Not all superheroes wear a cape

The Power of Customer Experience

Olivier, a receptionist at a hotel in Quimper, was quite troubled yesterday. I asked him to book me a taxi. Not a single car was available within the hour. I was going to be very late, and my whole day risked going terribly wrong.

“Don’t worry, sir, come with me I’ll drive you myself,” he replied. I looked around for hidden cameras, thinking it might be a prank!

Of course, I gladly accepted his offer. During the ride, I took the time to understand how an employee with his level of responsibility (he was managing check-outs, and it was 7:45 in the morning) could take such an initiative…

Was this an isolated case of a professional with an exceptional customer service culture? He was indeed deeply committed to his mission (“to serve”), which he took very seriously. But what fascinated me most was his reflection on the “team spirit” within the hotel.

A Strong Team Culture

The Director ensures that everyone truly understands their colleagues’ roles, to the point that:

• They know how their work impacts others.
• They can easily support one another.

He explained how this spirit of mutual aid is so strong that it enabled him to drive me. He simply asked the breakfast staff to cover check-outs during his 30 minutes absence.

Yes, those 30 minutes were probably intense for her, but she allowed her “superhero” colleague to fulfill his mission.

It was amazing to see how happy everyone was in that hotel. They were genuinely pleased to find a solution for their customer.

The Superhero Mindset

The superhero approach is not about constantly adding extra touches to the customer experience, but about solving customers’ problems. That’s what customer experience is really about: finding solutions to the challenges customers face.

Without both individual customer focus (“I want to”) and a collective culture (“we are managed this way”), this mindset is impossible.

Long live the superheroes of customer experience!

Oh, and by the way, this wasn’t a luxury hotel, just the Ibis in Quimper!

Author: Guillaume Antonietti