A little bit in customer service can go a very long way. Trust me- nowadays customers' expectations are not very high (sad, but true), and it's so easy to turn a standard interaction into one that is memorable.  As Nelson Boswell said, "Always give people more than they expect to get."  Why?  It's simple: one wow could be worth more than $10,000 in advertising. Now the examples and tips I am about to share with you are tailored to hotels, but think of these concepts in a grander scheme and how you could generally apply similar efforts into your business.  So here are our "Little 'Wows' Can Go a Long Way" for front desk agents and sales & catering managers...

It remains interesting to me the surprise I will get when a company will do an unexpected service Wow! The overall positive impact that this level of service has on their customers can completely change their business platform, as well as their customer loyalty. In the service industry, awareness is a must. You have to be fully aware and fully present to give the level of service that makes people take notice and want more ~ not to mention, tell their friends. 

How aware is your company/business in regards to service awareness?  

Lately, to my disappointment, I have not encountered near enough notable customer service exchanges. In fact, quite the opposite ~ until the other day! My daughter recently had surgery and her surgical pre-op nurse demonstrated service at it's finest. It was obvious that this person operates naturally from a place of compassion, but she was also textbook perfect with her service delivery ~ and in my world, with what I do for a living, I don't use that "perfect" word very often. 

It's fitting to discuss "giving thanks" since we are in the midst of celebrating the many things we are thankful for during this month of Thanksgiving.  In business, the #1 thing we should be thankful for is our customers, which is rather obvious since they are the reason that we are staying in business, and they help us to afford putting a turkey feast on our tables (figuratively and literally).  It's a given that we are thankful for them, but do they feel appreciated?  Before I give you tips for taking your thankfulness beyond just saying "thank you," let me tell you about an experience that we are currently having with one of our vendors (crossing my fingers that they will read this and finally choose to be different)...

As soon as you start to see your business as a reaction-making machine, you begin to make decisions very differently.  Think of it this way: A chef isn't preparing an entrée: he is, in fact, preparing a guest reaction.  The entrée is the vehicle, not the product.  The product is the customer reaction.

- Jon Taffer, Raise the Bar