One weak link can break the chain

"It's the little things that make the difference, but the difference is no little thing" wrote Peter Beckwith from the major Australian hotel owning company - ALH. And, as if to prove the point, Dan Perera also wrote to me telling, “Recently I booked into the Perth International. I selected this hotel on the basis of its closeness to the downtown shopping and conference venue. From the time I registered to the time I checked out most of the service was excellent.”

“Why I am writing is to point out how a simple careless act by one staff member can damage all the good work done by the other staff members. One afternoon I went into the bar during Happy Hour (5.30 – 6.30). I asked if I was ‘in time’ knowing it was 6.27pm. However, quite rudely, I was told - Happy Hour is over. This made me wonder why they do this promotion at all.”

I agree Dan. The whole purpose of ‘Happy Hour’ is to attract people and entice them to stay long after the Happy Hour is over. If you use this promotion, I think you need to clearly explain this strategy to your team. Otherwise the promotion works against you and you end up with unhappy customers. It was Bob Pritchard who said "Unless you understand the business you are in, you cannot communicate with your customers."

Next week I want to tell of a benefit I’ve discovered created by spam and spammers.

Until then I wish you a FANTASTIC week.

Max Hitchins

The Hospitality Doctor

PS. One of our long term subscribers, Marie Farrugia, is soon to launch her website www.mammamira.com. Each month she plans to profile a working Mum. She is looking for suggestions on achieving ‘life-work’ balance for working Mum’s. If you you’d like to contribute you can e-mail her at