tourism, customer service & economic recovery
karen klucowicz • Jun 22, 2021
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Well Canada we are going to have to step up our game to beat out critiques like one in a recent article in the New York Times about a quarantine hotel experience! [I cannot even bring myself to link you to that article.] Our Canadian hospitality reputation can be destroyed with a single visitor and no follow through by the powers that be. Enough said.
When I worked in a hotel I always tried to remember — no matter what was going on personally — that the guests had choices - where to stay, where to eat, how to spend their money — that meant that I needed to ensure their time at that hotel was great and had value to them to bring them back, and ultimately to keep me employed !
Not unlike customer service in every business.
Let your expectations dictate how you provide service to others. Sometimes their expectations are laid out (albeit sometimes misinterpreted) but if we implement and follow a standard it means opportunities are not missed and in fact they are had. Last week I hosted a team-building event primarily because I responded to the request for information promptly and directly and I followed up!
Automated responses should only be to acknowledge the persons request and set up their expectations of service from you. I recently reached out to a group to chat with them about an opportunity I knew to be relevant to their group. I was greeted with a response that requested I email them. I emailed them and was sent a reply that prompted me to do a separate email elsewhere … I did all three ways of contact and three weeks later I have not had any direct response from that group. Think I’ll be reaching out again? (And there is no phone number to contact.)
I will shop Canadian, locally when I can, support colleagues and relevant businesses to my industry however I have expectations and if they are not met I will be forced to go elsewhere. Don’t let your opportunities pass you by.
When we don’t get responses that actually bring mutual opportunities we move on — Are they too busy ? Complacent ? Simply not interested ? I give the benefit of a doubt like … maybe they didn’t receive the email? Okay, I’ll phone … I’ll do a followup email but after a time - I give up…
Local travel and activities over the next while are prime opportunities to deliver service and products that will recognize Canadian products and services and allow businesses to thrive beyond this crazy year. And build our reputation as a country with fantastic customer service and hospitality.
If you can’t deliver it’s time to scale up (there are lots of people available and willing to help) !
Our economic recovery depends on us.
#customerservice #tourism #hospitality
our feature image is a lovely collage piece entitled “customer service” by Jennifer Gruhl, and if you’d like to support this emerging artists it is available for $80Cdn and I’ll ship it out pronto! That’s a promise.
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