Human Element Wins Every Time (S5-E4)

Paul O'Mahony & Roger Overall chat about The Hotel First you hear ongoing conversation about what it's been like for Roger & Paul to talk with each other. "Discovering what you don't know is learning..." [There's a dog in the corner of Paul's kitchen - Louis the English Setter may guest on this show.] Whining ... complaining ... leads to Roger's hotel experience in UK. The hotel Roger & John (UK Sales Director) was : -excellent booking - bed pristine - shower hot & powerful - room to hang up the suit - plenty of plugs - Wifi not needed - bathroom light repaired immediately - ideal location - big power brick Bishop Stortford (Hertfordshire, England, population 37,000) near Stamford Airport What's Roger's complaint? This is a poignant story about how to upset customers a lot. The human contact (or absence of it) ... The personal touch (or lack of it) ... The communication (or a comedy of errors)... Roger's never described his upset feelings in such graphic terms (at least not on this podcast). "Hostile" - "Antagonise" - "Aggressive" - "Sinistre" A pregnant woman intending customer features in the story. "Antagonism" - "Lying" - "Passive-aggressive" ________________ High point on the show may be : - Roger defending Ireland's reputation. "Ireland - It doesn't rain unnecessarily" (new national strap line?) ________________ "Eerie" - "Hostility" - "Insulted" - "Aggressive" "What's your problem?" she said to the pregnant lady... This is Fawlty Towers without the charm. You better stay in another hotel. How do you describe a hotel like this? What makes the experience of a 5-star hotel? Paul suggests we bring a hotel manager or hotel reviewer on the show. ________________ What did Roger learn that's useful to listeners? The human element matters most The product may be excellent - but it the experience of the human is not nice - that detracts from everything ... _______________ The formula If P = + "+ & - added = - (This is work in progress.) __________________ If your product is rubbish - you're done for ... If your product is brilliant + you don't treat people in a way they think is good - you're also on a very sticky wicket ... __________________ Why was the "heavily pregnant woman" more effective than you were" She met aggression with aggression. Was she assertive? __________________ Contact us Roger Overall at http://showandtellcommunications.net Paul O'Mahony at @omaniblog on Twitter (& other social media) & @ Show & Tell Communications ________________ PS - "cut out self-disparaging remarks" asks Paul.