Customer Satisfaction: What You Can Do, Not What You Cannot Do

The hotel was in a very remote location. No cell phone service! (That was quite a culture shock.) The hotel, although remodeled, was very old. During remodeling, attempts were made to keep it as close to the original as possible. This included no phones in the rooms. The only option for calling out was two pay phones off the lobby.

While we were on vacation, my mother had minor surgery. Before we left, I said I would call my brother to see how she was doing. I was not expecting pay phones!

The last time I used a pay phone was almost 35 years ago. At that time you could call collect and the charges would go on the other person’s phone bill. I thought that would still work. It didn’t. When my brother answered the phone the operator wanted a credit card number. I knew he wouldn’t know what was going on, so I hung up and went to the front desk for help.

I explained the situation and the clerk said she could not let me use the desk phones or the office phones. I hadn’t asked to do so! When I started to say something she interrupted and said employees did not have codes to the phone and could not call out, only managers could. So I asked what she suggested. She said she could give me change for the pay phone!

If she had just told me in the first place what she could do, and not what she could not do, the problem would have been solved faster, I would have been much less frustrated, and customer service would have been positive.

Always tell the customer what you can do for him or her. Only say you cannot if the customer asks for something that you truly cannot do.