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  Service Stars

Hotel staff that did whatever it took from reservation to checkout to make guests’ stay pleasant

Satisfactory customer service is seldom memorable. What is memorable is poor service and service that goes the extra mile. Sometimes it only takes a small gesture to change a routine customer service experience into one we will recall months later, we will tell others about and will cause us to become repeat customers. Those who do those little extras are truly Service Stars.

Just before Christmas, we spent a few days in Jasper National Park for a family ski vacation.  We enjoyed our stay at Pyramid Lake Resort:  wonderful location, outstanding views of the mountains from every room, well appointed rooms, comfortable beds.  All the “big” things were in place.

What made the experience stand out were the small things; the way the staff treated their guests.  As one desk clerk told me, “Our job is to satisfy customers.”  These proved to be more than just words.  From reservation to checkout, staff was committed to making our stay pleasant.

The reservations operator was friendly.  She offered information and advice on how to reduce our costs and make the most of our stay.  At check in, the clerk made us feel genuinely welcome.  He pointed out what the resort had to offer and the hours of operation.

Before leaving for our first day of skiing, I stopped at the desk to ask that our daughter,  her husband and their children, who were arriving later that day, be assigned to a room near ours.  The clerk had already anticipated this and had put them in a room two doors from ours. 

The next day, I overloaded the circuit and blew a fuse. All it took was a phone call to the front desk, and it was quickly corrected…although apparently not quickly enough for the desk clerk.  A few minutes after I had contacted him, he called to see if we had electricity.  When he discovered we were still without power, he offered to contact the maintenance man again.  Within minutes of this call, the lights were on.  Moments later, the maintenance man knocked at the door to check that everything was working”  A few minutes later, the desk clerk called again to ensure everything was as it should be.

I had second encounter with the maintenance man.  As I was walking up the roadway to our building with a pair of skis on each shoulder, he stopped to offer me a ride to our room in his golf cart.

Based on this series of small experiences of care and service, I plan to return to Pyramid Lake Resort on future visits to Jasper National Park.

 

Nelson Scott offers several Customer Service Presentations, including Customer Service MAGIC: Changing Complainers into Loyal Customers; What Your Mother Taught You About Customer Service and other Training Resources developed by Service Quality Institute and the Vital Learning Corporation.

 

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© Nelson Scott.  All rights reserved.

A professional trainer, speaker, and consultant since 1995, Nelson Scott works with organizations that are committed to making the right hiring decisions, developing and retaining productive staff, and strengthening relationships with customers.  Learn more by visiting www.seaconsultingonline.com or e-mailing nmscott@telus.net

 

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