Stop Driving Your Guests Away
It’s a snowy Wednesday night in upstate New York, and I’ve just finished my last guest lecture at the Cornell Hotel School. I’m tired, hungry, and ready for a good meal. I walk into a local fine dining restaurant that’s been recommended by a professor. It’s deserted, save for a table of four, a couple at the bar, and the staff.
“Hi, I’d like dinner for one at the bar.”
“Do you have a reservation?”
“Huh?”
I stand there, pulse rising, trying to make sense of what just happened.
“Take it easy, Mark. She hasn’t been trained.”
But still, is her response acceptable? And why is this sort of interaction so common?
In the four lectures I gave that week, the most common question from students was about the impact of AI on hospitality. Ironically, this experience would have changed my responses. Here’s my take.
Instead of worrying about AI, let’s start with something more basic:
How do we treat people when they walk through our door?
Those first 10 seconds are the most important part of the customer journey, but too often, they’re the worst.
Why can’t more places act like Sewell Ford in Odessa, Texas? The first time I walked into their showroom, I was convinced I was in the wrong place. Other than the rows of gleaming new F-150s extending as far as the eye could see, everything else felt like a luxury hotel. Warm lighting, welcoming music, and smell of freshly-brewed coffee. And immediately, a smiling associate: “Welcome in!”. The Four Seasons couldn’t have done it any better. It was seamless. Intentional. Memorable.
Collin Sewell, the dealership’s namesake owner, comes from a family that has been in the car business since the dawn of the car age, and there are few people in the country who understand hospitality better than Collin.
He explained it to me this way: “Work in the oil fields of West Texas is not easy. Our customers work hard and earn a good living, but they are not used to being pampered. But they deserve to be. I want to create an experience that no one else within 100 miles is offering. I want our customers to feel like royalty.”
That’s the power of a first impression.
It tells your customer exactly what to expect, about your values, your standards and, ultimately, your culture.
What story does your business tell in the first 10 seconds?
Try This
If you run or work in a service business, like a retail store, restaurant, or medical office, test your own experience.
Step outside for an hour. Then come back as a customer would.
Pay attention to everything:
What do you see?
What do you hear?
What do you feel?
What do you smell?
Is the entrance clean? Is the door handle sticky? Does anyone look up when you walk in? How long before you’re acknowledged? How do you feel?
This entire exercise will take less than a minute, but it will tell you everything.
Then Do This
If there’s room for improvement, don’t overthink it. Start small, and start today. Clean the door, organize the podium, adjust the music.
Then build from there to make the changes stick. Show your team what great looks like. Work alongside them, model the standard, and support them until the new way becomes natural. When you involve your people in the process, you won’t just raise standards and improve your customers’ first impression, you’ll engage the team and generate pride.
Your customer journey starts the moment someone connects with your business.
Make it count.
Until next time, make it a great shift.
