In my Hotel Business Review article, “Sweating the Small Stuff to Drive Revenues” I outline the reasons why it is execution of the DETAILS that make all the difference in driving customer satisfaction and profits.  Little mistakes can have large consequences, but unfortunately, the repetitive grind of the “boring everyday” isn’t as exciting as talking about strategy or exciting new projects.  As the self-help author, Robert Collier put it, “Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.”  Think about the last few times you heard someone share a negative service experience with you.  I’d be willing to bet that they didn’t walk up and complain about the décor, or the ambience, or the niche strategy that the hotel or restaurant was following.  Rather, the large preponderance of word-of-mouth sharing is done about a detail, usually one that is poorly executed.  It is the “black dot on the white page” that people notice, not things done well, or even “as expected.” 

The “small stuff” manifests itself in many different ways – service, speed, quality, quantity, and on a more frequent basis recently, poor attitude of overworked staff. 

My wife and I just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in Italy.  We stayed at a remarkable hotel, located right in the heart of Florence, for several days.  The stay was fabulous – the rooftop terrace was incredible – the service impeccable – the food was outstanding.  I mean this was really a strong performance by this service team.  My strongest memory, however, will be the 110 mosquito bites I woke up with one morning.  I pleasantly showed them to the front desk clerk, who without batting an eye said, “Yes, they’re terrible in that room.”  That was it – all he said.  Wow!  Maybe demand is so high for that hotel, that they won’t even notice that I’ll never return, nor recommend it to anyone, including the three couples who have already asked me where to stay in Florence. 

So, concentrate on the small stuff, the details, to grow your revenues.  The problem is that the “small stuff” is not as sexy or exciting as working on things like new product introduction, or high-level strategy sessions.  But I’m convinced, and the research supports my belief, that the number one reason for customer dissatisfaction is a lapse in one of the basics of customer service.  So, next time someone tells you not to sweat the small stuff, don’t apply their suggestion to the way you practice business.

Click here to read the full article 

Cordially,  

Rich Hanks

Chairman and President

Mindshare Technologies

801-743-7580

rhanks@mshare.net