Why you need to delight your customers and not just keep them satisfied.

I love travelling, especially to India, especially to Mumbai. It’s loud, it’s chaotic, it’s buzzing, it’s electric, it’s colourful and the food (oh, the food!)! One of the other things that I love about India is that given how competitive the country is and despite its large customer base, you’re generally guaranteed a great customer experience — from the roadside chaiwallahs to the pricier shops in the upmarket malls.

Where else would you find shops where the salesmen are able to put on saree after saree after saree on themselves for their customers while you’re treated to a continuous stream of masala chai and Indian street food?

This time around we only had a week and we were attending a family wedding; with two very young kids. Saying that the trip was hectic was a bit of an understatement. Day of the wedding itself, we started at 6am (I heard that the bridal and groom families started at 3am!) and lots of functions, dancing and food later we crashed out by 10pm (the wedding festivities were still continuing) and made our way to a nearby hotel which we had booked specifically just for this one night.

Given that it was just one night, we had really gone for convenience, family budget friendly and comfortable to an extent. Mumbai was super busy at this time too, so availability generally was an issue too. So we checked into the Hilton at around 11pm that night.

We were greeted in a very friendly manner and here is where the hotel really went out of their way to make me feel special. The check-in host mentioned how adorable our two kids were — by now were fast asleep and drooling all over our shoulders — and she also said that we must be really tired so they were going to get us checked in as quickly as possible.

Now reflecting on that moment, they were probably going to go through their standard check-in process but she connected with me, empathised with my situation and reassured me that this would get over quickly. At this point, all we really wanted to do was to get in our beds as quickly as possible so she already hit the right notes with her welcome.

Next, she mentioned that the room we had booked may feel a bit cramped for us, so they gave us a complimentary upgrade to a small suite. I definitely was not expecting that! I wasn’t a frequent Hilton traveller and although I still have a profile, the last time I stayed in a Hilton was probably back in 2007! Again, reflecting on that specific event — they knew that at 11pm no one was going to purchase a suite and why not make a guest feel extra special by giving them a complimentary upgrade.

Last thing that went down a treat before we were ushered to our suite — they indicated that as we had checked in so late, they would also give us a complimentary late checkout. Again, they probably didn’t have anyone booked in for that room and based on their occupancy probably decided that they wouldn’t be needing it; so again why not make a guest feel extra special by giving them a complimentary upgrade.

The next day, we woke up quite late and when we got down to the breakfast area they were already clearing up — breakfast was over, damn! However, the restaurant manager indicated that even though we had missed the buffet breakfast, the kitchen would be able to prepare a few dishes for us — if that was okay with us. Erm, yes!

Again, it would have been very easy for them to tell us (and rightly so) that we had missed breakfast but they went out of their way to make their guests feel welcome and valued.

The hotel could have treated us as any other guest — given us our booked room, indicated the standard check out time, asked us to order from another restaurant or room service — and I would have probably been satisfied with that experience.

What they did instead, pushed me from satisfied to delighted. Given my experience, I will prefer to stay at a Hilton where possible and am actively going to recommend both the Hilton as well as their specific hotel in Mumbai to others; which ultimately will have an impact on their top and bottom lines.

Here’s my take on what other brands can learn and apply to their businesses based on my experience (read this too):

1. Empathise! Your staff need to be able to connect with your customers at an emotional level and be able to empathise with their situation. Would your staff have treated us as a wallet or as a tired family with two sleepy kids?
2. Empower! The staff at the hotel were all empowered to make their decisions — whether it was the complimentary upgrade or serving us breakfast outside of their standard serving hours. If you can’t empower your staff to make these types of decisions (and without any consequences or backlash) then your brand isn’t going to be able to go out of its way to delight your customers.
3. Treat your customers and make them feel special! You don’t have to do this all the time, but make your customers feel valued. This applies to new customers as well as existing customers. I am always so frustrated when I see brands enticing prospective customers with deals and yet they don’t have the sense to offer those (or even better) deals to their customers who have stood by them.

Let us know if this story was insightful and how you plan on using this to improve your customers’ experiences.

Many thanks to Akshay Shah for this story.