Start with the Small Things
We in the Customer Service industry are well acquainted with the need to elevate or enhance our service to stay competitive. We are always brainstorming how we can take our product or operation to another level, to really impress our guests. It’s not just a competitive thing - it’s what we do, what we enjoy. I have spent a lot of time coming up with grand gestures and creative ideas for providing exceptional service. These things have their place, and are often useful in creating memorable impressions. But I have found that the real difference is in the small things. The small things are what make the difference between a #1 hotel and a #12 hotel.. between a 5 star restaurant and a 3 star. Great leaders teach their team to do the small things right, every moment, every day.
It’s as simple as greeting every guest with a smile at ten feet away, and a “Good Afternoon!” at five feet. Addressing them by name, and finding a way to make a small personal connection before they walk away. It’s as simple as having a freshly pressed uniform, and wearing your name tag straight. It’s as simple as smiling.
These things may seem basic, yet they are not common practice in so many organizations today. How often do you walk into an establishment and have to wait for someone to finish the task they are doing before they greet you? How often do you experience a cashier or a server that genuinely seems to be enjoying taking care of you? It’s rarer than it should be, which is why it’s truly not that hard to stand out.
You don’t have to provide a life-changing experience, you just have to be relentless with the small things.
“To a great mind, nothing is little.”
This is where leadership plays a heavy role. When you see team members with disheveled uniforms, missing name tags, or unkempt hair, it gives the impression they don’t care. We have to teach our team members the impact these things have on our customers and guests. Sometimes it’s not that they don’t care, but that they just don’t know how to care.
It’s our job to show them how a proper presentation changes the guest experience. How a crisp appearance, accessorized by a genuine smile, elevates the guest perception and creates a positive experience. It’s our job to point out how polished silverware and straightened luggage carts make a difference in the guest’s overall impression. It’s the kind of thing a customer can’t always put their finger on, but it affects how they feel. It’s the difference between sloppy and cared-for.
The small things are the way everything is placed neatly and uniform in a hotel room, staged to perfection, as if no one has ever used the room before. Menus looking brand new, clean and without a blemish. The salt and pepper shakers being full at the beginning of service, not ½ full or ¾ full. And having a team member available at all times, so you do not have to go in search of someone to answer your questions.
One of the most overlooked and underestimated “small things” is how the way you interact as a team affects the way guests feel about your establishment. Whether you realize it or not, guests are sensitive to the energy in your workplace. Our guests either feel the joy that our team members put off, or the frustration and discord. When we interact positively with each other, help one another, and have a good time together, it creates a joyful and welcoming environment for our guests. That energy sets the tone for their entire experience.
What about when a guest has an issue? Their food didn’t come out right, or something is missing in their hotel room. No matter how hard we try to avoid them, as long as we are human, mistakes will be made. It’s the follow up after the fix that makes the difference. The bare minimum is - we empathize, we apologize, we correct it. It’s effective, but it doesn’t leave an impression. But what if we cared enough to go back to the guest later and check on them? Follow up at a later time to ensure their issue was resolved, and that everything else has been spectacular since then. This is what creates an impression. This is what keeps them coming back.
It isn’t hard, and it only takes a minute, but it makes all the difference.
At the end of the day, there are a million over-the-top ideas we could come up with to elevate service, but if we aren’t doing the small things right consistently, we won’t get the results we desire. These things are simple and easy, but if turned into daily habits they can become life changing. If you want to make a big difference in your organization, start with the small things!
“Success lies in the relentless execution of the basics.”
