90. Case Review: Surprising Experience at Mandarin Oriental Tokyo (Part 2)

At check-in, everything was efficient and personalised. 💖

It's subjective, I know - but we felt that the sense of Japanese-ness was lacking even from the Japanese staff: everyone seemed to have an American accent and a rather informal way of speaking (e.g. "Hi there!", "You guys have any plans this afternoon?"). All the female employees seemed to have on rather glamorous make-up and some of the uniforms came across as a tad too snug.

During the hotel and room orientation: 

  • Employee Ms. C was unsure of bar closing hours when guest asked; yet without offering to check, she stated that it was "sometime after midnight", which turned out to be inaccurate. (Minus 1)

  • Ms. C, informed that price of buffet breakfast was "about 3,000 yen". This was later verified by us to be 6,500 yen. (Minus 1)

  • We requested for a cable for our camera, but this was not sent until two days later when we called Guest Services to remind. (Minus 3)

During the stay:

  • Day 2: While confirming the breakfast rate with Guest Services over the phone, I shared that their colleague had informed us the breakfast rate was 3,000 yen instead of 6,500 yen, the person simply remained silent and there was also no positive closing at the end of the call. (Minus 1)

  • Day 3: We still had not received the cable for our camera and decided to call for follow-up on the third day. Housekeeping came by to check our camera in order to determine the cable required. 15 minutes later, Ms. C knocked on the door to pass the wrong cable. When it was apparent it did not fit the device, she simply muttered casually, "Aww...Sorry but that's the only one we have." 

    The lack of seamless collaboration led to much unnecessary delay, inconvenience and much frustration. (Minus 5)

  • Ms. C also added, "Oh, Housekeeping did not follow-up and get back to you? I had already informed them the first day." 

    Note to all employees: Never throw your colleagues under the bus, even if that was really the case. Stay professional. (Minus 3)

  • Still Day 3: The Do Not Disturb sign was on when the same employee returned again about 45 minutes later, ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door. I was on a work call and was surprised about the disturbance as I had put on the privacy sign. I put my call on hold and opened door to Ms. C once more. 

    When I said that I had the DND sign on and was on a work call, she retorted with, "I'm sorry but I thought you might need the cable urgently."

    While I was glad that we finally had the right cable, fact that the expressed need for privacy was not respected made me feel ignored.  There was also a lack of self-control as the employee's response was perceived to be sarcastic. (Minus 5)

  • During turndown, we received a small basket with jam, tea from the MO Gourmet Shop and an apology card from Ms. C as service recovery. 💖

  • Transactional encounters that lack positive emotions or any personalisation. For example, when requesting for late checkout, shoe shining and printing of documents. While information was given by employees, warmth was lacking and there was no further assistance offered in each of these interaction. (Minus 3)

  • Lack of timeliness: the shoes were picked up 30 minutes after the call and the printed documents were sent to the room more than an hour after. (Minus 3)

During departure:

  • There was no asking about our stay, nor offering of luggage assistance or transport. It was very surprising for this five-star property. The key emotion was truly one of being disappointed and feeling disconnected. (Minus 3)

Total Service Bank: Plus 2 💖 and Minus 28 = Net of negative 26


Reflective thoughts: The rooms may be luxurious, the restaurants and bars swanky with good quality food and drinks, but these do not outweigh the human component. Service excellence is delivered by people with the right aptitude, supported and driven by leaders committed to this cause. If your hotel claims to be 5-star, what is done to ensure it does not slip down to 4 and 3? (Please don't just quip "Training and Action Plans". Be more specific)

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