Did you know that on Wednesday it was National Compliment Day? Yes, that’s right, on January 24, the USA celebrate National Compliment Day, this tradition is now also trickling out into other countries too, including the UK. People literally go all out with praise, positivity and compliments. And, this got me thinking about the power of a compliment, especially in hospitality.
Compliments are pretty easy to give, but can have a remarkable response or reaction. Science has shown that both giving and receiving a compliment can boost your happiness and confidence- I’d say that’s a win-win!
As a Hospitality Leader, the power of compliments should play a part in a few of your strategies, including; your company culture and recruitment and retention strategies, complimenting and praising your staff… but, in this blog, I am going to focus on compliments and that positive human touch being an integral part of your customer service leadership strategy.
In my Hospitality Masterclass training, we have a whole module on Customer Service Leadership – it’s one of my favourite modules and I could go on and on about this for hours…I won’t, as I know you are busy people! But, in a nutshell, one of the main reasons for us being in Hospitality, is to create moments and memories that warm the heart, through our experiences.
- I would like you to take a moment to think of the best compliment you’ve ever received. How did it make you feel?
- Now, I would like you to pop this question within the hospitality content and ask you to think of the best hotel or restaurant welcome, compliment, gift… that you’ve ever had in your life; the smile, the handshake, the welcome drink, the care, the note and the human touch? How did that make you feel?
I personally remember going to a lovely hotel with my wife and in our room there was a beautifully written compliment written on the mirror in the bathroom! This made us feel so welcome and the bonus for the venue, we took a picture of it and shared on socials – sharing the hotel to our followers and expanding the venue’s reach and reputation, all because they showed they cared and did one low-cost thing that made us smile and meant a lot.
These experiences that we recall and remember, made our experience magical, and the people behind these magic moments are all Hospitality Heroes!
I’m worried that the savvy and smart Hospitality Hero is at risk of becoming an endangered species. The human touch has sometimes been taken over by technology or robots, or been overlooked due to us managers feeling stressed, pressed and stretched…it’s so important and we need to bring it back. We need to put the customer experience right back in the heart of what we do.
It doesn’t matter what our customers’ budget is. We want to create wow moments, experiences and memories that live on – that’s what we aim to create in hospitality every day. Because, we know that is what they share, that’s what they go away and tell their friends, tell their people…people talk, so customer service leadership isn’t just about in the moment service, it’s about how they felt after visiting us and what they say that impacts our reputation.
The reality is, creating the art of ‘WOW moments’ isn’t as hard as you think.
You never know when someone could use some good vibes, so spread the positivity and compliments and give people a reason to smile!