46. Communication: Awaiting for the Room and Feeling Ignored

At a LHW hotel in Shanghai, I was informed that my room was not ready upon arrival as it was not the official check-in time yet. I showed understanding and asked about the approximate time when it would be ready, so that I could better plan what I would do (and how far I would go) in the meanwhile. In a bid to pre-empt what the young team member would say, I stated that I knew they would take care of the luggage during the wait.


In response, the employee simply stated the official check-in time and repeated after me that I could leave my luggage with them. He clearly did not understand that I wanted to know when the room would be ready, not hear about check-in time. If it was not possible to have the room before the official time because of high occupancy, please state so.
Right then, I knew that the inexperienced team member has not received much, if any, proper training and guidance on delivering good service. While he had carried out all the functional aspects of his role as a receptionist, he had missed out on the emotional engagement. There were opportunities to demonstrate empathy, intuitive service and level of care, but all these were missed.
Service Bank: Minus 2



Reflective thoughts: Simply telling guests that they can store their luggage while waiting for the room is hardly good enough. How can we demonstrate care and anticipatory service?

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