Service recovery at its best!
I love to complete the feedback forms given by most service providers whose services I had experienced. Be it at a fast food outlet or a fancy restaurant and especially hotels.
Many years ago, I had stayed at a 5 statr hotel in Penang, located atop a hill quite close to the Bayan Lepas International Airport. I was there on business, visiting the Penang branch of the company I was working for, then. I was travelling alone and travelling light.
The hotel had just started its operations there and during that time, the room accupancy was not at its peak. I was given a standard room, as I had reserved, which was on a high floor and situated at the very end of a corridor. My business dealings meant I had to return to my room at night or late in the evening, at the earliest. Although the hotel had security personnel patroling the floors every now and then, I dreaded the walk from the elevator to my room as I had to pass a lot of closed doors, making the walk eerie.
Aside from that, my stay at the hotel was great - great food, great service. On my first day, I was given complimentary fruits (an apple and a banana). I used up all the shampoo and foam bath and wrote a short note to their house-keeping for replacements. I also wrote a short note asking for additional writing paper with letterheads for my personal collection. When I came back to my room later that day, I could not help smiling to myself for there on the bathroom counter were bottles of shampoo, bath foam and a few other items that I did not ask for. And on the dressing table, a stack of letter-heads, envelopes and post-cards. All complimentary! Housekeeping even bothered write me a short note asking me if what they had provided met my needs...Wow, wow and WOW!!!
So before I checked-out, I completed their feedback form and left that on the dresing-table, sealed. I did not expect any action on this as usually when I left completed feedback forms on dressing tables or any tables, nothing happens. I strongly suspect these completed forms almost always do not reach the people concerned. And if they do, nothing much comes out of it.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I did get an acknowledgement from the General Manager himself a few days later, mailed to my house address. He assured me that what I had commented, especially my discomfort at being given a room away from the maddening crowd, was noted with regret.
Some months later, I again had to be in Penang for several days. And again, I made reservations with this same hotel. As before, I was travelling alone. And surprise, surprise...the hotel remembered me!
The original booking was for a standard room since in my position that was the entitlement, I was given a room on a lower floor and closer to the elevators. The room was bigger and more spacious - I was given an upgrade! Never mind that the upgrade was because that was the only room available, on a lower floor and close to the elevator. There was a card from the General Manager welcoming me back and hoping this time, my stay would be even better. I found 2 pieces of chocolate (imported) elegantly laid on the pillows with a stalk of orchid and given a complimentary fruit basket that was refilled the next day!
Talk about service recovery....and all they did "wrong" was made me feel unsafe. Now thats a Wow! element from a well deserving 5 star service provider.
Many years ago, I had stayed at a 5 statr hotel in Penang, located atop a hill quite close to the Bayan Lepas International Airport. I was there on business, visiting the Penang branch of the company I was working for, then. I was travelling alone and travelling light.
The hotel had just started its operations there and during that time, the room accupancy was not at its peak. I was given a standard room, as I had reserved, which was on a high floor and situated at the very end of a corridor. My business dealings meant I had to return to my room at night or late in the evening, at the earliest. Although the hotel had security personnel patroling the floors every now and then, I dreaded the walk from the elevator to my room as I had to pass a lot of closed doors, making the walk eerie.
Aside from that, my stay at the hotel was great - great food, great service. On my first day, I was given complimentary fruits (an apple and a banana). I used up all the shampoo and foam bath and wrote a short note to their house-keeping for replacements. I also wrote a short note asking for additional writing paper with letterheads for my personal collection. When I came back to my room later that day, I could not help smiling to myself for there on the bathroom counter were bottles of shampoo, bath foam and a few other items that I did not ask for. And on the dressing table, a stack of letter-heads, envelopes and post-cards. All complimentary! Housekeeping even bothered write me a short note asking me if what they had provided met my needs...Wow, wow and WOW!!!
So before I checked-out, I completed their feedback form and left that on the dresing-table, sealed. I did not expect any action on this as usually when I left completed feedback forms on dressing tables or any tables, nothing happens. I strongly suspect these completed forms almost always do not reach the people concerned. And if they do, nothing much comes out of it.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I did get an acknowledgement from the General Manager himself a few days later, mailed to my house address. He assured me that what I had commented, especially my discomfort at being given a room away from the maddening crowd, was noted with regret.
Some months later, I again had to be in Penang for several days. And again, I made reservations with this same hotel. As before, I was travelling alone. And surprise, surprise...the hotel remembered me!
The original booking was for a standard room since in my position that was the entitlement, I was given a room on a lower floor and closer to the elevators. The room was bigger and more spacious - I was given an upgrade! Never mind that the upgrade was because that was the only room available, on a lower floor and close to the elevator. There was a card from the General Manager welcoming me back and hoping this time, my stay would be even better. I found 2 pieces of chocolate (imported) elegantly laid on the pillows with a stalk of orchid and given a complimentary fruit basket that was refilled the next day!
Talk about service recovery....and all they did "wrong" was made me feel unsafe. Now thats a Wow! element from a well deserving 5 star service provider.
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