Stop getting trashed by your customers

It seemed like such a small thing at first. In the lobby of a high-end office building, wedged between the front desk where guests checked in and an American flag, was a trash can. Not a nice or decorative trash can, mind you, but a plain, black trash can that almost seemed as if it were touching the bottom of the flag.
It was there for convenience and could easily have been overlooked. We all have “trash cans” in our lobbies – and in our businesses – that stand in the way of our efforts to create overall hospitality excellence. They may be items like the trash can, noise, attire or they may be intangible concepts such as body language, attitude, acknowledgement or lack thereof.
Whatever they are, they should NOT be overlooked.These are hidden landmines that send a subtle message to our visitors and can hinder or derail the emotional connection we need to make with them. These landmines can unintentionally signal indifference, which in turn can have a negative impact on our guests and our employees. The bottom line is that indifference will hurt your, well, bottom line. That’s because referrals will suffer, customer loyalty will suffer and your reputation might suffer.

“The single most important thing is to make people happy. If you are making people happy, as a side effect, they will be happy to open up their wallets and pay you.”

Derek Sivers, Founder CD Baby

In the end, your business will suffer the most. There is a reason, after all, why the people in charge of Disney’s theme parks make it a point to not only have decorative, but also probably the cleanest trash cans, at their parks and resorts. So what can you, as a manager, do to make sure “trash cans” aren’t getting in the way of your success? One suggestion is to go to the lobby or front office where customers first meet or interact with employees. Then take a survey of all the touchpoints ? analyze any point of contact that is making an impression on your guests. Then do a brief evaluation to determine if the feeling you get from each of those touchpoints is positive, negative, neutral or, even worse, indifferent.
Chances are you’ll find at least one “trash can” in your lobby and probably many more if you expand your search for touchpoints that can make a difference throughout your entire operation.