Ever wish that guests were nicer? There’s a lot of talk about attitude, the customer’s always right, you gotta’ smile, yadda yadda. And then there’s the cranky guest. It’s easy to be nice when others are being nice. Not so much when it’s the other way around.
I’m here this week in Las Vegas for the Indoor US Soccer Event. I love Vegas. There’s so much energy and fun in every nook and cranny! Of course I would love Vegas, right? We are at the Green Valley Resort – what a beautiful property. Everyone from check in to room service has been extremely nice. It seems like all the staff is intentionally interacting in the hallways, on the casino floor, at valet, and really everywhere.
I love to play cards, so I have the opportunity to interact with other guests (some cranky-some fun) and lots of dealers and other casino personnel. Last night (or maybe it was this morning), I was chatting with the dealer about how nice everyone is.
She said, “it’s because we all got reamed on Monday”! Now this is just the kind of conversation that fascinates me! This dealer had helped open the property 11 years ago. She seemed to enjoy her job and talked about how easy it was to interact with people who were having a good time and NOT fun to deal with guests who “blame” the dealer if their cards are bad.
Nonetheless, they need to stay up and motivated. Jennifer, the dealer I was visiting with, talked about her co-workers who were all pretty friendly during their shift. However, the “talking to” Monday was in reference to when they walk from the pit to the break room or visa-versa. Apparently it’s easy to mentally turn off during the “in-between” times of their shift. However, when you are on the floor you are in the view of the guest and represent the facility. Smile, engage, interact… I’m sure that must have been the message of the “training” on Monday.
I expect that most family entertainment team members aren’t facing guests who are losing money. If there is one angry guest for every 100 guests that come through the door we could count ourselves lucky. The challenge is that if we don’t deal with an angry guest very often, how can we get good at taking care of those difficult situations?
At TrainerTainment, we think this is a pretty unique situation and saw an opportunity to help solve a problem. Of course we believe that training is a valuable way to grow sales, employee loyalty, and a strong customer base. We also believe that winning an angry guest over is a tremendous way to create a raving fan! Next week, we will launch a TREMENDOUS e-learning product that is sure to build the confidence of even your most timid team member. Armed with the right tools, your staff can diffuse and care for your guests (even the cranky ones) in a way that keeps them coming back again and again.
Be on the lookout for this great product. You can find it at The Grow Academy. I’d love to hear how you resolve issues with angry guests!!! Post on Facebook or give us your best “angry guest” story by commenting below!
