Love Notes

Unsolicited Customer Comments Provide Useful Insights

By Bernard Micallef
Managing Director,
Donbass Palace and Opera Hotels

When the Donbass Palace Hotel celebrated its fifth anniversary last summer, we published a wonderful book describing the hotel's history, the renovation work that resulted in the new Donbass Palace, and the reaction that the hotel has elicited from guests ranging from political leaders to pop stars to business tycoons and professional football players. 

One of the most striking parts of the book were a couple pages where we reproduced notes we have received from our famous guests.  These brief notes of thanks recognized the hotel, generally, but many singled out particular staff members who had done an exceptional job of adding to the guest's Donbass Palace experience.

Today, it's easy to pick up the phone or send a quick e-mail, or to add a comment to one of our formal guest surveys.  The hotel appreciates and notes each one of these.  There is something special, intimate, and personal though about a handwritten note to the general manager in praise of a waiter, a concierge, a housekeeper or any one of the dozens of people who make a great hotel a great hotel.

If you've ever considered writing such a note, but discarded the thought because, "nobody cares" or "it's not important," think again.  We do care, and it is important.  It's important to the person who merited the praise, to his or her supervisor, to our training team, the management team and the hotel in general.

Praise is taken seriously because, in our culture, it is so rarely offered.   An angry or disappointed customer might be quick to send a note to the executive office, whereas good work is taken for granted.  In the hospitality business, if we get more feedback - positive and negative - than many other sectors, it's because we ask for it, verbally and in writing through surveys.     

Negative comments are important to us as well.  Staff members do make mistakes, and when they do, our guests let us know.  We read all comments, and take them all seriously.

Letters and comments are usually placed on a staff bulletin board for all to view. Praise is an important component of an employee's performance review, and is a wonderful motivator: Remember how you felt the last time you received unexpected praise?

If the comment is a complaint, it is evaluated and addressed within the department concerned.  If the situation reflects an unusual situation, it is thoroughly investigated and analyzed.

We look at the problem carefully to determine what caused it.  Was this a known, recurring mechanical problem that is already being addressed?  Does it reflect a training problem?  Was it a genuine accident or error?  Does it represent a serious deviation from our standard operating procedure?

We take the time to determine exactly what happened and why.  What was the guest's reaction?  What could have been done differently?  What changes can be made to avoid a recurrence?

As a hotelier, I can't think of an industry that takes customer comments more seriously than ours does.  Others should as well, if they aren't doing so already. Every service-oriented business - from airlines to attorneys and from hospitals to supermarkets or taxi drivers - needs to really listen to its customers.  At its most basic, service is about providing memorable experiences.