Now THAT was funny. (Hopefully not at your expense.)

​Two frequent traveler friends of mind shared the very same funny parody video of a fictitious hotel chain. If you’re someone who’s been on the road more than you’d care to, you will be chuckling at this video within the first few scenes. Benefits many hotels tout as their gold standard services are ribbed here, from room service awkwardness, too-low shower heads, to turn down service at the worst possible times. I’ve included the link below.

After watching that video, I wondered if any of the executives in charge of service initiatives at the leading hotel chains had seen this. If they had, did they just laugh it off... or did they take some of it to heart?
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What if they truly listened to some of these points, and made sure some of these things never happened in their hotels? Cling-wrapped water glasses, over-zealous front desk reps, can’t find light switches, room temp reliability, and others.

Great service companies take customer digs and complaints and turn them into opportunities. They show they listen with action and improvements. And if they’re smart, they market those improvements.

So what have people kidded about with YOUR BUSINESS that could be improved?

If you’re NOT hearing any complaints, when was the last time you asked? “How was everything with your last order… your last interaction with us?” If you don’t ask, you don’t get feedback. And when you do get feedback, how do you respond… positively and negatively? (People judge you by HOW you respond either way.)

Surveying clients occasionally through tools like Survey Monkey (which will even tally your responses for you) can help you better gauge feedback… and intervene when things don’t go as perfectly as you planned, or as they expected. Worst case scenario: You delivered. They were disappointed. They go elsewhere. You don’t know why. (Hopefully, before someone cleverly writes a parody video or makes a joke like this one about YOUR business. Or you're a victim of a nasty Yelp review that never goes away.)

Ask how you’re doing. And you shall receive feedback.

​Here’s to a good laugh watching this video, and even better sales by listening to your customers.

Scarlet