 But
Everybody Knows About it
I
recently stayed at a major hotel in Perth, Australia.
On the telephone in my room was a small card indicating
the phone and fax numbers of the hotel.
The phone number was listed as (09)225-1234.
Clients around the world intended to call me during
my stay, so I gave them the hotel number.
Not a single person was able to reach me by phone. One
sent e-mail complaining I had given him a wrong number.
I called the hotel operator to check the telephone number
and told her about the small card in my room.
‘Oh,’ she
replied, ‘the local code is not (09) anymore,
now it’s (08).’
‘When did that
change?’ I asked.
‘About four years
ago,’ she replied, ‘but everyone knows about
it.’
I quickly contacted
my clients overseas, and gave them the new number to
reach me (08)225-1234.
Again, not a single
person was able to reach me by phone! I received another
wave of ‘wrong number’ complaints.
I called the hotel operator a second time, again reading
her the phone number on the card in my room, but changing
(09) to (08).
‘Oh,’ she
replied again, ‘the code is (08), but
now you also have to keep the 9 as part of the main
phone number.’
‘So the correct
number is actually (08)9225-1234,’ I confirmed.
‘When did that change?’
‘About four years
ago,’ she replied, ‘but everyone knows about
it.’
Absurd, isn’t it? This hotel has 367 rooms, and
very few people staying overnight in those rooms come
from Perth.
I wonder how many guests have experienced the same problem
over the past four years? I wonder how many staff from
Housekeeping and Rooms Division see, clean, straighten
and even replenish those inaccurate little notecards
every day?
I spoke with the Business Manager, Michelle. She thanked
me for my feedback and promised to do something about
it right away.
I asked her to post a $100 credit to my room account,
not to compensate for my frustration, but to ensure
the hotel took this matter seriously and would get the
issue resolved. She agreed immediately and promised
to make the adjustment on my bill.
The next morning when I checked out of the hotel, no
credit posted to my account. How predictably inefficient.
I wonder if it will be four more years before the small
cards in the rooms are changed? I wonder how many more
guests will suffer with wrong telephone numbers posted
in their rooms? I wonder how many times the hotel operator
will say ‘But everyone knows about it.
Key Learning Point
Over
time, many facts do change including phone numbers, features,
stocking codes, availability, prices, procedures, packages,
prerequisites and more. If you don't keep them up to date,
your customers will find the errors, and feel the pain.
Action Steps
Check
your data now. Be sure every piece of public information
about your company, products and services is accurate
and up to date.
When customers
look, listen, read, research, surf, shop or ask questions,
be sure the information they receive is current and
complete, not old or obsolete.
Next Article in Customer Service Education >>
For Just 30c of Salad...
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Are You Pulling in the Same Direction?
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