What I Learned Dealing With Customers From Hell This Week!
Photo by Sheri Staak International, LLC

What I Learned Dealing With Customers From Hell This Week!

In one week, I received two text messages from different hotel managers of mine stating that we have a visit from 'a customer from hell". We go months with happy guests and then two unhappy guests descend on two of our properties the same week. How does a proponent of WOW leadership deal with the situation?  I will tell you, It isn't easy.

"Above all, we wish to avoid having a dissatisfied customer." – Leon Leonwood Bean

My hotel in Palm Springs hits the radar as the #1 best small hotel in the country according to Trip Advisor and what do we get? We get hotel guests with unrealistic expectations. The text reads, "FYI. Guests from HELL. Heads up!! " Ironically, we often host high powered LA executives in the entertainment world, yet the biggest problem client isn't highly credentialed.  However, we treat all our guests regardless of position with the same high touch service.

"If you want to be known for your top-notch service, then you need to treat all customers like royalty." - Rachel Miller

Our lodge in Volcano Hawaii is considered by many to be one of the most romantic spots in the world with unbelievable kudos from celebrity guests and guests from the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton on the big island of Hawaii. Yet, on this day, only two days after the Palm Springs text, I get this text, "UNHAPPY GUESTS. Nothing makes them HAPPY! Help!"  When I follow up I learn that our staff was asked to come in at 1am to clean a room because of 'possible spiders'.

The unhappy guests complained, “We didn’t plan on camping..” and “...We want you to clean because we don’t like spiders.” The team at Volcano goes overboard to make sure our luxury lodge in the Hawaiian rainforest is clean, luxurious, and full of positive energy. Yet, we must deal with an unhappy customer when they land on our property.

"There is only one boss: the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else." – Sam Walton

When I get these text messages and talk with our team I have a variety of emotions. First, I feel sad for our team that bends over backwards to make our guests feel special and enjoy their stay. Second, I feel sad for our guests who have had an unhappy experience that doesn’t fit their expectations and their travel desires. Third, I want my team to jump into the satisfaction mode and do everything possible to make the guest happy even if we are feeling an urge to scream and yell at them for not loving our product and service.

"In this moment you have the power to be the solution!" – Ileana Kane

The current trend is called “service recovery” as outlined in USA today. Micah Solomon in Forbes outlines some great tips to remember when it comes to service recovery. What you can do as a WOW leader dealing with a disgruntled guest is to provide them 100% guest satisfaction. Yes, that even means refunding all their money and helping them find a place that better suits their travel style and expectation.

"If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends.
If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends." – Jeff Bezos

We have several goals when it comes to turning around an unhappy guest:

  1. Make their stay meet their expectations and exceed expectations when possible.
  2. Surpass their unhappiness to the point that they decide to return or try another one of our properties.
  3. Feel good that we did everything in our power to make the unhappy guest a pleased guest
"Every client you keep, is one less that you need to find." – 
Nigel Sanders

Here is what I tell my wonderful team:

Keep Your Cool

A difficult guest may wear on an innkeepers' nerves, but it's up to the innkeeper to keep their cool and avoid condescending words and tone in dealing with the guest.

"Customer service is just a day in, day out ongoing, never ending, unremitting, persevering, compassionate, type of activity."
Leon Gorman

Create a Paper Trail

When working with a difficult guest, innkeepers and anyone who deals with the public, would be wise to document the situation and everything so there is a paper trail as accurate as possible. Having these detailed records could play a key role in protecting everyone if a relationship later deteriorates further and a dispute over the stay continues to elevate.

Also, if we know what the guest didn't like we can evaluate if a change is needed.  In some situations the 'unhappy' guest returns and we should have details to prevent the problem again.

Empower All Employees

Give your team the ability to satisfy every guest up to a certain dollar amount. I tell my team that they can credit or find a solution up to a dollar amount that is equal to the amount of their stay. If a guest is unhappy the value of making them happy is important even though they may end up costing you money in the short run. Several studies say that about one-half of 1% of your guests will need this kind of guest attention and recovery.

Hours after writing this my family had a negative situation at a Chili's at the Las Vegas airport.  The lady serving as hostess forgot to seat my family.  When asked about the situation the lady realized the mistake and immediately took responsibility for the mistake and said, "I'm having your entire lunch taken care of." My daughter said, "Now that is a WOW leader like my mom talks about." The message is getting through.

Aim to Please... Even When You Think You Shouldn't

My husband says that in times of an unhappy guest, “Breath and find your inner peace.” It may be painful to your inner-self at first, however, finding your inner peace and making your goal to please even when you would rather scream your head-off will pay dividends. In your head and heart you may feel that the guest is unreasonable, however, they are the guest and they deserve to be pleased.

You must create a WOW moment for the guest even when you would rather create a negative time for the painfully irritating guest. 

Ask Yourself: What Would I Want?

Here is the question that I like to ask myself: If I were unhappy and unsatisfied what would I want the hotel and property to do for me? I know that I expect the people who have me as a customer to treat me with respect, concern, and desire to make my stay better. Like the old proverb, “Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you."

It helps to remember how you have felt when you are in the situation of being the one served.  What do you want?  How do you want a bad situation to be managed when it is your money being spent?

Check-In With Your Guests

Don’t let your team wait to get a negative review to find out how your guests think you should improve. Let your team know that they ‘must’ stay in touch with their guests and listen for indications of unhappiness.

Turning an unhappy guest into a happy guest happens much faster when it is done on the spot.  The quicker you become aware of the situation and rectify the problem the better for everyone involved.

Give Team Members The Customer's Perspective

Your team can learn a great deal by simply experiencing your service from the other side when possible. First, employees feel rewarded knowing that they can bring their significant other and spend a night in a room, eat at your restaurant, or enjoy the place where they work. The employee also gets to show off the place where they spend their hard working hours and can be proud of where they work. You win because the employee will be able to evaluate your service and provide valuable feedback that they experience as a guest and not simply as an employee.

WOW leaders are realistic to know that while they may not turn every unhappy guest into an ambassador for the company, there are certain actions that can help minimize the disgruntled customer.  According to blogger Rachel Begeman, in her blog Zero to Hero,  "...with an effective service recovery plan, companies can improve satisfaction, increase loyalty, and build a positive, lasting relationship with customers even in the face of a major service failure."

"A good recovery turns angry and frustrated customers into loyal customers. In fact, it has the potential to create even more goodwill than if things had gone smoothly in the first place." - Bernhard Schindlholzer

There is a 'service recovery paradox' that happens when a negative is turned into a positive.  When a customer feels that they have had a negative experience and when you have jumped in to save the situation and turn it around quickly that customer can often become your biggest supporter.

What do you do when you have an unhappy customer?  Have you ever turned an unhappy guest into one of your biggest supporters?

The above two situations I discussed in this blog are being managed by a great team.  How the guests end up feeling and how the week ends has yet to be determined at the time of my writing this blog.  I will keep you posted as I hear more.

About The Author: Sheri Staak

More on Sheri Staak here at LinkedIn

While Sheri Staak is best known for leading, motivating, and directing large pharmaceutical sales teams, her passion is to help and mentor those on her team and in the world become WOW Leaders and WOW Individuals.

Sheri also owns a small group of unique lodging boutique properties, Emma Spencer Living, in Hawaii, Southern California, and Central America.

Her desire is to help both the established leader and the neophyte leader develop WOW Leadership skills and become a WOW leader.

 

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Please share your thoughts and experiences below.  I make a point of reading each and every comment. Thank you for taking time to read my LinkedIn Post.

 

 

 

 

 

Erika Mielens

Laboratory Technician at Department of Education and Training, Western Australia

8y

The advice given here is so relevant to all areas that have any level of customer service. In all the years I have done anything that involves customer service I have ended up cleaning up someone elses mess and restoring the companies good name just by understanding what the customer was dealing with. Thank you Sheri for your invaluable advice

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Nadeem Ahmed

Dynamic professional with 25+ years of experience managing Customer Centricity, BPO Operations, P&L

8y

good one!

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Alex Tan

Information Technology Help Desk | Troubleshooting, Printer Support | System Engineering

8y

Very proud of u arcticle ~ customers are always right !

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