Two true examples of outstanding customer service

Gritty from the plane ride, I entered the lobby of the Hawaii Prince Hotel and walked over to the desk. Next thing I knew someone smiled at me, said "aloha!" and handed me a steaming hot washcloth: Ah! Just the refreshment and revitalization I needed. Wow! What a great way to greet a customer, what a welcome!
How do you greet your customer?
Other than the price of the room, the lobby, and a few knick-knacks around the place, very little differentiates hotel rooms. A hot washcloth stopped me in my tracks. It was a surprise, an unexpected moment of pleasure. Something small that separated the Hawaii Prince from all the other (hundreds of) hotels I had stayed in.
What separates you from your competition?
What made my experience memorable? It was such a small thing. But every time I check into a hotel now, I look for the washcloth and am disappointed when it doesn't show up.
Where's the washcloth in your business?
What standards are you setting? What makes people talk about you?
What makes people look forward to doing business with you?
What makes people tell others about your business the way I'm telling you about the Hawaii Prince Hotel?
Here's another example of outstanding service I received:
A British Airways flight from Budapest was delayed two hours due to fog in London. We were already locked on the runway, trapped like rats. Usually I'm so mad I can't see straight. But today was different. The crew was not American, it was British.
The cabin crew supervisor Tony Adams grabbed the microphone and said, "There's nothing we can do about the fog, but we can eat!"
The crew was delightful and served everyone real food with fresh brewed coffee and tea. Everyone was full and finally we took off. About an hour into the flight, Tony Adams announced "A bit more bad news, I'm afraid it seems the fog has lifted, but the air traffic has backed things up another hour. For those of you making transfers, don't worry too much, this plane was supposed to take off for Sweden two minutes ago." The entire cabin laughed.
Five minutes later, Adams was on the loudspeaker again: "To pass the time, we're going to have a contest. Guess the collective age of the cabin crew and win a prize. And there's an additional prize if you guess my age exactly."
I was shocked and amused, and so were the rest of the 150-some passengers. Fun on the airlines: imagine that. Everyone was talking, having a good time. The crew came through the cabin collecting scraps of paper from the passengers with their calculated guesses. The winner was announced over the loud speaker. Wow - I was one of three winners who guessed his age "spot on" - 46. Cool. My prize was nice, but not as nice as the feeling.
"Are we strapped in and ready for landing, sir?" The delightful flight attendant said in a jovial voice with her classic, British accent. "It's about that time," she said happily. For the first time in 500 flights I couldn't wait to get my belt on.
They took a negative (obstacle) three-hour delay and turned it into a positive (opportunity) by making everyone extra happy.
The good part when you do something out of the ordinary is that it not only creates a memory, it sets a standard. How do you follow it?
The better part when you do something out of the ordinary is that it keeps you challenged to improve it each day.
The best part when you do something out of the ordinary is that your competition is woefully lacking by comparison.
On another British Airways flight, I was getting ready to depart the plane and waiting for the typically insincere, robotic message to "have a nice day and thanks for flying ..." Instead, the lively first officer grabbed the mike and said, "Welcome to Paris. If you're here for a business meeting, I hope it's a successful one.
If you're here on holiday, I hope it's a happy one. If you're making a transfer, I hope it's a smooth one. And when you're flying again, I hope it's a British Airways one." The people on the plane started to applaud. An unbelievable moment in customer service: the customer clapping for the vendor. When was the last time your customer applauded you?