I just got back from the “Underground 007” Internet Marketing conference hosted by Yanik Silver.
In the world of internet marketing, this event makes the short-list among the ‘best of the best’ and attracts the ‘who’s who’ of the internet world. I’m talking about such marketing masterminds like Ted Leonsis and a whole slew of other marketing royalty who attend both as speakers and participants.
The event was held at the stunning Gaylord National Hotel in Washington D.C. and, though I was impressed with the glitz and glamor of the hotel – they made one critical, critical, critical mistake at check-in that could only have resulted in two responses from their guests:
- I’m pissed.
- I’m a little peeved, but overall indifferent.
When I checked into the hotel, the gentleman at the front desk said: “Oh, and by the way, there’s a $15 dollar resort fee that covers the daily newspaper, two (2) bottles of Dasani© water, use of Fitness Center, in-room high-speed Internet access, and complimentary local and toll-free calls (up to 20 minutes).”
Pardon my French, but “What the [insert expletive]!? You’re charging me for what?!”
My knee-jerk reaction was due to the fact that:
- I don’t need the newspaper (thank you Yahoo News),
- The bottles of water are nice, but I’d be happy to pay $1.00 for each bottle at the vending machines,
- Since when do I have to pay for a hotel fitness center?
- I’ve got my Verizon Wireless card so I don’t need the internet,
- And finally, does anyone use hotel phones anymore?
So, I guess my response would have put me in category 1 – yes, I was pissed – and maybe if I made a bigger stink about the issue, the Gaylord might have tried to make peace. But, hey, I was tired and just wanted to get to bed.
… and, instantly, a light bulb went off in my head about how this was a valuable lesson for anyone who owns a business! (You see, I’m even thinking about you when I’m traveling!)
Now, imagine if instead of the pesky extra surcharge of $15.00 for miscellaneous items that I may or may not use … if they only increased the room rate by $15.00 a night and gave me all those amenities as a courtesy.
I would have assumed that they were giving me all these conveniences for free and would have been grateful for their appreciation to me as their guest.
Totally different response.
The marketing conference was great, but that hotel experience got under my skin…
Robert Cialdini pointed out in a study in his book, YES!, that a waitress will receive an average of a 14.1% increase in tips if she just gives mints to their patrons with the bill (instead of letting those patrons get them on their own from the bowl next to the exit door).
You see, if you give or do something unexpected to someone, they will feel appreciated and will be more likely to show their appreciation back to you in terms of tips, referrals or more business.
It’s common sense, you take special care of those people who take care of you ….
