I took a day off last week to have a wander around the Speciality Fine Food Fair in London’s Olympia and very nice it was too. On the train home one thing struck me and that was, that nothing really struck me. There were a plethora of cheese makers, olive oil producers and chocolate manufacturers (I declare my loyalty to James’ Chocolates, not because of the name, but they make great chocies and package them beautifully).
So, basically I walked round in a trance, no one grabbed my attention, no one had a compelling reason for me to approach them. It was two days into the fair and all I seemed to see were bored business owners or members of sales staff looking uncomfortable in suits thrusting trays of freebies at me with varying degrees of success. I’m guessing, but I’ll predict that each stall probably represented an investment of upwards of 5k that’s by the time you put accommodation, staff costs etc down and I just question if people get a return…moreover, if this is their best shot at grabbing your attention, what do the promotions / outward marketing efforts look like for the rest of the year?
I’m probably being a little harsh, but I think that if you have exhibitions in your schedule this year or next, taking a stroll around a show, even if it’s not in your sector, is an exercise worth completing. Not everyone will want your product, in fact you won’t want to talk to everyone – but you need to grab their attention regardless – this starts with good PR before the event to give people a reason to visit, hit them with one strong message on the day and tell them why and how you can stay in touch after the event!
Do great minds think alike…NO! Great minds set themselves apart from the rest, that’s what makes them great.
I’m really not sure what’s up with this country. As a rule, we truly offer the worst customer service experience of any country I’ve ever visited. My latest ‘service with a snarl’ experience was at a well-known coffee house and whilst American owned, clearly the UK staff were resistant, I dare say immune, to what i’m sure was comprehensive training in the subject of customer service.
So pubs are closing, leisure businesses are suffering, dare we look at what service we offer new and existing customers and see if that will make a difference to trade. A friend of mine, Keith Knowles, head of the Beds and Bars business who operate across Europe, has very strong views on customer service and staff training, in fact alongside ensuring his venues deliver a quality experience, I’d say Keith is the most dedicated person I know when it comes to staff development – it’s funny how this dedication from the top has meant that every time I’ve visited a pub of his, I’ve had an excellent experience – it couldn’t just be that the staff feel cared for, empowered and maybe even enjoy working for the organisation…of course it is. One issue I think hampers this development in other businesses is that they are trying to fix too many things from the Boardroom. So often a failing unit is subject architects, mood boards, the introduction of a premium Italian lager…how about looking at the experience through the eyes of your customer…smile at them, serve them in order and in an efficient way and let them know you appreciate their custom.
As a hospitality industry I think we could do with a few less awards looking at the quality of the food and drink, or for Christ’s sake we have them for the quality of the loos, and have a scheme that rewards / monitors customer service. I’d love to know if anyone is doing such a thing and if they are, let’s get behind it and work towards making it an industry standard – it’s simply not enough to try and halt the decline in the pub trade, done better, I believe we’re not far away from seeing growth, but first we need to sort our own house out!
Have a nice day!
For those of you that read my piece of beer tasting, I thought you might be interested to read about Domaine De Bellevue and their biodynamic approach to wine tasting…
http://domainedebellevue.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/biodynamic-approach-to-tasting-wines/
Not only an stunning winery, it’s great to hear another perspective on ‘tasting’ and whether you believe in the principle or not…
Seriously, the customer service in this country is worse than terrible.
I’ve just come back from The States, having spent some time away with some great friends. One thing that wasn’t necessarily obvious at the time, was the great customer service. Regardless whether it was a waitress in a bar or the people working reception – first class, just couldn’t do enough for you.
You know, we take the piss out of the whole “have a nice day” tag line, saying it in a disingenuous way, that fact is, they don’t say it in that tone, we just say it that way to distance ourselves from it because we seem to find it impossible to be bloody welcoming. The other thing with the Americans (I know it’s a big country, but this is based on my experience), they know how to interact, they take time to know you and care, genuinely bloody care!
Funny, wrote my last blog about a blind tasting of real ales making a case for a level handed approach on the big brands (do bare in mind I work for Dark Star) and someone, a brave soul, at least brave enough to be anonymous, said that all beer bloggers reviled me – I feel so welcome to the blogging community, thanks.
Well, if blogging is about expressing my thoughts, freely (Phil Dixon tells me so) I wont be deterred. About this bloody tasting. Now pressed, not one person recognised London Pride or Greene King IPA or indeed TT Landlord…
