The Doorman Delights…

A hotel customer is waiting outside for a taxi to the airport. When it arrives, the doorman opens the taxi door and loads the luggage. As the taxi speeds away, the doorman notices that the customer has left his briefcase behind. Realizing it contains important documents, the doorman grabs the briefcase, jumps into the next taxi and tails the customer to the airport so he can hand it back personally. Unfortunately by the time he gets to the airport, the customer has already boarded his flight to New York. The doorman takes the note of the office address on the nametag, books the next flight, and heads to New York.

On the plane, the customer finally realizes he has left his briefcase behind. When he reaches his office he asks his secretary to call the hotel and arrange for the briefcase, if it has not been stolen, to be couriered to him as soon as possible. As the secretary is waiting for the hotel to call her back, the doorman, dressed in full uniform, walks into the New York office. The astonished secretary asks her boss to step outside a moment. The doorman hands the suitcase to the customer and then starts his journey back to the hotel, across two states. A few days later, the General Manager of the hotel receives a letter from the delighted customer. The letter explained what has happened, how delighted he is with the hotel chain, and that he will always stay with this hotel chain in the future. The General Manager praises the doorman for his excellent service, and more than reimburses his out-of-pocket expenses.

To satisfy a customer is relatively straightforward, but to delight the customer requires much more effort. It takes heroic actions from your employees. The reimbursement to the doorman cost less than one night’s stay in the hotel, and the hotel gained a loyal customer for life.

“To satisfy the customer is the mission and purpose of every business”- Peter Drucker