’Tis the season for customer service

Debbie Jacob

’TIS THE season to be jolly. I hope everyone working in the service industry remembers that. Your attitude can make someone’s day and can ensure some semblance of job security or it can drive customers away. You would be surprised how easy it is to lose customer support because of your attitude. Remember, people can always take their business elsewhere.

Good service always impresses me, but the type of service I experienced on a recent trip to Miami surprised me and showed me what the future of customer service looks like.

When the Apple iPhone store opened for business in Miami, all the employees applauded customers walking in the door. Call that over the top, but it sure felt good.

Restaurants felt warm and welcoming. Waiters showed interest in patrons, asked questions about where they were from if they didn’t recognise them as regular patrons. They assured customers got prompt, good service with a smile.

Employees in my hotel were exceptionally friendly and helpful. The hotel staff guided customers who needed help through the self-check-in process. Two rows with a total of six computers assured quick and efficient service. No formal desks or barriers separated guests from staff.

An Ipod controlled everything in the hotel rooms from the TV to the blinds, linen drop curtains, lights and alarm. Patrons could change the colour of the rooms’ lights with various hues of purple, green, pink, blue and yellow. I became fascinated with how light affects ambiance and affects mood.

There was always some technology to play with in this room, always something to explore. Rooms felt cozy – small, but efficient. On my desk next to the bed I found a small blank notebook with a cover that read, “Great fiction, works of art or rude poems. They all start here.”

The shower had natural light that filtered through frosted glass for privacy and energy efficiency. During the day, you never need to turn a light on in the bathroom. That was one of the many functional tributes to saving the environment.

At the door, a sign by the master light switch reminded patrons to turn off lights and save the environment. Opting out of cleaning your room every day and saving your towels for at least two days at a time meant the hotel donated three euros to its African charity on your behalf.

This hotel made patrons feel like important contributors to community service and environmental protection.

Until I stayed at this hotel, I thought friendliness and competency were enough to qualify for good public service. Now I feel there’s a new symbiotic relationship between staff and customers that exceptionally efficient and creative business places use. Technology can play an important role in customer service.

Everything felt perfect. I told myself I could return to Miami just to stay in this hotel. And then it happened. One incident made me change my mind about four days of great service.

The night before I had to leave, I asked two employees standing together if the hotel could freeze the ice pack I needed to keep my glaucoma medicine cold on the way back home. Simultaneously, one said no, the other said yes. They went with the yes.

The next morning, I brought the ice pack to the restaurant. I didn’t see the person who told me I could freeze it. The person who rejected the idea the day before stood next to the friendliest employee I had met during my stay. I asked about the ice pack, and my favourite employee said, “No, the hotel can’t do that.” He changed his mind and said, “OK. Since you were told that we’ll take it, but just know it’s not our policy and we can’t do this again.”

Really? You couldn’t accommodate me to ensure that the medication I need to save my eyesight reaches home safely? I never had this problem in other US hotels.

In the blink of an eye, a hotel that seemed perfect got written off my list. It only takes one bad incident to write off a business. When it came to good service, these employees had been programmed like the lights and blinds in my room, but they didn’t know how to think outside of the box and make an important, non-scripted decision. All their previous kindness and good cheer couldn’t make up for making me care my eye care didn’t matter.

This holiday, think about what good service means. Make smart and caring choices.