I was out of town for a couple of days and had two strikingly different brand experiences, I wanted to tell you about it.
🎉 – I was out to eat and ordered a salad with dressing on the side. The salad came dressed. About five minutes after she had served me, the waitress came back and apologized, realizing she had made an error, and asked if I wanted a new salad (I didn’t.)
Not only did she own up to the error, I was pleasantly surprised she offered to bring me a fresh salad. To me, it spoke to the woman’s values and work ethic, as well as the restaurant’s. That, coupled with great food and a nice atmosphere would prompt me to recommend the restaurant to anyone planning to be in the area.
➡️ A great customer service experience and a strong branding moment.
🔥 – Contrast that with my hotel experience the following morning. At 5:30am, I realized my room’s coffee maker wasn’t working. By 6:15am I was hyperventilating. (I have an unhealthy attachment to my morning coffee.) I go to the front desk to see about getting coffee before the restaurant opens at 6:30.
There is no one at the front desk. A woman finally came out looking annoyed that I interrupted her. Her response to my coffee inquiry was, “I don’t know. I’m not over at the restaurant. They don’t open until 6:30.” 🤨
She had zero concern for my coffee “crisis”, zero bedside manner, and made zero attempt to help me resolve the issue. With little effort, she could have improved the situation, e.g.:
- “Would you like me to send someone up to your room with a new coffee machine?”
- “I’ll make note of it and we’ll be sure to replace it for you.”
- Or even just, “I’m so sorry about that. The restaurant will be open shortly.”
➡️ Lousy customer service experience and brand failure for both her, and the hotel as a representative of their brand. Up until that point, I would have recommended the hotel to someone.
Why should you care about my recent travel experiences? You may not (and I’m not offended!)
My point is that everyday we get to decide how we want to show up in the world. And seemingly small exchanges with others make a big impact on our overall effectiveness and personal brand.
It takes almost no energy to create a more positive interaction with someone, whether you work in a restaurant, hotel, or corporate environment.
A smile, a friendly gesture, a little curiosity, or an offer to help. And slightly more energy to be proactive about fixing an issue. However we decide to approach a situation will influence others’ experience of us.
While my initial thought was to just walk away (because I was annoyed and uncaffeinated!), I did manage to say “thank you. ”Because matching her rudeness is not who I wanted to be at that moment. (And I think it would disappoint my mother…)
Do you know what your personal brand is?
