There's nothing like trying out the services of a business to learn about how that business works, and how it looks after its customers. And it's especially important for the owners of a business and their customer facing staff to know how they, their colleagues,and their service look to their users.
And so ... one of the things we planned at Well House Manor right from the start was to offer every member of staff who'll routinely be checking in guests, answering their questions are requirements from late afternoon through to breakfast time and beyond, the chance to stay for a night in one of our rooms. Well - actually we didn't really just offer - we made an offer that was hard to refuse.
Lisa and I stopped overnight during last week - we sampled bedroom 3, we got to try out the TV and the bathroom, to learn a little about the fixtures and fittings, and to see how our housekeeping team was settling in. And very well they're doing to - we just picked up on a couple of things that we should vary ever so slightly, but all in all there was a whole heap of congratulations flowing from the night.
Both Martin and Leah have also stayed over - on different nights, trying our different rooms, and they've come back with very positive reports too. Again, I'm sure there's odd things that they noticed (and perhaps they'll see from both sides now) and the odd thing that they've told us about ... but most importantly we -
all of us who are likely to get a customer query from 5 p.m. though to 9 a.m. - now know somewhat more about the operation and action of all the technology we've put in - from adjusting the temperature in the bath to remembering to take our keys out of the energy savers as we leave the rooms.
(written 2006-11-12, updated 2009-01-01)
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
M400 - Well House Manor - The Hospitality Business [774] Bed and Breakfast, or Hotel? - (2006-06-22)
[884] Drive time - (2006-10-02)
[988] You should think you're first in a hotel room - (2006-12-15)
[1002] Meet the neighbours - (2006-12-20)
[1046] Bounce, bounce, bounce - (2007-01-20)
[1048] Getting rid of people - hotel techniques - (2007-01-21)
[1084] Writing terms and conditions for conferences and other events - (2007-02-17)
[1108] Express service - (2007-03-14)
[1122] Hotel - online feedback forms compared - (2007-03-30)
[1161] A contrast in room rates and facilities - (2007-04-25)
[1180] Conjugation - (2007-05-08)
[1248] How NOT to oversell a hotel - (2007-06-27)
[1284] An update on the West Wilts show ... - (2007-07-30)
[1421] Castle Lodge Hotel, Ely, Cambridgeshire - (2007-11-04)
[1422] Wiltshire - speaker / after dinner talker offer - (2007-11-05)
[1445] Looking after you Christmas Customer Crowds - (2007-11-26)
[1548] Hotelympia - show report - the lighter side - (2008-02-21)
[1622] An extra step - victory from defeat - (2008-04-25)
[1792] All the pieces fall into place - hotel and courses - (2008-09-10)
[1877] Guests doing a bunk? - (2008-11-09)
[2007] Launch of Melksham Food and Drink Festival - (2009-01-24)
[2283] Everyone is in the customer relations business - (2009-07-12)
[2303] Turning potential customers away - (2009-07-24)
[2593] Food and drink launch - (2010-01-21)
[2724] Escapee Grandparents welcome - Henfield and Melksham - (2010-04-15)
[2879] Night Porter and reception - 24 hours a day? - (2010-07-20)
[2936] The service that customers should receive - (2010-08-27)
[3147] Hotel star ratings - towards a better system of review - (2011-01-25)
[3164] Brown - or Mrs Sally Brown, accountant from Whitstable? - (2011-02-10)
[3309] Tipping Policy - Well House Manor - (2011-05-29)
[3660] A Pivotal Incident - learning how to welcome your guests - (2012-03-18)
[3743] Sunday - no longer a day of rest - (2012-05-28)
[3832] A busy day at Well House Manor - so come in and make it even busier! - (2012-08-10)
[3838] Guest review - Well House Manor, Melksham - (2012-08-14)
[3909] Every Customer Counts - (2012-11-01)
[3988] Three cheers for the staff at Well House Manor - (2013-01-24)
[4033] Official Star ratings for hotels - still worth having? - (2013-03-07)
[4051] On reading a new hotel review - (2013-03-24)
[4202] Excellent Railfuture conference, but some setup lessons - (2013-11-03)
[4232] Not wanted here - hotel guests who will not be happy - (2013-12-30)
[4321] Are administration / review charges on hotel guests acceptable? - (2014-11-20)
[4521] Should we get an AA or Visit Wiltshire hotel assessment? - (2015-10-09)
[4543] Saturday morning at Well House Manor - (2015-10-17)
[4603] Happy New Year. Our customers are our ambassadors - (2016-01-01)
[4613] Our best hotel customers help us ... to help them ... be our best customers. - (2016-01-04)
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