The Bank Channel

I’m a bit of a hard marker when it comes to customer service in retail environments – a bad attitude or capability can really stand out. And given todays competitive marketplace and increasing customer power, there’s no room for error, otherwise a business may not survive.

With this new found customer power comes a changing attitude in customers too (like me!). A sense of entitlement to the best deal, the best service, first service or preferential treatment when none is warranted is commonplace. Social media sites like twitter, where customers are and too often companies aren’t, means customers talk to each other and increasingly believe their own gripes and whines. I’m guilty here again. So don’t write in on that one!

But customers must learn that a transaction, purchase, or service rendered is still 2 human beings (or 1 human and one website!) exchanging conversation and information.

A customer in the coffee shop this morning gave a classic example of todays petulant consumer, all with a wry passive aggressive smile. He walked in and simply asked for ‘service please’, then proceeded to tap on the glass at various items, asking for a discount at the same time. This continued for a while, with the shop staff and other customers all looking at each other, knowing we’d all give him a slap if we had the chance.

Companies deserve to be kept honest, and deliver efficiently and effectively. But customers must keep them honest whilst being patient and respectful.

Let’s be nice to each other shall we?

I’ve recently returned from a beach holiday in Bali, where we spent a week at the Intercontinental Hotel in Jimbaran Bay. There, I learnt some instrumental and important lessons from the experts in service experience, the high end hotel business.

Normally when we talk about the best hotels we talk about Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons. But of course its not just these guys that get it so right. Other resorts like Intercontinental, now part of probably the largest hotel group on the planet, have also proven that you can have both high quality indivual customer experiences and massive corporate scale at the same time. It must be a costly, complicated and unpredictable business to run but as a customer it was pretty ideal. Perhaps I’m easy to please.

Back to these important lessons.

Some quick caveats to ensure these aren’t based on some rose coloured glasses.

• Caveat 1 – anytihng next to a beach as nice as Jimbaran Bay looks good.
• Caveat 2 – anything ‘exotic’ like a foreign country, culture, food etc can hide some of the ugly stuff
• Caveat 3 – I’m on holiday, so am more forgiving. Possibly.
• Caveat 4 – I’m a bit of a cheap date when it comes to resorts – pretty much anything with the sun shining and drinks flowing will impress me.

Lesson 1 – First Impressions Count
Lets set the scene then. We arrive at the airport, to be picked up by friendly staff, driven to the hotel after being given cool towels and drinks, arrive to a gonged entrance, and welcomed by a dozen smiling friendly faces, then led  to an incredible room and balcony to see this –

Nuff said. At that point, I could have been in a tent on the lawn and I’d have still been happy. This resort has the luxury of location but I was really into the Bali ‘aesthetic’ which the resort managed to replicate in generous yet tasteful detail.

Lesson 2 – Ensure the details are perfect
In this pristine space, anything not pristine stands out more than in any other space. As a customer, you’re paying for all the details, for everything to be considered, to be cared for. Everything here was crafted, manicured, or otherwise hidden, screened, underground, somewhere else. When you’re here to relax, you don’t want to see the back of a restaurant kitchen, or a series of air conditioner boxes, or corporate offices. Given the size and breadth of this resort, given I saw none of the above, I’m not sure where all that stuff was. Presume the Resort Managers backyard is one giant, humming plant of machinery, dirty towels and dumpsters. Where else could they be??

Lesson 3 – Great people STILL make the difference
I’m sure the majority of tourists who’ve been to Bali will agree the people there have an amazingly warm approach to service that’s unending in its generosity. They’re proud of their country as they should be, as well as their role in making you enjoy your time there. I encountered one surly taxi driver across a week of dozens of itneractons with the local staff. Giving your people pride, a sense of purpose and some ownership makes them happy, which makes customers happy.

Lesson 4 – Mission & vision statements generally suck
Heres the mission statements for a few faceless corporations that are caught up in their own BS –

• “Enabling success from the center of technology” (Still too complex)
• “BLANK employees recognize the value of health and wellness, and strive towards optimal health by making healthy choices every day to better serve the community.” (Settle down tiger …)
• “… dedicated to provide products and services of such quality that our customers will receive superior value while our employees and business partners will share in our success and our stock-holders will receive a sustained superior return on their investment.” (Jesus Christ…)
• “To satisfy our customers’ desires for personal entertainment and information through total customer satisfaction” (Wha??)

then you see the simple vision the hotel has –

‘Our guests want to return’.

That’s it. Simple.

Everything they do aims to endear their resort to the hearts and minds of the guests, to make them welcome even loved, and want to come back to replicate the memories and experiences they’ve had. I must say its hard for me to consider another place, but I’m sure there are dozens like it in Bali. How simple, human and sharp is your vision statement? Or is it full of corporate crap about return to shareholders, leveraging one thing, enhancing something or maximising another? Stop talking funny.

Lesson 5 – Pool bar beer costs a lot wherever you are the world over.
But you still order it right? And its one of the best beers you’ll have, looking over the amazing pool towards a setting sun, and a sea that melts into the sky.

Blissful.

So, despite the above sounding like an ad for Intercontinental Bali, I’m sure other resorts and hotel experiences do the same, and can still run a vast global corporation based on these incredibly personal and detailed offerings.

Can your bank match this? Why not?

And most importantly…

When will the poolbar be installed in your branch??

Choice – always not enough, or simply too much. Wherever you look there are thousands of books to choose from, dozens of configurations in the PC you buy, so many different products lining the supermarket shelves that you either can’t find anything, or get so particular in your ‘settings’ that life becomes about the detail.

I do feel however, that this situation is of course more about companies creating opportunities for themselves rather than customers demanding it. Who in their right mind needs some of the things we can purchase today – the snuggie, wedgie-proof underwear, juice with Fish Oil (… just eat fish!) – they’re all out there. And yet, what is it that makes you really happy? A simple meal with real food, a good book about a human story, seeing something as old and real as the Pyramids. When we’re buying we’re in a retail environment and hence we’re being swindled.

Its not new and yet we fall for it. (Living in Singapore now, I’ve been exposed to the national sport of shopping, so my retail senses are heightened).

This leads me to the idea of bundling. The video above from the film L.A. Story shows even in the faddish 90s how ordering coffee become a degree-qualified act. Being in Starbucks recently I found myself very slowly running through 6 words in a deliberate, clear voice to ensure I understood what I was ordering let alone the overly chirpy staff member could simply shout it again towards the coffee machine crew (no ticketing system to make sure? mental).

I the next day went to another similar chain, where there were some very friendly (and calm) people. I got a smile, a coffee, a bagel and the (most excellent) Financial Times newspaper for about $6.50. A bargain.

Even better, I got the same thing again the next morning, as my loyalty behaviour kicked in.

But then, the day after that, I went to the smaller, more unique shop next door.

A handcrafted design and style, with a some more ‘alternative’ staff and ambience, and I got a simple coffee. For $4.

Which I liked. More than any other here in Singapore.

So much so that the bundle became insignificant. The core product worked and I liked it. It didnt matter what puffery and magic it came with – the coffee was good.

Their core product was good, and if I wanted more, I could have asked for it. But I didn’t need it.

My needs, as they say in the biz, were met. Not necessarily exceeded, but thats fine. It was just a coffee.

And it wasn’t a decaf half-caf with a twist of lemon.