I hate it when people like me go on about poor service they've received and then get all sanctimonious about customer service.  I remember one speaker complaining at a management programme I was on.  He complained endlessly in his session about his travel experience in getting there and how the airline "really didn't get" customer service in the 21st century and how they would fail to survive etc.  We just thought he was a whinger and would have preferred that the airline had lost him rather than his luggage. 

However, I have had a couple contrasting experiences lately that got me thinking.  I went to Dunedin to see my daughter in her student habitat.  I stayed in a motel called 858 George St, which is located at...  The owners were great, nothing was too much trouble, the rooms were warm, modern and well-appointed. They were so nice that my daughter decided to have a break from her damp cold flat.  I asked for a rollaway, and instead they brought a full bed upstairs for her (at no extra charge).  They provided wireless Internet access - at no extra charge.  It was a great experience, and I wrote a glowing review on TripAdvisor.com, which is where I found them in the first place.  There's no catch to this story, I really was impressed, and it cost just $120 a night. Fantastic value.

The following weekend my wife and I had a getaway at a beautifully restored hotel with a great view of the Auckland harbour.  The rooms were small (as they were back in the day), but very nicely done. And that's where it stopped.  Actually it was like being in an old ocean liner - tiny room, impossibly hot and the constant sound of a massive engine.  What we really noticed (because we were tuned into it by then) was the corners they cut: no extra pillows, no extra towels, one soap, etc.  We called reception about something, and there was no answer, not even voice mail. This was a basic room, and it cost $260 for the night. Not fantastic value.

OK, that's it for the whinge, and we had a great time anyway.

Unlike the speaker I mentioned at the start, I don't think the business will fail because it treated us badly.  In fact, it probably won't fail at all because it has a great location, a magnificent facade and a stunning lobby.  But it won't do as well as it could because it will get few return customers and poor reviews.

All that is obvious.  The thing that struck me, as it has in the past, is how often businesses fail to exploit a really great advantage.  We have a standing rule about restaurants: the better the view, the worse the food. It's as if they think they've done all the hard work by scoring the location, and after that it's money for jam (and cheap jam at that).

Two points: first, understand which part of the experience matters most to your customer.  Dunedin location: average.  Customer experience: great.  Result: 5/5 rating on TripAdvisor. Seaside hotel location: great.  Customer experience: disappointing.  Result: no rating on TripAdvisor. 

Second point: having worked out what's important to the customer, pay very close attention to all aspects of the value.  What Sally and Michael in Dunedin understand is that the experience is what brings people back, and they work really hard at that. 

Question: which part of their experience with you does your customer value the most? And how can you improve it?

Mike Ashby

30 September 2008