Business Losers

It surprises me how organizations don’t understand that the small things can make a difference and are not always very expensive. This week I was booked into a hotel for one night in Lancashire England. I phoned up the hotel to check which was the closest railway station and how I could get to the hotel.

The phone rang and the infamous voice recording asking me to press 1 for reception, 2 for restaurant bookings and 3 for central bookings. I pressed one and listened to it ring and ring. Eventually someone picked up the phone and put it down again. I rang again and pressed 1. This time it just rang endlessly. I put the phone down and looked on Google. Exactly the same time I spent on the hotel trying to phone them, it took me to find another hotel and be on the phone to them. Another minute later I had a booking at the new hotel.

Not only did the hotel lose a customer but I spoke at a conference and told a group of businesses leaders about my experience with the hotel.

Why is it that a simple thing like answering the phone is such a major issue? Why is it that restaurants decide to close their kitchens at 8pm. Why do retail shops have staff that don’t want to talk to customers or only want to work in their areas? Why do telephone companies not want to make it easier to do business with them?

All of the above have been personal experiences in the last month. Every one would have brought in more revenue to their business for doing something that costs them nothing but generated more profit. What went wrong? Not being prepared to listen. Putting procedure above all else. Being inward facing.

Most of all not being ‘solution’ focused.

Conversely, on Sunday we went to buy a new car and eventually decided on a particular one. It was the last one they had until September. We told the sales rep we would check the finances and if there was a problem get back to him in an hour. All was well and so the next morning we phoned to ask what he wanted from us next?

Another sales man had sold the car!! I was annoyed. We went up and I said that I was annoyed. The sales man immediately apologized and then said, “There are no issues, there are only solutions. We need to sort out yours for you” and he went on to work with us to find a solution that ended up being better for us and for him.

He listened and instead of hiding behind processes and rules, he looked for solutions.

This months losers:
Stirk House Hotel and Restaurant – Lancashire
O2 – UK
Debenhams – Meadow Hall Sheffield