Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2010-08-27 09:03:00 - Graham Ellis
No matter what's going on behind the scenes, it's my view that customers should receive a consistent, logical, easily understood and ethical service.
"Oh - he's talking hotel again" I hear you say. Yes - but I came across an example on a forum that's rail related that got me thinking along these lines. To quote the writer:
"I make most of my revenue on passengers who are on the wrong train ..."
and "Whether I pretend xxxxxx or charge the full yyyyyy depends on my mood ...."
• I question the morality of a system that's designed in such a way that a significant proportion of the revenue can be made from people who get it wrong.
• I question systems in which it's up to the mood of a staff member as to which of two very different prices to charge. It shouldn't matter whether he left home seething after a flaming argument with the missus, or after a nice little kiss and cuddle.
and
• I'm worried about systems of penalties which reward the person who applies the penalty (either financially, or in other recognition such as target-meeting or on a "top conductor" board in the mess room).
Now - let me be careful - I'm not arguing soft options. Reserve a room, fail to show up, and we WILL charge you the cost of the first night's stay. We believe that's fair and just, we tell you our policy as you book (one of just four bullet points against which you check a box), and we are consistent. We incur costs for broken bookings - sometimes quite high ones as we have staff waiting around late into the night, and / or turn away other bookings for longer periods than the broken booking - and it would be unfair for us to have to recover these costs off the vast majority of our customers who stick to what we ask and let us know if they need to cancel.
Image - Red Flamingo by Petr Kratochvil. It's public domain, I like the picture, and I came across it while doing a search / researching something this morning. I did note that the text by Petr's picture says Note: If you intend to use an image you find here for commercial use, please be aware that no model or property release was obtained and pictures featuring products should be used with care. Somehow, I don't think that the flamingo pictured will be too worried ;-)
No matter what's going on behind the scenes, it's my view that customers should receive a consistent, logical, easily understood and ethical service.