When you read this blog I want you to keep reminding yourself that what The W Hotel on Lakeshore Drive in Chicago did, didn’t cost a lot of money.
It probably didn’t cost $2.00.
Since they invested not even $2.00 I have paid them at least $7,000.00
I am a blue chip client, and this is my entire point.
Death, in Cashmere.
The wind is howling, its February and I have flown 9 times and spoken 3 times in 4 (now late) days with one more of each the next day. The minute the front desk person looked at me she said “Oh no you don’t look good – would you like a pot of tea?” It was the first thing she said. She looked concerned, I could see it. Another person moved right in and took my bag out of my hand. I had been looking forward to this moment – checking into my hotel and dying – all day long, since I woke up in another city a plane ride and a day’s worth of talking away – and she just made it better.
My VISA is still in my pocket. I am 2 feet inside the door. Its black outside, windy and cold and I have just come from O’Hare and now within an instant – everything is getting better. Someone out there cares about me.
I had one of those colds that was getting worse by the moment and I was at the end. I had to speak at a conference the next day and that was in jeopardy – the worst thing I can do is miss a speech, its like having a patient die, but worse. I really did appreciate the offer, but I turned it down, explained that what I needed was a long hot shower and room service.
It’s all in the Details.
Rooms at W Hotels are always nice – and this night in Chicago was no different – you just feel better when you are surrounded by beautiful things, in a room that is well laid out. I put my bags down, called room service and asked them to wait just a little before putting the order in so I could have a long shower.
Room Service shows up at the perfect time, and then everything just blows me away. The Chef had prepared a special bowl of soup for me, and he sent along a note telling me that it was Mama’s recipe from the Old Country, no doubt smuggled out over the mountains. A note? From the Chef? There was also an immune booster with instructions on how to use it and finally NO BILL. Sorry for the Caps Lock but I didn’t know how else to make that point stick out.
They made me a special soup, sent up a cool booster (a brand I use and carry with me to this day), and a pot of tea with a note from the Chef and they wraped it all up in a big gift – thanks for coming in, we want you to feel better.
“Are you sure? Really?” I was just delighted.
“Yeah, and you should be wearing socks Sunshine.” That was what she said to me. Free room service and a crush.
Awesome.
$2.00
They were paying everyone to be there anyway. The only person who took a financial hit was the Room Service Person who opted to not get tipped.
The Chef was there getting paid. The front desk person was there getting paid.
All the food was already in the kitchen. They sell the immune booster in their groovy designer store in the lobby, and it probably cost $1 to put it on the shelf.
The soup and the bun and the tea might have cost $1.00 but I doubt it.
I’ve spent $72,000 (at least) since I became a Starwood Member in 2000. I have slept 288 times in Starwood Hotels (Westin, The W, Sheraton) and I figure I have paid about $250 on average per night.
In addition to the $2.00 I also get luggage tags and free nights as rewards and amazing upgrades and guarantees and a priority number and line. They call it Platinum Membership and I love it – I earn it every year, but Starwood, and in particular The W Hotel on Lakeshore makes it easy.
They are not the only hotel I stay in – sometimes I am asked to stay at the hotel where the conference is. That’s what makes this kind of commitment and execution so savvy – by taking a little time and making the effort they are making it highly unlikely that anyone else will win me away.
How did the next day go?
I wake up and I am a new man. I go meet the GM of the hotel and have an amazing talk with her about my experience – and how on earth Starwood/The W finds the talent – which is exactly what they call their staff. It was a great conversation – and I was impressed not only with their training and commitment to excellence I was also impressed by their culture. I have spent a few nights there since, and I follow their tweets – their $2.00 commitment has created community.
My meeting was a great success – I used the story of the night before to impress my audience that it really doesn’t take much to make a huge impact and they loved it.
Every day we get these opportunities to be amazing – and sometimes we take the steps necessary. It would have been easy for the front desk staff to just think “wow, he looks awful”, instead she told me I did … which sounds funny, but you get the point. It would have been easy for her to not pick up the phone and notify the Chef and it would have been easy for him to shrug off a great idea which was to make me something special, and write a note, and make it a gift.
Here is an idea – if you have clients who are good repeat clients, call them. Check in, ask them if they are going on a vacation this summer. Some will say yes, others will say no, maybe their money is going into the backyard renovation. Use something like www.google.com to type in their vacation destination, look for restaurant reviews or local attractions. Print it off and mail it to your client with a note – let them know you were listening and thinking about them. The whole thing, including postage will cost less than $2.00.
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