Comments

This happened to me over the summer at a Hampton Inn in Chicago when I booked through Expedia. And yes I am an HHonors member (a former Platinum one at that).

When I told my friend at Expedia the story, they were surprised. Apparently hotels aren't supposed to do that.

Hilton's loss as I no longer immediately search for Hilton properties exclusively when I am on a travel site. In fact I choose a different luxury hotel this past weekend when I normally would have chosen a Hilton.

(Ironically, that hotel proceeded to screw up my reservation...)

Posted by James V. Reagan at December 18, 2007 2:53 PM

Believe it or not, this happened with my company with a development firm we were working with. They acquired a large contract with a firm and basically told us to go find some help somewhere else - letting us know that we weren't paying as much as the other company.

Terrible. They agreed to the lower rate due to our long term relationship. They could have kept us, I was willing to pay more. Now they're losing us... hope all goes well with the new client.

Posted by Douglas Karr at December 18, 2007 5:17 PM

It's over. Marriott, Hilton, Hertz...even a 1k on United means nothing anymore. I used to wear the loyal customer like a badge. I've spent $400 a night in downtown ORD before. But now? They have no loyalty to me- why should I to them. The proofs in how I'm treated in the lobby...and it appears were all in the midst of the downturn in "loyaly programs."
Well done Hilton and Marriott and...marketing dollars well spent.

Posted by Scott Swift at December 18, 2007 6:24 PM

In most marketing departments, "loyalty" = "customers are willing to be bribed," and "customer relationship management" is something delegated to computers.

What do you want your customer to think about ... today's transaction or your long term history together?

Posted by Steve Yastrow at December 18, 2007 7:01 PM

Steve - Why do organisations make customer care so complicated? Give the power to the front line staff – they know how to deal with customers. Give front liners discretion to solve customer problems; give them the budget; give them freedom from petty rules (invented by out of touch managers) that are designed to make front line jobs more difficult. Guess what? - Front liners really do know how to do this stuff well. They don't need unnecessary managers checking up on them. The reasons we get pathetic customer care such as the c**p you mention Steve is that organisations vest the power in the wrong part of the organisation. Take it away from middle managers and give it to front line staff then you will see real customer care – it’s a no brainer. Happy Christmas to you Steve and to all at TP by the way from li’l ol’ England :- )

Posted by Trevor Gay at December 18, 2007 7:25 PM

Unfortunately, a company can have an elaborate loyalty program and have a clueless frontline staff. (You've probably already already noted that Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton have no need to deposit "miles" in anyone's accounts.) Leonardo and I are writing a book on what we've learned enhancing the systems for the Ritz that were initially created by his legendary partner Horst Schulze, and applying them to non-five star businesses as well (i work in rock'n'roll!) and we'll be happy to share--just let me know!

Posted by Micah Solomon at December 18, 2007 8:43 PM

OMG, you all just uncorked one for me.

I'm a "Diamond" member with Hilton and "Gold" member with Marriott, Premier with United and Gold with American.
The very last time I reserved with Hilton (night after Thanksgiving..my wife and I trying to get away...locally) I got a room where five or six things needed fixing. I gave a list to the front desk and she said with a smart-assed smile and I quote, "Thanks for the inspection." Did I say I'm a Diamond member? I said nothing about this because I didn't want to sound like a spoiled brat, which it does sound like given my first-hand experiences in other countries where people do not have what we do in the US.
Still, I was annoyed. I stayed at Doubletree in NYC a couple of years ago and couldn't get a light bulb replaced after asking a few times. I replaced it myself. The housekeepers probably didn't notice. During the same visit the Valet staff member at same Doubletree said there were staff cutbacks to save money. Meanwhile, customers waited endlessly for their cars. Not sure why anyone would drive in NYC in the first place, but that's not my point. A few other Hilton properties have screwed up the billing for multiple stays with my project teams. One time one front-desk staff member at a Residence Inn in North Carolina openly blamed me for a problem. I complained about the staff member. The manager sent me a nice basket of fruit as an apology. Sigh....
It's as Mr. Gay and Ms. Solomon put it, front-line staff are not empowered to make decisions to take care of loyal customers. I'll bet there is no real training of staff and the managers are rated based on occupancy and revenue per property.
Anytime they ask me to fill out a survey, I take the time for sure. I have the lowest of expectations from airlines so I'm never disappointed.

I wonder if leaders in the transportation and hospitality industries are asking the "Have You?" questions...of themselves.
Based on my experiences, they are not.

Posted by Doug Mitchell at December 18, 2007 9:34 PM

I thought "hotwire" was Paris Hilton's code name when she club-hopped. Turned out to be a post about poor customer service. Thanks a lot Steve!

The fish rots from the head down. Tough to empower and hold people accountable when you are clueless yourself. The dearth of leadership in hospitality can only tighten the death spiral in the industry. I hand out my business card when I get that rare front desk supervisor that does it right in spite of everything around him. The hotel will not notice as their best people flee. The downside is I now have to stay at a different hotel in Atlanta.

Posted by David Porter at December 18, 2007 10:08 PM

yes, on a flight into Chicago MDW delayed and seeing a flight to O'Hare 2 hours before, I requested a standby seat, and the red coat gave me a huge sneer and "not on a ticket bought at Travelocity, buddy"...never bothered to check my lifetime status with the airline ...3 million miles...

Posted by vinnie mirchandani at December 18, 2007 11:01 PM

It's as absurd as loving your mother less when she makes you a snack than when she makes a big Sunday dinner.

Posted by Steve Yastrow at December 18, 2007 11:44 PM

Well, looks like the frontline hospitality staff at Hilton Hotels present themselves as private equity deal-makers to their customers…maybe a post-BLACKSTONE acquisition syndrome???

Well, this is what happens when you ask a Doctor to run a barber-shop!!! God Bless Corporate America!!!

Posted by Sriram at December 18, 2007 11:57 PM

Some random thoughts....

I wonder if anyone with these disappointing experiences has stopped using the hotels / airlines in question?

If the answer is "no - I still use them", then there is no point whinging about their customer service.

I personnally get annoyed just about every retail experience I have buying electronic goods. Reality is that all the places are the same and they are all still making good money? Why would they change?

Would I swap if I could find somewhere that gives a bit better customer service? Maybe, depends on price and convenience.

Would you go to another hotel because of your recent bad experience? Maybe, probably not.

Are there opportunities there for the astute amongst us? Maybe, but ultimately it comes down to getting the right people - and if any of you have been looking lately, they don't tend to grow on trees.

Not very cut and dried.

Posted by Peter at December 19, 2007 2:20 AM

Just had a good experience with a major name hotel here in the UK. I was supposed to be heading to Liverpool today for a couple of days off before the Christmas rush (I'm a retail manager in my day job) to take in the sights. I was also going to be checking the city out before the City Of Culture status comes in for 2008 with a view to writing one or more travel features for my other job (yep, journalist too...). Booking the hotel last week couldn't have been easier online and the one or two facts I need to check were quickly and cheerily handled by the front desk when I called there before making the booking.

Unfortunately, my girlfriend's mother was rushed into hospital yesterday afternoon and the trip has had to be pulled. I rang the front desk once more, they transferred me to the reservations line and the cancellation was handled well with good grace and without any problems or charge to my card.

Step forward Crowne Plaza, Liverpool - we will be rescheduling the trip and booking in once more. By the way, the journalism angle wasn't mentioned at all during the conversations with the hotel or when I booked online...

It was a refreshing experience, especially after being turned away by three independently owned hotels in Scotland recently - in one night! One known of these was known to me as being quite spacious yet it claimed to have no rooms available even though there were only four cars in the car park (including mine). I won't be back to any of those and won't be recommending them either once the finished articles have been written.

One thing I always remember from a 1970's book entitled Dairy Of A Rock & Roll Star was a comment by Mott The Hoople singer Ian Hunter. He'd spotted a picture in a hotel in LA of a guy with long hair and a generally unkempt appearance. The caption under the picture read 'Be careful. This guy may have just sold a million records...'

Posted by Keith Rickaby at December 19, 2007 5:57 AM

What surprises me is that you blog about this situation as if it is an exception.
A few months ago I experienced the opposite situation. Where I come from, THAT is an exception. So I blogged about it here:
http://www.reply-mc.com/2007/09/02/no-passion-no-excellence/
It's kind of related...
Kind regards,
Luc.

Posted by Luc Galoppin at December 19, 2007 6:56 AM

Good observations by Peter.
I do go to other places from time to time. But if we "loyal" customers just whine on blogs and stomp off, are they going to get any better? No. 80 percent of the time, my stay is just fine. It's that other 20 percent that I choose to remember and whine about. That's probably natural. It's always easier to complain than praise.
I think it's it up to the customers to make businesses better and say something to someone and follow up, which I do.

Posted by Doug Mitchell at December 19, 2007 8:02 AM

Just a thought and I'm in a contrarian mood today so I'll add a touch of controversy here... Has anyone thought that maybe the company really does value your business and would be genuinely appalled if they knew what had happened? And / or that maybe it was a staffer (front liners not being as unfailingly great and all-knowing as some would have it) who ignored all her training, coaching, mentoring, teaching and instruction - or who maybe was having a bad day herself - and simply did the wrong thing. And went home thinking, "Sod it, I had a bad day there and I must and will do better tomorrow."

Now, we can all say that she should have known better, could have apologised, the company shouldn't be employing people who occasionally have bad days etc etc. But come on folks: a) we're talking about people here; and b) no one actually died, did they?

And doesn't loyalty cut both ways: if you're happy to take the deal from Hilton, shouldn't you constructively get back to them about isolated service failures before blubbering on about it on a blog? And if you have contacted them, will you post their response?

Posted by Mark JF at December 19, 2007 9:14 AM

Well said, Mark. I'll add to the contrarian viewpoint. I am a Diamond Member with Hilton Rewards. Traveling on business (someone else pays) they're choice number one and I expect my points (and excellent treatment though there are the occasional lapses). Traveling on leisure, I generally make my decisions based upon price with no expectations of loyalty rewards (I show little loyalty myself in these decisions). My belief-- unsubstantiated, I admit--is that had a non-Hilton property (maybe a Ritz Carlton) shown up at bargain rates on Hotwire, most if not all of us would be in the cab and on our way. My concern with Steve's recount is with the service he encountered. First, verbiage and presentation could obviously have been improved. Second, wouldn't it be nice if the situation could have been handled situationally? An obviously loyal customer + hmmmmm.....what difference do 90 loyalty points make in the long run = "gee, Mr. Yastrow, we don't usually but let me do this just for you."

Posted by Ed Di Gangi at December 19, 2007 9:33 AM

Loyal, long-time, one-time, "bought on the cheap." All comes down to: If you treat the customer like a walking wallet...that's all they will ever be (and that wallet will just keep on walking away...)

Posted by Mary Schmidt at December 19, 2007 10:39 AM

Loyalty begets loyalty. Yes, the 'safe' choice when you look at it as a transaction is to fill the other guy's bag with shredded newspaper; that way, if the other guy gives you newspaper instead of the goods, you didn't lose, and if they didn't cheat, you win!

Of course, the smart choice is for both sides, even in a transaction, to provide value. But then, that transaction will just become part of a relationship, right?

Loyalty, trust, reputation: they take time and diligence to build. They take a single misstep to damage or destroy.

Yes, maybe these are isolated cases of front-line folks' mistakes. But in the end, who's ultimately responsible? Isn't it the people who hire, train, and manage them?

If these are isolated incidents, the companies in question aren't in serious trouble (although they're still in trouble to some degree.)

If they're not isolated incidents, these companies will know it soon enough . . .

Posted by Joel D Canfield at December 19, 2007 12:14 PM

I used to be a "preferred" customer ( gold, silver, plutonium, etc.) with several airlines, car rental companies, and many hotels. Several years ago I chucked it all and started going after the best deals I could find. At least if I was going to be abused and disappointed I was not going to pay a lot for it. The money I save goes to pay for my golf trips (which I also buy as inexpensively as possible).

Posted by Jim Outland at December 19, 2007 4:34 PM

I have over 1 million points with Hilton over the past 18 months - you are dead on.

So many firms make rules to deal with an exception (in this case the guy who always goes cheap) and inadvertently punish their best customers.

A company should make rules that allow everyone to be treated well - and simply accept that a few clever folks will slide by. I believe a 'punishment' mentality ultimately costs far more than a 'generous' approach.

Posted by Chuck at December 19, 2007 5:11 PM

Hi Mark – Merry Christmas my friend! You ask - ‘And doesn't loyalty cut both ways?’ - I understand your question but my answer is definitely NO. Customers are recipients. Why does the customer have ANY responsibility I think that gives the provider a ‘cop out’ if things go wrong. The provider has ALL the responsibility in my opinion for delivery. Front liners know all the answers. In the NHS for instance it is nurses and doctors on the front line who know what patients want - not the manager locked away in his/her office busily writing boring unintelligible reports that no one else reads and add NO VALUE whatsoever to the patient expereince. I know I will be in a massive minority here but hey – why should I change the habit of a lifetime? :-)

Posted by Trevor Gay at December 19, 2007 8:00 PM

But by using Priceline you yourself opted for a transaction purchase (a cheap hotel room as commodity) and not a relationship ... and you got what you paid for.

Posted by Jeffrey at December 19, 2007 8:23 PM

Quit whining, like Peter said.

Corporate America has all of us by the short and curlies and have conditioned us like lab monkeys. We have to stay on the telephone for 30 minutes while they play absolutely awful music that totally depresses and at the same time raises the stress level and tell us how much we are important and to stay or we'll lose our place in line.

This example will net it out. $39.99 was charged to my credit card without my permission by an Antivirus company. It took me about 30 minutes to find a phone number where I could call customer service and after waiting for 1 hour and 45 minutes (idiot that I am), I hung up and decided to try the next day. I did, and waited 45 minutes and got no answer. I decide to give up because my two hours is worth more than $39.99 I hope.

I think they are doing this on purpose because we'll just walk away. We are being managed and there is nothing we can do. So quit whining and just get with the program. LoL

Posted by Small Business Marketing at December 19, 2007 8:59 PM

Folks, please know I mean no disrespect to the authors and consultants among you. Excuse me but I'll be a frontline advocate...... Welcome to the Real World. The ground zero where your top down driven the "customer is always right" theories of the past decades meet the practical bottom-up challenges of translating the theory into service on the frontline. Is the problem here the policy that points are not rewarded when rooms are booked a certain way? If this is the case, what could the desk agent have done at that moment....to fix it? Many things your are thinking of course, but one reality that person was facing was that regardless they did one thing was certain. Someone was still gonna be a Hilton Honors Member regardless of the outcome of that transaction. But there was also a very real possibility that someone else might be unemployed! I work in the wireless industry...where we expect 100% quality and resolution on each call but use metrics to assess performance based on quantity like talk time, and total calls handled. Take the time to fix the issue and you could find yourself having to explain and get disciplined for high handle time. Punishment for providing excellent service! What options did they really have to meet your needs and exceed your expectations at that point in time? Everyone preaches relationships....do you practice what you preach? Wear the Managers out, those who make the policies and processes who were to far removed away from the frontline to see this is obviously an external customer irritant. Or to stupid or threatened to see the value in frontline feedback. If the issue was the "service" or person that delivered it....why? "(And, notice that the front desk agent didn't say, "Mr. Yastrow, since you booked on Hotwire this time, we can't give you points." She said, "If you book on Hotwire or Priceline," which translates, "If you're one of those people who book cheap." Don't call your long-term customers "one of those people." So you had an issue because her response wasn't phrased to your satisfaction? In addition, who took her literal words and made the assumption she was labeling anyone "you're one of those people"? So, it sounds to me as if you got P.O.'ed about something you imagined she said or did, is that correct?. Please tell me how I train folks to read minds and develop their ability to correct service issues that exist only in the minds of the person on the other side of the counter or the other end of the phone? We have created a culture of customers whose needs will never be met unless we figure out a way deliver it spontaneously and at no charge. Things change folks...people, values, expectations. Customer loyalty is a myth to many...new and cool trumps loyalty and relationships as evidenced by the thousands of folks who dumped their wireless providers June 29 and beyond to get an iPhone. If you ever get a chance, find any wireless carrier's call center and listen to calls for awhile. That's the Real World folks. The intersection where theory and reality collide.

Posted by Dave W at December 20, 2007 1:50 AM

Of course reality is different from theory. But as soon as you start shooting for 90% instead of 100%, and hitting 80%, next you're shooting for 80% and accepting 70%, and pretty soon

oh; wait; that's how we got where we are.

How 'bout shooting for 100% in everything, all the time? How 'bout expecting your front line folks to provide perfect customer service, and working really hard to sort out the exceptions?

Prepare to deliver perfection, and deal with the exceptions. When you prepare to deliver exceptions, you ain't exceptional.

Yup; I'm living in a dream world. I also have supremely satisfied customers who come back for my services again and again, and recommend me without reservation to anyone who'll listen. I sure hope my competitors are trying to be 'practical' ;)

Posted by Joel D Canfield at December 20, 2007 3:01 PM

I agree with Joel BUT... you have to think about the exceptions. For those who think loyalty doesn't cut both ways, how about this. You expect everything to be just right, every time? So you're happy to live in a world where it's one strike and you're out? Hmmm... seems to me that's only ever going to breed fear of making a mistake.

And if you believe loyalty only cuts one way, how about this. After 99 great assignments for a customer, you fall below par on the 100th. Is your reaction: "Gee, I'm sorry, I let you down there but here's what I'm going to do about that issue and here's a 50% rebate off my next assignment." Or do you just say, "Gee, I'm sorry, I fouled up, that's my one strike so I never expect to work for you again."

Surely the point about excellence is that it earns you the right to recover the occasional foul up. And if you'd expect your customers to give you that chance, don't you think your suppliers deserve it too?

Posted by Mark JF at December 20, 2007 5:09 PM

Hi Mark - Customers are smart – they know about this thing we call ‘the real world.’ Through a sense of pragmatism and common sense customers will forgive one below par performance. They might even forgive two. I still fail to see why we should expect customers to accept ANY responsibility for loyalty. That to me is a very convenient 'cop out' for poor performance. Asking your customer to bail you out for not coming up to scratch by making them feel they are in some way ‘responsible’ is not a desirable course in my view. It’s like a Surgeon saying ‘Sorry I amputated your right leg instead of your left leg but you have to accept you were partly responsible.’ Happy Christmas again :-)

Posted by Trevor Gay at December 20, 2007 7:38 PM

Dave W - dont mean to start a war here but your industry - the cell phone industry - according to Consumer Reports has for the last 6 years been one of their lowest rated services around...and with all your technology, CRM, automated service management that is really not a very nice.

the issue there is not your folks are not polite or they do not try, they are hog tied by stupid 2 year cancellation clauses with no amortization, having to explain why a call back from Romania should cost 3.49 a minute plus taxes when a call on Skype on a local SIM card is pennies.

You are right about front line bearing the brunt. Because you are covering for an arrogant back office and exec suite . True in airlines, hotels, or cell service...best thing you can push for is for execs to blog and hear it directly from customers rather than defend them. And BTW, consumers have better things to do than to call in and bitch. They have to be highly motivated or agitated...

Posted by vinnie mirchandani at December 21, 2007 7:14 AM

Wonderful Vinnie! – thank you and Amen! It’s not about front liners and it’s not about customers at all. As I said before it is about pointless management processes. These add no value and seem designed to put front line employees, who actually know the right way to do things for customers, into straight jackets. Dave W is spot on in promoting the front line view of the ‘real world.’ In most organisations front line employees are streets ahead of managers and back room execs. Those people live in the comfort blanket of their ‘own corporate world’ which is a million miles from the ‘real world’ Dave talks of where customer and organisation meet. This 'meeting' doesn’t have to be a ‘collision’ – it can be perfectly synchronised ballroom dancing!

Posted by Trevor Gay at December 21, 2007 8:51 AM

Mark, I realize there's quite a chasm between "it should be like this" and "it's really like this"

Of course, when someone makes a mistake, I'd rather sort out what happened and retain a relationship than kill it over a single incident. But do I expect my vendors and suppliers to mess up? I hope not.

And, certainly, I hope my clients will forgive me an error and continue using my services. Do I expect it? NO - what I expect is that I'll do it right, every time, no exceptions. And if I screw up, although I'll do whatever's possible to keep them, I'm ready for them to walk. Not that I think it's the best solution, but I'm ready for it, nonetheless.

Otherwise, where's my pressure to perform?

I'm not advocating "one strike and you're out" - I'm all about retaining relationships (I hate searching for new vendors/clients/partners.) I'm simply advocating a mentality where any shortfall from perfection is unacceptable.

I mean, isn't the alternative that, sometimes, broken or wrong or late is okay?

Posted by Joel D Canfield at December 21, 2007 9:33 AM

Businesses fail to remember how Peter Drucker described the purpose of a business, "to create a customer!"

They also do not seem to get that customers should be viewed as long-term appreciating assets (Carl Sewell).

It's a management issue which never becomes a part of the associate's day!

Posted by Jack at December 21, 2007 12:48 PM

Not about hotels, but here in the UK my two local supermarkets show what a difference hiring friendly staff can make.

Our local Asda (the UK subsidiary of Walmart) seems to, for all its adverts bang on about being friendly, have a "lowest cost" hiring policy.

Our local Tesco seem to hire friendly people who are on my side. For example, from time to time, they run a "vouchers for schools" programme, in which customers get a paper voucher for each £x spent, that their child's school can redeem for stuff like computers. Each checkout, there's the question "are you collecting vouchers for schools?", followed, very often by "the last customer wasn't, so let me give you her/his vouchers as well."

We spend more there in the average month than we do in Asda in the average year, despite the fact that it's further.

Posted by Mak Harrison at December 21, 2007 2:04 PM

The leaders of the pack will continually and relentlessly find ways improve their services while the rest of the pack will justify why they can't -- and bemoan their customers' unreasonable expectations.

Posted by John O'Leary at December 21, 2007 11:19 PM

Joel...I too have stood upon that soapbox and delivered a similar message. I used to be in the Business education/training/consulting business with a twist...I was "in-house" and in the Air Force....kind of Baldrige in a box resource. On the concepts and theories, we probably would agree 1000%. But since I was "in house",I trained all levels from senior leadership to the frontline. The "how about" rhetoric on your 12/20 post would play well when talking to leadership. It paints the prospect a great solution yet doesn't burden them with all the details of how it would be done or challenges, costs, that would be faced along the way. Take that same rhetoric to frontline and you would immediately be "educated" on the need to provide details on how it would be done (they'll be the ones accountable)and the barriers and challenges to getting it done. You would also have zero credibility which would cripple your chance of producing the results you personally would be expected to produce. You make a common and incorrect assumpion. What would lead you to believe that the frontline folks would would expect anything less than 100% from themselves and their leaders as well. If you had someone who did, isn't their manager the one to blame? Aren't they the ones who should have fixed that problem? Our shared "how about expecting" message are empty words down here because they know expectations don't do one damn thing to increase their capacity to do it. They don't need to be empowered (to be given authority to do something) because they know authority to do something without the resources to complete it sets them up for both failure and blame. The point I was attempting to make with the where theory and reality collide statement was that if you are in the Business education/training and consulting industry and need to "focus group" your message, system, whatever...bring it down to the frontline. They would be most happy to help you with that...and the feedback would be honest, informative and 100% on point!

Posted by Dave W at December 22, 2007 3:50 PM

Some very interesting and valid comments being made in this blog. The irony is that if the senior execs of any of the organisations mentioned were to be in the same position as their customers/guests/clients it's pretty certain that they too would have the same perspective as their customers. So if they understand the customer's perspective and no doubt have vision and values and a corporate belief, what goes wrong? Why is there such a disconnect between the corporate belief of what's happening and the actual customer experience?

From my experience it's the lack of long term commitment to what I call the 'red line' - linking corporate aspirations for a great customer experience to every employee within the business so there's an understanding of how individual actions connect to the customer experience directly, even if the employee never gets to deal with a customer directly.

In reality front line employee behaviour is conditioned by the behaviour of their managers, and managers can protect themselves from employee critique and the changes that threaten them. No matter how good the front line staff are, unless the behavior of their managers is supportive of the red line, in the end the front liners become conditioned to behave in a way determined by their managers.

Posted by Mark Gregory at December 23, 2007 7:41 AM

"authority to do something without the resources to complete it"

If you've got both leadership and frontline expecting the best from themselves, this authority/responsibility clash isn't going to happen. It's only when frontline wants to help the customer, but leadership won't pony up the resources that you get this scenario.

It makes no sense to educate part of a company that wants to succeed; everybody has to be on board.

I have no problem giving frontline exactly what they need to know to provide the kind of service I'd expect - as frontline for most of my career, I've done it, and often without management's help. It doesn't always take resources, but it does always take 'expecting it'

Posted by Joel D Canfield at December 23, 2007 9:56 AM

Joel, conceptually I agree. Maybe our differences are semantical or maybe I don't fully understand how you would go about executing the proess of "expectations". But your rhetoric is still clashing with my reality. I am "management" to the areas I am accountable for so it's a given this is getting done. As a leader, my two greatest tools are credibility and accountability. Expectations are words. They train no one, they provide no time to get it done. Can I hold folks accountable for meeting expectations without giving the tools to do it? I suppose I could.....and many of my peers or others do....but there goes my credibility. I don't set expectations we do. Accountability doesn't have to be punitive, and folks don't mind being held accountable when they have input into the expectations. My job is to get them the resources they need because as the leader, that's the part I am accountable for. Here where the "If you've got both leadership and frontline expecting the best from themselves, this authority/responsibility clash isn't going to happen. It's only when frontline wants to help the customer, but leadership won't pony up the resources that you get this scenario." rhetoric clashes with my reality. Again, conceptually we agree but obviously we differ on the frequency this occurs. I have to rely on those above me for some of the resources I need to provide my team. I'm not management to them, I can't direct them to do anything. It's not only that they sometimes won't...it's can't, refuses to, it not a problem but it's gonna take time, and any other combination of words that have the same effect. Maybe my boss agrees with me but the reality is "you ain't management to the level above you" and he has to go through the same drill. The lower you are the more obstacles you face getting to the decision makers. If it were as simple as picking up the phone and talking to the folks that can make it happen, no problem. And Joel....it's always about resources. Some times it's financial, sometimes training, and always it's about time. When your turnover rate is 77%...it's always about one of those resources above. In my reality, it's a Catch 22...The amount of time available for us to train, coach, develop, and do all the things that need done to put a skilled resource on the phone to answer your calls and give you first call resolution is directly proportional to the number of calls in the queue. Why is the queue always full...because I and my peers don't have the time to do the above. It's not the customers fault to be sure.....it's ours 1000%. Please know that in any comment I make it's not about negativity at all. The best I can manage is mild frustration. This is the reason I still work where I do. There is a challenge out there and I've got great folks to work with to overcome it.

Posted by Dave W at December 23, 2007 3:22 PM

The Palmer House Hilton has horrible service. It is rated as a four-star hotel, but barely merits two stars in my experience - and 1.5 of those are for its downtown location.

where to buy viagra in canada My husband and I spent a disappointing New Year's Eve there last year. We'd made our reservations directly with the hotel. We are both HHonors members. We are only Silver-level but at least we try to show some loyalty to this chain. We, as well as other HHonors members in the HHonors check-in line with us, were regarded more as captive nuisances than valuable customers.

The next morning - after an ongoing series of disappointments - we complained to a manager who promised to get back to us but never did. I think they gave my husband a handful of HHonors points to smooth things over, but it was too little and too late.

Someday I will finish writing my recap of the experience and will post it online, but needless to say that we will never stay at the Palmer House Hilton again!

Posted by lcmotorist at December 28, 2007 12:30 AM

I don’t understand why some think we as consumers don’t need to be loyal to our vendors if we have certain expectations of service. Granted, there is no excuse for rude behavior, but why should we expect “normal” services if the only reason we are purchasing the product is that we got a killer deal. I do agree that the front line people absolutely need to be trained to handle these situations and that does come from management. We as a society have gotten to the point where we expect superior service and accommodations at a discount price. Let those other guys pay for the cost difference of a Hilton vs. a Days Inn.... Whether it’s a $100 hotel room or a $100K Benz all of us like to get a great deal. I find it interesting when managers talk about developing customer loyalty in one sentence to pay for the services provided when THEY are providing them, and then want to beat up their vendors for the best deal because “they are not the only ones wanting our business”. If all of the perks always come with discounted prices, won’t we expect the price to eventually come down to that discounted price? How will these perks be paid for? I don’t expect the same service level from a $100/room hotel as I do from a $300/room hotel. The room is the same when the cost is the normal $300 vs. $93 on Price-line. As long as the people are polite and courteous, I have no problem in not getting the points, no matter how many I have gotten in the past as a loyal customer. Obviously, my loyalty, like others, in this blog is to the Ben Franklins I get to keep in my wallet.

Posted by Jimmy Mc at December 30, 2007 8:47 AM