Last week I attended my cousin’s wedding in Denver, CO and it was the first plane travel I’ve had in years.
One of the many things I absolutely love about travel is the opportunity to observe and experience numerous customer touch points in an accelerated fashion. In the span of 4 days…
- I rode in a taxi
- Secured (and returned) a rental car
- Flew on a plane twice
- Checked in/out of a hotel
- Attended a wedding
- Rode in a shuttle to/from a catered venue
- Dined at a handful of quick service and full service restaurants
I also dined at one of the top hotel resorts in the country – The Broadmoor – located in Colorado Springs. The 100+ year old property is the world’s longest running consecutive Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond resort.
I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check it out! Of course the setting and grounds (pictured) were unreal. So was the décor and historic charm. But it was the service that stood out to me, especially when there was a hiccup during our meal.
Shortly after placing our lunch order at “The Bar”, two share plates of a salmon Caesar salad arrived. My sister and I were so busy enjoying our appetizer of smoked trout dip that it took us a minute to realize the protein on the plate was incorrect. We had ordered shrimp Caesar salads.
The server, who proactively checked back on us, was horrified to learn of the mistake. He apologized, took ownership (saying it was his mistake and not the kitchen) and swiftly took action. When five minutes had passed and the new salads hadn’t resurfaced, he again proactively checked in on us and apologized. We never had to seek him out.
Eventually the correct salads arrived and they were worth the wait.
When the check was presented at the end of the meal, our server apologized once again and proactively took 20% off our bill to make up for the inconvenience. It was a master class in service recovery and perfectly showcased how we ultimately left The Broadmoor only remembering the swift action that was taken and the genuine concern shown, and we no longer remembered (or cared) about the temporary inconvenience.
Every company in the world has service blunders. What separates the good from the great is how you respond.