server

My wife and I recently stayed at a nationally affiliated “luxury” hotel in Miami and learned a lot about customer service…the hard way. Being Okay with Blown Expectations: Staying at a nice hotel ($350+/night) and being willing to pay $25/person for breakfast, you’d naturally have certain expectations. Our first morning, we grabbed the USA Today (because I love the pretty pictures) and headed down to eat. We checked out the buffet and immediately knew something wasn’t right. It was the closest thing I’ve seen to airplane food (coach) outside of an airport. Runny, sheet pan, powdered eggs. Paper-thin, translucent bacon. Danishes from Sam’s Club. Being hungry and not having a good alternative close by, we ordered off the menu. It was awful. When we questioned the waiter about the quality of the food, he said, “Sorry you don’t like it,” and proceeded to hand us our hefty bill with 18% gratuity included (more on this later). It was easy to infer that the waiter, restaurant manager, and hotel didn’t give two shits about the customer. They were fine serving terrible food at premium prices. Do your customers get value for their dollar and come back for more? Or are you constantly hunting for fresh meat? At a minimum, are you being proactive about your reputation , or are you letting customers set it for you? Gratuity Included: Everything at the hotel had a non-negotiable gratuity added to the bill. When I say everything, I literally mean everything. Food, drinks, activities, whatever. Gratuity allows the client to show appreciation for the level of service received. Under normal circumstances, the interests of the server and the customer are aligned. When gratuity is automatically added, those incentives disappear. Why should the server care that the food is terrible? Why should they make sure to refill the water or deliver good service in any way? They’re getting the same monetary incentive either way. Do your incentives actually work against you? Examine what behaviors are rewarded and where interests are aligned. Employee Incompetence + Arrogance: We were notified that we’d be moving rooms for the second time in the middle of our stay. The first time, we didn’t understand, but we got our new room keys and hauled our luggage across the hotel. The second time, they asked us to move out of our room, store our luggage and come back later to retrieve our room keys. What? We were being evicted from our room and forced to wait around the hotel in the middle of the day before getting a new room? I walked to the front desk to ask why I was in this circumstance. The woman working the counter said, “Because we have you in a different room.” No kidding. I got that. I was asking why. She explained that there was a scheduling “mix up.” This was ridiculous. I asked why their scheduling issues were my fault. She smiled and said, “Now sir, we have to make room for our new guests,” then turned to talk to the valet who was looking for change. I felt like I was in the twilight zone. Not only was I being treated like crap, she acted like it was my fault. Do you use confusion and double-talk to avoid taking the blame? What impact does it have on your customers? Dirty Floors and More: There are only a few basics that hotels really need to have. Cleanliness is one. Because of the awesome scheduling system, I had the pleasure of sampling three different rooms. All three had dirty floors. When I say dirty, I’m not talking about a little dust here and there. After walking to the bathroom and back, I could make a little pile of crunchies that accumulated on my feet. All three showers had a noticeable amount of junk in the corners. Every bathroom had hair and particles around the toilets. Are there noticeable defects in your business that you just choose to ignore? If so, why don’t you care? Your customers certainly do. “I’m Not the Real Concierge”: Before arriving in Miami, a stand-up paddle boarding excursion was planned for some of the women in our group. On the day of the event, my wife checked in with the concierge to get details. The concierge looked up the reservation, acknowledged it had been made, and then explained that she’d call the room with details no later than 9:30 a.m. At 10:15 a.m., a woman left a message stating that there was no pre-arranged excursion, but that the group could rent on their own. Oh, and just an FYI, she explained that she wasn’t the “real concierge.” I had never heard of a hotel with fake concierges. Interesting concept. Maybe the hotel is a trendsetter. Do you and your employees follow through? If there’s an issue, do they try to deflect responsibility? Spa Experience: One of the female members of our group decided to indulge in what the hotel literature described as “complete relaxation.” It was a 30-minute massage followed by a pedicure for $60. She entered the spa expecting an inviting and relaxing environment, perhaps with a variety of pools to relax in after the treatments. Wrong. Instead, she walked in to find the staff watching a small TV that was blaring reruns of Two and a Half Men (no joke), abrupt service, and a lackluster rubdown. To top it off, the pedicure consisted of a bucket of warm water and a wooden bench. Does your marketing promise things you can’t or won’t deliver? Blank Management: At a certain point, the amount of ridiculous added up to an unbearable level, and I asked to speak with the manager. I was told there was no “manager,” but that I could speak with the “head of operations.” Semantics aside, the man who appeared looked and acted very much in charge. He smiled and said, “How can I help you?” as he looked over my shoulder, apparently very distracted by the nothing that was happening behind me. I calmly explained the situations as his eyes darted all over the room, clearly conveying his lack of interest in my plight. At the end of my spiel, he said, “I’m sorry to hear that,” and stared blankly back at me. That was it…a half-assed sorry was all that my situation needed. Dumbfounded, I just stared back at him until he said, “Well if there’s nothing else, I need to tend to other customers.” Leadership is top-down. Why should other employees care if management doesn’t care? In fact, they probably learned their indifference from the manager. Extras: I didn’t have room to tell you about the hotel trying to overcharge everyone, our friends’ toilet flooding their entire room only moments after check-in, being asked to pay for dinner before being served our main courses, or having infomercials blasted through the pool-side sound system. There’s just not enough space. But I actually feel blessed by my experience. At least now I know what terrible looks, smells and feels like. Brent Beshore is a serial entrepreneur who owns AdVentures (#28 on 2011 Inc. 500), blogs on entrepreneurship , and is involved in a number of startups including a digital talent agency. Read more about Brent here .