A Lesson in Customer Service

Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know that I am on a bit of a vacation in Europe. At the moment, I’m staying at Le Meridien in Vienna, writing this post from the lobby bar, with the Michael Jackson Memorial on the television beside me.

This is not the hotel chain I remember from years ago, when I lived in Calgary and made frequent business trips to Vancouver. In those days I stayed at what is now Sutton Place, but was Le Meridien Vancouver. Today, this is a hotel chain that has used a revolutionary marketing approach – one that has led them in an entirely new direction. An approach so revolutionary it has lessons for all business owners in all industries. 

The Le Meridien that I remember was much like what the Sutton Place hotel in Vancouver is now: huge flower arrangements in the lobby, overstuffed chairs, gilt and inlaid wood everywhere, an unfortunate predilection for brass and glass … . 

The new Le Meridien, on the other hand, has a rotating contemporary art exhibit in the lobby and public areas, a fantastic fitness centre, and rooms that are crisp, modern, and smart.  

So what was the revolutionary marketing approach employed? How did this venerable brand go from period furniture reproductions and petit fours to Phillipe Starck and tapas?  They asked their customers what they wanted. And then they gave it to them. 

Revolutionary.

Customers said they wanted simple, clean lines. They said they wanted furniture on wheels in the guest rooms so they could move things around as they wished. They said wanted free wireless, a comfortable bed, free in-room coffee, a good iron, a great shower, and a big flat screen TV. So that’s what they got.

Obviously I’m calling this approach “revolutionary” with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. However, as we all grapple with the new realities of commerce, with the seesaw stock market, with new communications channels, and with new consumer expectations, it sometimes pays to revisit the old ways.  

We all know we need to be responsive to consumer demands. We all know we need to ask what our customers want and then find a way to deliver it. But it’s easy to get caught up in all the other flashy, demanding distractions of running a company in this brave new world. 

So take a moment. Call your best customers. Ask them what they want. And then give it to them. The ideas generated this way by this hotel chain are so successful that they’re rolling out this new concept for Le Meridien worldwide. They’ve managed to find a brand new way despite their own past. 

If a straight-laced grande dame hotel brand can reinvent itself and become relevant again using this simple method, what can you do? What can we all do?  Let’s ask and see.