There are so many important tasks when it comes to perfecting the guest experience. With so many choices out there in lodging and the rise of AirBnb, there is nothing more crucial than perfecting the guest experience from start to finish, and then beyond. I want to relay one experience I had with a property involving the legendary actor Christopher Walken.
Mr. Walken was staying at the property. That is a big deal for anyone! I've met plenty of celebrities, but he is in a class almost all by himself. He would head up to the concierge level and eat and read the paper. I had a few short conversations and shook his hand every day as I offered my services from my department. A very kind, humble and unassuming man.
The property holds a very well received and highly decorated restaurant. I did an easy Google search and found in an interview where Mr. Walken had spoken about a favorite dish. Nothing extravagant, as he is a simple eater. It was a fish dish with two easy sides. Anyone could make this, so for a highly rated kitchen this was an incredibly easy undertaking.
I printed it out and brought it to the attention of the G.M. as he was speaking to the head chef. The G.M. paid me a nice compliment on initiative. I left thrilled that I had done great, and it was recognized. I think we can guess where this is headed.
Nowhere.
I was pretty excited as I went in to ask the chef how the meal had gone. With a casual nonchalance, he replied "neh...we didn't do it." Now, there are a myriad of reasons why this may not of happened which I was not privy to, sure. But in this case, they just didn't want to do it.
The impression this act could have made on a person could have been huge. I know he would have been surprised if we prepared it for him. Of course there is always the "what if he didn't like it", or "what if he didn't want it." Okay, sure. That may have occurred. But he still would have been surprised that we took the time.
No attempt was even made. If you won't attempt greatness for this person, who will you? Does any standard guest stand a chance?
Perfecting the guest experience means doing what the others don't. It's about reacting to what the others don't even notice.
CASE IN POINT.
At another property, one of the bellman communicated to me that the man he had just checked in, had a Ramones monogrammed wallet. The Ramones are a legendary punk-rock band and are beloved. We went to Virgin Megastore and picked up a copy of End of The Century, The Story Of The Ramones on DVD. We had it gift wrapped and placed in his room along with a hand written card thanking him for staying with us along with my business card.
He came down later that night and went CRAZY. He couldn't believe we had done that! He had no idea how we even knew what a huge fan he was. He was so incredibly blown away, he almost didn't know what to say. We talked about The Ramones for awhile and he went up to his room but not before he asked how to contact the G.M. so he could laud our performance. My staff and I built a great relationship with this guest and after that one stay, we knew him, he knew us and it was instant recognition.
That's what it takes. If that happened to me, there is nothing that would keep me from that property. Yes, it's easy to read a preference and toss an extra razor or lotion in a room. Properties need to look into their guest services and guest relations programs and tie them in. We need to be better.
If you won't do it for Christopher Walken, who will you do it for?
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