The Hard Rock Hotel says they treat their
guests like rock stars. That is their
mantra. And deep down, who doesn't want
to be treated like a rock star? I know I
do. Just leave the chocolate-dipped
strawberries and champagne outside my office door…
I just returned from
a vacation in Mexico. I stayed at the
Hard Rock Hotel. I have stayed at a Hard
Rock Hotel before and had high expectations - not too far from strawberries,
champagne, and somebody waving a fan over me while I stretch out on a
couch. While I was at the hotel, there
were times when I felt like Lady Gaga…or maybe Madonna. I might be a little old to pull off
Gaga. However, there were other times
when I felt more like Liz Phair. You
know, brilliant but overlooked. Underappreciated.
The employees at the
Hard Rock were fabulous. They were well
trained in making their guests feel important and appreciated. They pandered to my needs. They recognized my inner Madonna.
There were some Liz
Phair interactions, too. For example,
when I checked into the hotel, as I waited in line I was handed a complimentary
beverage (Madonna). When I got to the counter,
nobody recognized me as a repeat Hard Rock visitor (Liz Phair). I am a rock star, and I wasn't
recognized? Just think how Madonna-like
I would have felt if the concierge would have said "Welcome back to the
Hard Rock! We are glad you decided to
join us again, Mrs. Vogt."
When my husband and
I got up to our rooms, and saw that instead of a king-sized bed, we had two
twins (Liz Phair). We called down to the
front desk, and they didn’t know who I was.
They put me on hold, and transferred me.
The phone rang, unanswered for two minutes before my rock star
impatience forced me to hang up. I tried
again with the same results, and had to go down to the lobby to get help (Liz
Phair).
How I would have
loved to have received confirmation ahead of my check in that I was in a room
with twin beds. I would have liked it if
when I called down, the person would have greeted me by name. And I would have appreciated it if somebody
would have answered the phone when it was ringing. When I called the second time, it would have
been fabulous if I were greeted by somebody who would have known I had just
called down a few seconds ago so they could have reassured me that my rock-star
needs would be promptly attended to
along with apologies for my prior treatment.
The Hard Rock Hotel
in Cancun is an all-inclusive. As I was
wearing a wrist band the entire visit to assure staff I wasn't a squatter, how
cool would it be if I had not needed to also carry along a room key with me everywhere? Rock stars can't be expected to keep track of
trinkets like room keys. When I had to
go to the front desk to get admitted to my room after I locked my key inside the
room, not only was I inconvenienced but I was taking an employee's time - maybe
away from answering the phone for the other hotel rock stars who were trying to
call down for help - to let me back into my room.
Employees of the
Hard Rock Hotel waved good-bye to me as I drove away. So far, that has been the end of my rock star
treatment. I have great ideas about
things the Hard Rock Hotel could tweak to move their service from good to
extraordinary. Nobody from the Hard Rock
has asked me how things went, or sought my input. The Hard Rock will not benefit from my
willingness to share feedback that could help them anticipate their next
customer's needs and desires.
I wonder what the
customer journey map would look like for the Hard Rock. The value of the customer journey map is in
visually presenting the complex weave of customer interactions in a consumable
manner so your organization can ensure consistent, and consistently positive,
customer experiences regardless of the avenue the customer chooses to interact
with you. To drive what
"positive" means, look to your brand and ensure you are living it
with every customer interaction. It is
also critical to realize that missed interaction opportunities with your
customer are interactions your customer is having without you. The Hard Rock Hotel interacted with me in
many different ways. They missed
opportunities to build their relationship with me prior to my stay, build on
previous stays, and continue nurturing our relationship after my visit.
With the Hard Rock
Hotel customer journey, they have the people part of building relationships in
aces. There are some definite
opportunities for technology to improve the journey, however. When you think of a hotel stay, technology
probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind in making your stay a good
one. You probably think of feather beds,
room service, roomy showers, and attentive staff. However, coming from IT, I see opportunities
everywhere I look where technology can work behind the scenes to upgrade
average experiences to rock star level.
Technology could have equipped the well-trained Hard Rock staff with the
information they needed to provide me more Madonna moments. I am also sure technology exists that could
combine the bracelet and room key into one thing. Madonna would have loved that.
My point isn't that
the Hard Rock is a bad place to stay.
Overall, they were very good.
However, the Hard Rock made a big statement when they told me they would
treat me like a rock star. If they had
delivered throughout my journey without fail, or recovered well when they had a
hiccup, I would have become a loyal Hard Rock patron. I would certainly return, but I wouldn’t seek
out a Hard Rock over another hotel chain.
The Hard Rock also didn’t provide me with an experience that I will rave
about to other sun-starved Minnesotans who may want to visit the Cancun area.
