I recently returned from a wonderful trip to New York filled with Tony
Award winning theater. I went as just a
normal tourist and consumer but I guess I can’t turn off the marketer inside. Two employee interactions stood out and are
worth noting.
First, let’s begin with the super-positive. I stayed at the W Hotel in Times Square. Cool hotel in a perfect location but that’s
not what stood out. During my first
night I experienced the worst case of food poisoning of my entire life. It felt like my body was being shredded from
the inside out from 11:30 pm to about 4 am.
The next morning I called the operator to request fresh towels and to
let housekeeping know I couldn’t have the room cleaned since I was still sick.
Towels were delivered within minutes.
A short time later there was another knock at the door. They delivered a hand-written note from my
operator Gisele (great name) with
apologies for my poor health and some remedies to help me feel better: ginger ale and toast. I cried a little. I was at a very low point, very sad about the
state of my trip and feeling helpless about feeling better in time to enjoy the
rest of the weekend. The hand-written note
and kind gesture meant the world to me.
I wasn’t able to eat the toast until eight hours later but it really
helped.
A task-oriented, order taker would never have done this. They would just stay in their box and take
the next call and never give me a second thought. I love that Giselle was
empowered to take this action. I imagine
it goes higher than the GM of this location. I imagine it may be a core value
of the W Hotels and the level of service they strive to provide. But still, it
was up to her to make the call to room service.
It was her choice to write me a handwritten note in purple ink on
official W Hotel note cards. I applaud
both Giselle and the W!
A few blocks away the service level is much lower at Caffebene. I doubt that management has any idea because
they were invisible. The front lines
were left to three twenty-somethings made to dress in what have to be
uncomfortable and annoying uniform jumpers and hats. First let’s set the stage.
Location: Times Square. You are
going to be busy every minute you are open.
Menu: Complicated. With hundreds
of variations of smoothies, coffees, teas, waffle toppings, yogurt and ice
cream each order is going to be more time consuming than a pre-made menu.
Combine these two factors and you have the potential for a lot of
business but you have to move people through and deliver what they ordered. You have to be properly staffed with people
who hustle, are team players and who have attention to detail.
We were greeted by a fella with a scowl on his face that oozed the
loathing he has for the uniform jumper, hat, co-workers and probably his life
in general. He moved like he was sleep
walking. He never made eye-contact. He
was mean and rude to the two co-workers making all the custom orders. He treated us like we were interrupting his
day. He didn’t pay attention to what we ordered. I ordered a tea that he told me without
apologizing that they were out of. This
wasn’t a specially brewed tea it was a pre-packaged ginger twist tea they were
advertising right in front of me on the screen in front of the cash
register. I wouldn’t be surprised if
there was another box of that tea under the counter or in a back storage room
but there was no way that guy was going to look.
I observed the ‘team’ while I waited for my order. This guy was amazing in his apathy never
making eye contact with anyone and never losing his scowl. The other co-workers showed more engagement
as they appeared to mildly hustle to make the smoothies and coffees but I never
saw anyone who looked like a supervisor.
I checked out their gorgeous website. They have franchises in 15
countries. Their menu is compelling and
unique with specialty waffles and delicious-looking toppings. They had a lot of healthy options in cases
up front. They have a ‘gold-mine’
location in Times Square that I am sure comes with a healthy rent. But Wow! I
could taste the apathy in my coffee from this kid. I can't understand how the franchise owners could leave their million dollar asset in the hands of these kids!
Despite my crazy night in the bathroom the trip was awesome and I will be staying at W Hotels in my future travels.
