I was meeting my friend at the all-day dining on the ground floor for coffee, and had arrived slightly earlier.
Me: Hi, is there Wi-Fi here?
Employee: (looking awkward and walked away without saying a word)
Shortly after, the same female employee returned to pass me a handwritten note on the back of a recycled order chit. She came and left in silence. Feeling bewildered, I looked at the note she had passed to me.
For a split moment, I wondered if that was her name, or if she was telling me that I should be more sincere?
I waved my hand to get her attention so I could clarify. She explained in two words, “Wi-Fi password” and took her departure yet again. The words to sum up my emotions then were: bewildered and amused.
Try as I might, I could not locate the network on my phone. So I raised my hand again to ask another employee for the name of the outlet, since there were few options listed. The man said he did not know how the name was pronounced, but said it was LBS for short. I probed further for the full name and he said he would “check it for me”. Moments later, he returned to present me my second recycled note:
I could not help but wonder, how, if any, was the orientation and induction conducted for the newcomers.
Later on, my friend and I decided to move to the next outlet within the hotel for some early aperitifs and asked if the earlier bill could be transferred there. There was much hesitation, a lot of checking, and endless discussion internally if this could be done.
Everything seemed such a hassle and non-seamless for what was supposed to be an easy afternoon and early evening drinks.
Service Bank: Minus 3
Reflective thoughts: Have you recently asked your team, standards and processes they are unsure about and offer to clarify or explain (once again)? Let’s not simply assume “They should know”. What are the small details in your environment that could compromise the sense of luxury, if your brand is positioned as such?