| I was making arrangements to attend a conference in | | | | made another reservation, again using my frequent |
| Los Angeles, California.As a frequent flyer, I receive | | | | flyer award coupon and my new Premium Club |
| award coupons offering a 50% discount from normal | | | | membership number. This time I kept my mouth shut |
| hotel rates. I contacted the call center of a major hotel | | | | about attending any conference.I paid $100 per night |
| chain to make my reservation.The reservations clerk | | | | when I went to Los Angeles. I enjoyed the Towers |
| was friendly and very helpful. She took my name and | | | | room and a complimentary fruit basket upon arrival. No |
| contact numbers. She confirmed the dates, my room | | | | thanks, though, to this hotel's absurd policy and |
| preference and credit card number. She asked if I was | | | | customer-unfriendly procedures.Somewhere deep |
| a 'Premium Club' member, which I was not. So she | | | | within the marketing department of this hotel chain, |
| registered me for Club status over the phone.Then | | | | yield-management professionals carefully calculate the |
| she remarked, 'Mr. Kaufman, now that you are a | | | | maximum rate they can squeeze from participants at |
| Premium Club member, I can offer you an even lower | | | | each international conference.Meanwhile conference |
| rate for an upgraded room on a higher floor. And a | | | | participants are also thinkers...real, live customers! Yield |
| fruit basket will be waiting for you upon arrival.'I was | | | | managers, are you listening? |
| surprised and delighted. My special room rate was just | | | | Key Learning Point |
| $100 per night.Signing off from this great telephone | | | | |
| experience, I said: 'Thank you for your help. I am looking | | | | ----- |
| forward to staying at the hotel during the | | | | |
| conference.''The conference?', she quickly replied, | | | | When your policies cross, collide or contradict, your |
| 'What conference are you attending?'When I told her | | | | customers will find out. Clean up the confusion! |
| about the event, she said, 'Oh. If you are attending that | | | | Action Steps |
| conference, you have to use our conference rate of | | | | |
| $124.'I laughed and assured her I was happy with the | | | | ----- |
| special rate and Club status she had already | | | | |
| confirmed.'Oh no,' she repeated. 'If you are coming for | | | | Review the many ways your customers can confirm, |
| the conference, you must use the special rate. We | | | | order, book, engage, hire, rent or purchase your |
| have a block of rooms already reserved for you on a | | | | products and service. Look for mismatches and |
| lower floor. And I'm afraid you don't get the fruit | | | | inconsistencies in the policies and procedures. Get |
| basket.'A lower floor, higher rate and no fruit basket? I | | | | them back in line so your company and your |
| protested. But my protest was in vain. She checked | | | | customers stay aligned.Ron Kaufman is an |
| with her supervisor, who concurred. 'I'm sorry, but that's | | | | internationally acclaimed educator and motivator for |
| our policy,' she said without much concern.I surrendered | | | | partnerships and quality customer service. He is author |
| to her insistence, listened sadly as she cancelled my | | | | of the bestselling "UP Your Service!" and founder of |
| Premium Club reservation, but declined to have her | | | | "UP Your Service College". Visit for more such |
| book me back into the hotel at the higher conference | | | | Customer Service articles, subscribe to his Newsletter, |
| rate. I hung up the phone in disbelief.Then I called right | | | | or to buy his bestselling Books, Videos, Audio CDs on |
| back and reached a different reservations clerk and | | | | Customer Service from his secure Online Store. |