Do you know what your customers want? It might sound absurd, but it’s a legitimate question and one that we often try to avoid due to the complexity thereof. Not one customer expects exactly the same and not one establishment offers exactly the same.
If your customers are as well educated as the customers I’ve encountered the last couple of months, you should know that they expect certain standards from certain destinations. It comes down to you, as the owner, to know the definition of your establishment’s standards. If you market yourself as a four star hotel, your customers expect the service of a four star hotel. The word is a brand promise in itself, which is why we need to be very careful with our promises to our customers. We can’t promise and not act on it. We need to walk the talk.
Working in the industry gives you the opportunity to identify certain customer expectations and I’ve jotted a few down:
What do customers expect?
- A well designed website, which is easy to navigate on any device (including mobile devices).
- The option of booking online.
- Professional telephonic, web and face-to-face communication.
- It would be really special to receive some kind of welcome gift – gifts for some reason always makes me feel more at home. This could be done at a 3 star guesthouse too, you know? It might even be used as a USP (Unique Selling Point). Even just a flower from your garden in the room is special.
- Special treatment, even though I am the tenth guest you’ve booked in today.
- A smile.
- It would be super if you asked how my day was. I might just go ahead and share a bit of myself with you, giving you more information for your database on customer demographics.
- A clean and neat room without any odours.
- Ample lighting.
- Proper communication on when, where and at what time dinner and breakfast is.
- It would be special to receive a personalized letter on my bed saying that you hope I will enjoy my stay and that I am welcome to call reception anytime if I need anything. Maybe also state that there is a bottle of water in the bar fridge. (I don’t know what is where in the room, you know…)
- Clean, fresh linen without stains. The same goes for the curtains and the carpets in the room.
- No debris in the bathroom or any chipped tiles or stains in the bath or shower.
- To be treated as if I am one of your best friends whom you haven’t seen in ages (except for the non-stop talking). How would you treat that person? You’d go out of your way to make him or her feel comfortable, right? Well, that’s how you should treat every customer walking into your establishment.
- Be knowledgeable about the area and your industry. If I rather want to have dinner at a fancy restaurant tonight, which one would you recommend?
- I expect to feel safe. So does my car.
- I expect you to be attentive and be willing to assist me with anything I need assistance in.
- I expect you to ask me if there is anything I need.
- But, I also expect you to give me space. Don’t be in my face the whole time. Read my body language. If I put my knife and fork next to each other, it means I’m done with breakfast. (I know – some customers never learned those basic manners, but they are not many.) If I am standing around in the foyer, my taxi is most probably late. Ask if you could call them for me. Be attentive to my needs all the time and I might be less attentive to the negatives next time.
Bad, inconsistent service equals horrible customers. I can tell you that much. Good, consistent service: loyal customers and friends for life.
[author image=”http://d13pix9kaak6wt.cloudfront.net/background/users/r/e/n/renatetravel_1399963065_74.jpg” ]Tourism Tattler correspondent Renate de Villiers is a young entrepreneur who recently started the company, Travelling Mystery Guest, assisting travel destinations to walk the talk. Offering customer journey evaluations, workshops and social media marketing training, Renate is sure to become part of many travel destination families in South Africa. www.travellingmystery.co.za[/author]
