierge staff. I’m talking about everyone on staff including housekeeping, valet, engineering and dishwashers too.
On this particular day, I had a program the night before 2 hours north of the Ritz I was visiting in Virginia. Since that program was ending late and morning traffic in the DC suburb I was visiting is notorious for ugly morning rush hour traffic I decided to make the 2 hour journey to the Ritz at 11pm, arriving around 1am. As a part of my travel preparation, I called the Ritz and told them I would be arriving late and would need an early wake up call for their 7:30am program start time (the hospitality world gets up way too early). I arrived at the hotel, checked into my room and upon entering the room, noticed there were chocolates on the dresser, a handwritten welcome note thanking me for coming late night to their hotel and a steaming cup of warm tea. It looked like the tea had literally been poured just seconds before I entered the room.
Since I am in the business of customer service, I snapped a quick picture of the tea, note and chocolates, posted a positive comment on my Facebook and Twitter pages and quickly fell asleep until the ringing of my 6:30am wake up alarm. Not having time in the morning to check my social media feeds, I glanced at them just seconds before the general manager of the hotel introduced me. I was astounded to discover I had over 18,000 views of the tea, note and chocolate picture I posted, leading me to change the entire subject matter of what I was going to talk about with the Ritz associates. While exemplary service (the original topic I was going to discuss) is essential and key in growing business, I instead, spent the next 30 minutes talking about the power of one. The one staff member who thought enough of me to think that I would be tired and weary from the long previous day’s drive and could use a warm cup of tea before going to bed. The solo act of leaving a welcome note and a handful of amazing chocolates on the dresser. These kind acts are what caused me to take the picture, post the image and promote the Ritz Carlton to nearly twenty thousand people. Free advertising.
I was wowed, amazed and impressed with the level of service I received from that one act and although the Ritz is a wonderful place to stay even without the chocolates, I can assure you I was over-the-top impressed by the act of just one associate who took it upon himself to make me feel comfortable.
What are those wow moments that you create for your customers? How can you create an experience that your customer will want to go out of their way to promote your business? What actions can you take so your customer will only think of your company the next time they want to buy? Never underestimate the power of one. That one is YOU!
Doug Sandler, aka Mr. Nice Guy, created Nice Guys Finish First in an environment where too often people accept average as the norm when it comes to customer service; and way too often companies accept average from their sales and customer service departments. Doug is a speaker, author and blogger specializing in exceeding service expectations and he can prove to you why nice guys (and girls) finish first. You can get a free download of his e-book “5 Biggest Mistakes Made By Sales and Customer Service,” by clicking here.
For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com.
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