The big buzz these days is to talk all about the customer Experience. It is pass'e to use the term customer service and all the rage to sing the praises of the customer's experience. I am all for delivering memorable and pleasurable experiences, especially in the hospitality industry. I have been advocating being a "Memory Maker" for many years. It is just that no matter what you call it, the route to the customer's experience comes through the employee. If we only focus on the customers and do not give equal focus to the employees, we do not have a prayer of delivering the experience we are striving for or promising in our branding and advertising.

In order to deliver a great experience, we need to tell the truth about the darker, shadowy side of service. We need to be able to have an open and continuous dialogue with our employees about the core issues that interacting with masses of people on a daily basis bring to the surface. When you break it down to its essence, the experience people walk away with is about their feelings and these feelings are esoteric in nature. Here are two ideas to help you ...