Good Day,
The holiday season is fast approaching and hot on its heels is a brand-new year. I recently had the pleasure of attending the 2024 International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAPPA) conference in Orlando. Those that survive in this industry do so through sharing best practices and prioritizing service above all. In the five days of education sessions, networking events and trade show floor, I was keenly reminded that regardless of which link of the tourism chain you are part of, your relationships – with your peers, staff, stakeholders, guests – are the key to your success. In the spirit of the holidays, I am presenting to you the 12 Ways of Engagement. I tried to figure out how to make it rhyme and flow with the popular Christmas Carol, but failed miserably. Maybe just hum along for the effect…
- The needs of your staff are the same as the needs of your customers
This was a big aha moment for many in a session on staffing. We dissected the core feelings that both staff and customers want to experience and smack-dab in the middle were three. Both want to feel seen, heard and appreciated. The concept was called “Flip the Pancake”, and had us all thinking of opportunities/interactions that would allow for both staff and customers to have those feelings. There were lots of suggestions, many that revolved around giving the staff the authority/ability to do little things for customers that were unexpected, like approaching them before they approach you to find out how we can help. One organization gives their staff pins that they then give to guests that brightened their day through a positive interaction. Another popular program that can be implemented in any type of organization leads right into the 2nd Way of Engagement (I hope you are humming).
- There is a big difference between value and cost
Empowering staff to have positive interactions with customers can include providing them with “WOW” moments – unexpected service or perks that have very high perceived value, but little to no cost to the organization. It can be as simple as calling a customer or stakeholder to follow-up on a reservation or conversation you had to see if they had additional questions. In a business setting, it could be allowing a customer to try a new attraction for free, validating parking, or giving a private tour for no additional cost. These all have great value for the customer, but don’t really cost the organization much. At GlowZone 360, our staff are empowered to provide free arcade games to people who have just purchased mini-golf to provide a little bit of added-value. Or they can let a person try a game of laser tag if they have never done it. They also have free passes that they can give to customers that are having a great time, or as part of an impromptu challenge. What this does is makes both the staff member and customer feel great.
- Always use the word “Guest”
The 3rd Way of Engagement changes your corporate culture. In ways one and two, I purposely used the term “customer” to describe the people you deal with. However, “customer” invokes a very transactional relationship – they come, they purchase, they leave. When you treat the people that are visiting you as a “guest”, that invokes a whole other set of responsibilities. Are they comfortable? Do they feel safe and welcome? Are they part of the conversation (experience)? Making this transition is as easy as chatting with staff about what they expect to feel prior to going to visit their favourite relatives / friends, what they expect to feel while they are there and what they expect to feel when they leave. If you really love your in-laws, for example, some of the feelings would include excitement and anticipation prior to them arriving, happiness, welcome and included while there, and satisfied/fulfilled and wanting to see them again soon when they leave. This is exactly how you want your guests to feel and creating a culture of treating each and every visitor as a guest can get you there.
- Employ a company-wide culture of guest service
There were several sessions that talked about the dangers of silos. Guest Service isn’t a department. Reviewing and understanding how each department, sub-department and staff member touches the guest experience can really improve overall guest satisfaction and engagement. We talk about this all the time when it comes to municipal planning and the visitor experience. Often times, other departments (works, planning, parks, etc.) make decisions without even thinking about how it will impact the guests (visitors) – or potential guests – experience. Can a dedicated cross-walk make it easier for guests to your town to get to the shops on the other side of the street without having to walk to the intersection at the end of downtown? Will adding an extra lane in the new pool allow for swimming competitions? Etc.
- Your guests may not be experts
It is very easy to fall into the trap that your guests know what you have to offer. This can limit your interaction with them because you and your staff may not feel the need to engage with them until you are approached. While it is sometimes appreciated by guests, getting out from behind the front counter or desk, and approaching them to find out how you can help, is a great way to make your guests feel seen and heard. And, like all of us, your guests don’t know what they don’t know. Your conversations with them provide you an opportunity to let them know about special events or promotions that are in the works. Or connect them to other parts of your business that they weren’t aware of.
- Stop telling your staff to smile
A forced smile is just that – forced. A guest can see right through that. You can be completely connected and engaged with a guest without having to have a big, goofy smile on their face. You do want to set your service expectations, which are easier to digest when you also explain why you want them to perform in a certain way. What I have found is that when a staff member is engaged with me as a guest and sees that the information they are providing is making my experience better, smiling comes naturally, for both of us.
- Learn from negativity
As much as we want to strive for perfection when it comes to guest service, it isn’t realistic. And that is because every single guest that walks through your doors has a preconceived notion about the experience they are going to have. We don’t know what those expectations are. But what we do know is that if we don’t meet them, we aren’t going to get that five-star rating we are hoping for. Rather than blaming the guest for not having a great time, use the feedback as an opportunity to understand what expectations weren’t met. From there, you have the opportunity to either strive towards meeting that expectation for future guests or communicating that you don’t provide the “thing” the guest was expecting so that you don’t disappoint others.
- Personalize your reviews
Your reviews, good and bad, are your gateway to future guests. How you respond to reviews shows these future guests the level of engagement your business will have with them. They can see right through cut and paste responses that don’t exactly match up to the comments made in the review. They get their backs up when a business pushes blame of a negative review back on the reviewer. They see indifference when reviews are left unanswered. If you want to make a good first impression, take time to personally respond to all reviews, or at least to the ones where the guest took the time to leave comments. I remember early on at GlowZone 360, we received a one-star review because the guest was on a first date and felt that the mini-golf course was too open concept, not giving them any privacy to get to know each other. The response I wrote included an apology that we didn’t meet his expectations (as per #7 above), an explanation as to why we chose to build the course the way we did, and a suggestion that a competitor location was designed in a way that better met his expectations. It was still a one-star review that everyone could see. But what they saw was that we heard the guest, apologized and provided a solution. They also now knew that GlowZone 360 mini-golf was built to be more of a social environment where you can see and chat with your friends who may be playing on holes in front of and behind you.
- Ask for feedback
Reviews, whether from Google, TripAdvisor, Facebook, etc., put you as the business in a reactive situation. Whatever has happened that got you that 5- or 1-star review is in the past. You can easily increase your engagement, and improve your services, by proactively asking your guests for feedback. There are lots of people, for example, that may have noticed that your bathrooms were messy, but were not so concerned about it that they felt it necessary to leave a review. If you have an opportunity to learn about your guests experience while they are still there, you will be able to see patterns which can prompt you to implement more frequent bathroom inspections before you get a 1-star review from that one irate guest who despises unclean bathrooms. Think about having a quick survey link that your guests can fill out about their experience and make sure you provide opportunity for them to talk about both the good and areas to improve upon. Your staff can also just ask a couple of informal questions when they interact with the guest and then record the responses on a chart at the front desk.
- Ask people to review the experience, not individuals
There has been an uptick of businesses that have formal or informal contests between staff members to get their name mentioned in a review. This can lead to reviews that read to be untrue or, worse yet, awkward situations where the guest is being asked to review someone that they really haven’t had an interaction with. The speaker who was talking about this topic, told us about taking his car to a valet at a restaurant in Orlando. He got out of his car and handed his keys to the valet, who introduced himself and asked the speaker to give him a 5-star review. His response was, “What am I reviewing you on? You haven’t provided any service yet.” And, although he didn’t say this to the valet, he went on to talk about what service this valet would have to offer to warrant a 5-star review. His expectations were that the guy would take his car, park it and return it when he came out of the restaurant. To get a 5-star review, he would maybe have to ask some questions about what else the speaker had planned during his visit, find out a few things he liked and then make suggestions about other things to see and do. Or, as the speaker jokingly said, brought the car back detailed, waxed and with a full tank of gas.
- Empower your staff to make service recovery decisions
There are several benefits to doing this. The first is that the guest feels that they have been taken care of quickly and efficiently and not had to play the “I have to talk to my superior” game. The second is that the staff feels more connected to the business and the service that they are providing. Along with this is another tidbit that was talked about a lot – don’t default to refunds. There are lots of other ways to recover service that has little or no cost to the business. An attraction can provide free passes to come back another time. A hotel can offer an upgraded room that was going to sit empty anyway. A restaurant can offer a complimentary beverage or move the guest to a window table, etc. Service recovery should focus on getting the guest to stay and have the experience they expected, or by providing them with a different experience that they didn’t know you offered.
- Have fun!
We all work in, or in support of, a fun industry. We are selling fun. The expectation of our guests is to have fun. In a world where bad news is constantly bombarding us from all directions, what we all offer and provide is so much more impactful than we can imagine. Revel in the joy and laughter that you bring to your guests because, for many, you are providing a feeling that they long for. Yes, behind the scenes everything is not going to be sunshine and roses. There are stresses and hiccups along the way. Focusing on the important work that you are doing for your guests and the impact you have on people’s lives is a great way to get through the tough times. The more fun you can find in what you do, the more this will transfer to your staff and the guests you serve, making for a better overall experience and positive impact. The other day I was at GlowZone and heard one of our guests say to his friends, “Man, I needed this.” I knew we had a made a difference for that person.
And that is it. No Maids a Milking, or Gold Rings or even a Partridge in a Pear Tree. But hopefully some little thoughts that have got you refueled and ready to face the holiday season and new year. From our team to yours, thank you for all that you do to keep your guests wanting to return and explore again and again. Have fun over the holidays – both at work and with your family and friends.
Feel free to reach out anytime. I am at cthibeault@centralcounties.ca.
Happy Holidays!
Chuck
