A Cold Day in Hotel Hell
Last week I spent three days at the Hilton in Milwaukee attending the American Society for Quality's 60th Anniversary Conference. When I flew in, it was cold and rainy. I got right into my room, dropped my stuff, turned on the heat in the chilly room and made a dash for the exhibit hall to setup our booth.When I got back from setting up, the room was still cold and cold air was blowing out of the vent. I called maintenance.
Fix it Fast!
They came promptly, fiddled with the cold water valve and got a trickle of heat flowing and proclaimed the heat fixed. When I woke up the next morning huddled under my blanket, it was cold again. Whatever they fixed, unfixed itself.
I reported the problem that morning before I went to the exhibit booth. That evening when I got back, it was still blowing cold air. So, I popped the cover off the vent and turned off the power. The fan died and within a half an hour the temperature in the room rose three degrees. Not warm, but not arctic either.
Three's a Charm
The next morning, I reported that neither of the two previous repair calls had solved my problem. When I came back from exhibiting that evening, there was a new thermostat on the wall and a refreshing warmth to the room.
The next morning, my bill for my stay was under the door, but there wasn't any discount for my frigid room. I didn't want to have to nag Hilton for some compensation, but I went to the front desk and asked the staff what they could do for me. They discounted the room by $30/night or a total of $90.
Repeat Repairs
Maybe this has happened to you or your customers: the first repair doesn't fix the problem, so you have to do it again. Here's what customers want:
Fix it right the first time!
If they'd have gotten it fixed the second time, you probably wouldn't be reading this.
Make it right!
If you can't fix it right the first time, then make it right.
Give customers something for their lost time and effort, but don't make them ask for it.
If Hilton's staff would have recognized that they'd inconvenienced me twice and given me $30/night off my hotel room, you probably wouldn't be reading this.
The thermostat cost me at least an hour of my time, when I should have been meeting with prospects. It cost me some mental energy that I should have devoted to prospects.
It cost Hilton three repair calls and three front desk calls and $90 in lost revenue. The total was probably several hundred dollars. Plus I'm telling you about my woes and I'm going to look for alternatives when I book my next hotel room. That means they've lost my future revenue as well.
mailto:knowwareman@mindspring.com
http://www.qimacros.com
2253 S. Oneida St, Ste D
Denver, CO 80224
303-756-9144 (888) 468-1537
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home