One question I ask my clients is, “do you know your brand?” Most times the answer is yes. Then I ask, “do your employees know your brand?” The answer ranges from of course to I’m not really sure.
I just got back from a business trip and witnessed first hand the total disconnect between an organization and their employees. Touted as “an exclusive, premier luxury resort offering experiences and tastes that will exceed your expectations”, I expected over-the-top service. However, I don’t think they bothered to share this vision with their staff and resort management.
It started when I arrived. While it was late, there were two people working the front desk, one of which was the bell hop. I could see both people saw me arrive. As I started unloading my luggage, it became obvious that no one was going to come help. I loaded up the cart and rolled it to the front desk. Both employees greeted me, but said nothing and only then did the bell hop offer to help move my things to my room. I brushed this off as it must have been a long day, but the next day as I was ordering lunch, I asked the server what she recommended. She replied, she couldn’t give me any suggestions as the employees were not allowed to eat at the resort. Are you kidding me?
So this exclusive, premier luxury resort expects to give service excellence, but doesn’t provide the tools to their employees to offer this excellence. For the remaining part of my trip, every customer touch point had similar customer experience fails.
So I ask again, do your employees know your brand? If you are unsure, then take the time to become a customer yourself and see if they embrace your brand. Do they follow the promises your company is making? By taking the time to personally experience your brand expectations, you can make necessary changes or celebrate the fact that everyone is reading the same book.
