Eclat Insight #21 How Did You Make People Feel Today?

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. — Maya Angelou

I have always had a journal, I have moved between formats and philosophies of journaling, but logging down things came naturally. It was the same at the Duty Manager's desk. A logbook was central to our functioning. This is not a post about journaling either.

In the journal, I started forming some questions that I would like to answer regularly. This becomes both a process and a checklist. One of those questions is what this post is about - How did you make people feel today?

This is a powerful question to ask yourself.  

The question should make you go over your interactions in the day. Watch the interactions, play them at a slower speed in your mind, watch the other person in those interactions. If they could tell you exactly how you made them feel, what would they say?

How does this apply to hospitality or customer service?

Here is a standard customer service interaction these days.

You complain about something to someone at some company. They either refund your amount, apologise or say there is nothing they can do about your complaint. Then you either curse them or feel justice was done. Sometimes, even after a refund, you are angry. How did that interaction make you feel?

Now, switch. Become the service provider that you are. How does your team, your processes, make your customers feel?

Imagine using this in the following situations:

• At an Indian restaurant, the guest is not served another roti/paratha/naan because she did not order it. The order is only placed when she asks for it and now she has to wait for hot bread. 'How Does a Guest/Customer Feel Right Now?'

• The valet brings back the car from the parking lot. As the guest is about to sit in the car, he notices an old candy wrapper on the mat. Obviously, the valet saw it too but did nothing about it. 'How Does a Guest/Customer Feel Right Now?'

• The guest booked the family suite, reconfirmed it before boarding the flight, was picked up in a hotel car, has two small children who are tired and cranky. The suite is not ready on arrival, but the front desk offers the couple complimentary drinks while they wait, holding the tired children in their arms. 'How Does a Guest/Customer Feel Right Now?'

You can do this for every interaction, every process.

Want To Make This Wow?

Do you have a shift briefing? If you don't, let's talk. You are missing out on approx 1000 awesome opportunities a year to get your team to communicate. Have a staff/team notice board? Have a WhatsApp group for the team? 

If yes, to any of the above, make sure you have someone share 'How Did I Make People Feel Today?' on it, every day.

Make sure everyone does it. You can set up a schedule or you can make sure every team member shares this at least once a week.  

Oh, as the manager/leader, don't forget to thank them for sharing and reward the ones who really went that extra mile. Remember to ask yourself 'How did you make your team feel today?

👋 We put out these small, enjoyable, actionable insights regularly. These are for hospitality & service leaders.

To read all the insights published to date - visit https://www.eclathospitality.com/insights

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