Hey, check out what’s “new” with ProSolutions!  Over the course of 2 years (much longer than we thought), we have been working on a re-brand. This is the second re-branding experience that we have taken ourselves through in our “almost” 30-year run. These experiences give you permission, and require you, to explore the “what if’s.” What if we told our story in a different way, what if we brought in fresh new colors into our look, what if we changed our logo, what it we simplified, what if…. 

Where are you in the spectrum of being ready for your 2020 customer? Over the last few weeks I have heard so many people talking about "time." "Where did April go?" and "Didn't we just celebrate the arrival of 2018?" Although I feel much the same way, the speed in which time is passing panics me a little bit, but also motivates me. There are so many items on my "to do" list that I want to accomplish before we celebrate 2019's arrival and that gets me going! 

In your business world, what gets your attention, or gets you moving on your initiatives? Perhaps it will be the info graphic that I just read powered by Provide Support. Source: Customers 2020 Report by Walker Information. 

I was raised to care deeply about the lessons my parents instilled in me in regards to manners. They were completely inflexible about me saying "please" and "thank you."  It was expected that I would address adults with terms such as "Yes, sir," "Yes, ma'am," and "Mr." and "Mrs."  My mother also taught me how to write a proper thank you note, and to this day, I will still write three paragraphs, just like she taught me. So why do I mention all of this? Where have manners gone?  In the hospitality industry, one would hope manners matter and would get the focus it deserves with people serving people. Yet, still, we are often surprised with the poor manners displayed around us in the service industry.

"Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use." Emily Post

How customers are greeted sets the tone of any establishment. In the hospitality industry, getting too comfortable and casual with guests, too quickly, has the potential to leave a bad impression. Always remember that each guest interaction has the chance to represent or misrepresent your business or brand. 

I returned recently from a cruise where so many mistakes were made, I decided to revisit this topic. Mistakes are to be expected, I get that, but knowing how to recover an angry or frustrated customer into a loyal customer is a learned art. A Customer Focused Attitude is critical for successful service recovery. Employees need to be trained to anticipate and identify potential problems, as well as have the experience to make decisions and to deliver skillful solutions to customer problems.