Ritz-Carlton Hotels are renowned for
their brilliant customer service, and I often refer to them in my presentations on customer delight and the fact that all their staff have the
authority to spend up to $2,000 to
resolve a customer’s problem without having to refer to a manager! Well, here’s a wonderful story of this
in action, and it involves Joshie The Giraffe!
When Chris Hurn’s family came back from their holiday at
the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island in Florida they unfortunately returned
without Joshie The Giraffe, Chris’s young son’s ‘best friend’! They had left
him behind, and as you can imagine this caused huge stress and problems
sleeping!
Chris explained that there was nothing to
worry about and that Joshie was having a little extra holiday and that he was
fine. His son seemed to accept this and dropped off to sleep!
That evening the Ritz-Carlton called to say
that they had found Joshie in the laundry and that he had been handed over to
the hotel’s Loss Prevention Team. Chris told them about his ‘little white lie’
about Joshie’s extra holiday and wondered if they would mind taking a picture
of Joshie on a chair by the pool to ‘prove’ it! To Chris’s relief they said
they would – so now that’s two people who could sleep sound!
A couple days later a package arrived. In it
was Joshie, along with some Ritz-Carlton-branded “goodies” including a frisbee
and a football! Also included in the package was a binder that meticulously
documented Joshie’s extended stay at the hotel!
It included pictures of Joshie sunbathing by
the pool, having a massage at the spa, meeting with other ‘cuddly friends’ and
even driving down to the beach in a buggy! It also showed Joshie working on the
security cameras making sure that other things didn’t get lost!
It’s
a great example of exceeding customer expectations and has all 6 of the
ingredients of ‘customer delight':
·
It
produces a wow reaction!
·
It
appears spontaneous or unexpected!
·
It’s
the personal touch!
·
It
makes the customer feel valued!
·
It’s
genuine… and…
·
It
creates a ‘talking point’!
·
The
Ritz-Carlton staff clearly went the extra mile for Chris’s son and I’m sure
they’ll be going back, and telling lots of others who will then tell lots more!
(it will certainly be in my next presentation!)
By: Andy Hanselman (www.customerthink.com)
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