I recently had dinner with the restaurant manager in a very upscale hotel. He explained to me that one of his main goals was for guests to rate the restaurant a “5,” as measured by their guest satisfaction survey. The survey asks a series of questions, with a corresponding scale that follows: (1=very dissatisfied, 2=dissatisfied, 3=indifferent, 4=satisfied, 5=very satisfied). The manager told me about all the initiatives he recently implemented to get the 5 rating from guests.
There is a new coffee cup storage system to ensure that cups are always available for service. Then, there is the cycle-time initiative that tracks the length of elapsed time from the guest’s food order being taken to the minute the first course is brought to the table.
I told him that those initiatives sound good, but none of them would help the restaurant get 5’s. He looked confused. I explained that when I order coffee or tea, I EXPECT the beverage to be served on time. When I place my dinner order, I EXPECT the food to be served on time.
The “4” represents satisfaction, which means that the restaurant did what the guests expected it to do. The staff was friendly – food came on time – everything tasted good – no roaches scurrying around, etc. I went on to explain that to get a 5 from a guest, first you must understand what the 5 represents. He really started to listen then.
Only exceeding expectations is what leads to a 5. You can’t just put processes in place to AVOID messing up. The guest does not expect you to mess up.
Example: On a trip to Portland, Oregon I visited my client’s office for three days of meetings. Before day 1, the office’s administrative assistant emailed me directions to the office, along with a link to Google Maps.
On day 2 it was raining…a lot. At the end of that day’s meetings, I went to the restroom; when I returned to the meeting room to get my bag, there was an umbrella next to it. The assistant anticipated my needs. I didn’t even think of using an umbrella until she left it for me!
On day 3, still more rain in Portland, so she brought in a tray of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate to the meeting room. If I was asked about the service experience, do you think that I would rate her service a 5? You better believe it.
To get a 5, you must intentionally DO things to get a 5. You can’t just meet expectations and expect customers to rate you as though you exceeded their expectations. The two don’t go together.
So, here’s what I recommend:
- Work with your team to make a list of all the major service touchpoints for your customers.
- Clearly articulate what is “meeting expectations” (4) vs. “exceeding expectations” (5).
- Each day, pick one touchpoint to focus on.
To get your team to exceed expectations, you must continuously focus on exceeding expectations. Nothing else will do. Before long, your team’s minimum expectations of themselves will be to consistently exceed the expectations of everyone else.
