The quote “God is in the detail” is attributed to the New York Times obituary for Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886 – 1969) who was a German-American architect. Along with Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright he was widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture.
Mies, as he was referred to, created an influential twentieth century architectural style, stated with extreme clarity and simplicity. And just as in architecture, it is this clarity and simplicity in the detail that lies at the foundation of the products and services that create the individual style upon which a hospitality business can effectively build their brand.
According to author and media expert Michael Levine, the biggest problems in business stem from ignoring the smallest of details. In his book, “Broken Windows, Broken Business” Levine suggests that if broken windows in a building go unfixed, the other ones will soon break – and the neighbourhood will deteriorate. Levine asserts that in order to succeed, business owners must monitor the tiny details or risk failure.
This translates easily to the hotel industry. If one chair in the dining room is in poor repair, it will follow that others will be in the same state shortly afterwards. Staff will begin to lower standards of maintenance, guests won’t take the same care and so on.
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Business Online Levine stated:
“It’s my belief that customers can get a strong indication about how a company does business and how it will attend to big concerns by how it attends to little ones.
“If you buy a car from a dealership that doesn’t have service hours on nights or weekends, that’s a strong indicator that the dealership is not obsessed with customer service, but rather with creating a schedule for its needs. Or think about when you go into a restaurant’s bathroom and it’s dirty. There’s a good indicator the kitchen is not as clean as you might like.”
So what can we do to make sure that we are committed to the details for which we will become known? There are 3 simple steps:
Focus
Firstly, we have to make ourselves conscious of where we want to focus our attention. This is much easier said than done, but not because the process is difficult, but rather because we spend so much time in the “unconscious” plane that we become blind to what is happening around us and where the opportunities exist.
Do a simple test – ring your switchboard and listen to the way in which the operators answer the phone as the first impression of your business. But before you do, imagine you are not familiar with your business.
Can you understand what they say? Are you tempted to check that you have connected with the right number because what they have announced is completely unintelligible? Are they clearly enunciating the greeting, or is it just a garbled mess? People working within the business are usually so “unconscious” of this that they just let it pass. And yet the business is missing an ideal opportunity to create a positive first impression through such a tiny little detail.
So, the key is to find the things that will reap you the most benefit as a representation of your brand and they don’t have to be complex. I recently stayed in a small hotel in Bavaria near the Tegernsee. I am sure they won’t mind me naming them – it is the Hotel Bachmair Weissach.
There were so many things about this hotel that impressed me, from the excellent grooming of the staff to the delicious quality of items that were in the complimentary mini bar to their meticulous Housekeeping standards. But the thing that stood out the most was – wait for it – the luggage trolley!
They had used this simple detail as a way of expressing their individuality. Not only was it one of the first things that I experienced in this hotel (by definition luggage trolleys are at the entrance of the hotel) but they were functional, attractive and extremely easy to use. The trolleys represented a wonderful detail that introduced me to the personality and the standards of the hotel overall.
Action
There is a big difference between an “eye for detail” and “attention to detail” – having an “eye for detail” implies that details are noticed, however “attention to detail” implies a corresponding action that brings these details to life. In my article on the fundamentals of communication, I suggested that there is a big gap between thinking about something and actually achieving or doing something.
What this means, therefore, is that it is important to develop a culture where the team is not just aware of the details, but they act upon them – they report damage to maintenance; they proof read correspondence to ensure that not only are there no spelling mistakes, which is a job that spell check does anyway, but that what they have written makes sense; they are meticulous about their own grooming standards and the grooming standards of others; they enunciate clearly when answering the phone; and so on.
Innovate
The team must be encouraged to think of new ways to improve the product offering. Our clients are not the only ones who knowingly or unknowingly pick up on the details – our competitors do too. And let’s face it – imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
What this means for us is that we therefore need to constantly come up with new ways to impress and differentiate ourselves. Once again, this does not have to be through big things like renovating a restaurant – it can be through little things.
In one hotel where I went on a site inspection to find a training venue, one way in which the Sales Department followed up on my visit was by sending me a hand written postcard of the city – they simply thanked me for my visit and looked forward to staying in touch.
When I visited a game park in South Africa, my wake up call to go out early morning game spotting was not made by an anonymous telephone operator, but was made by my guide who I had met the previous evening.
In another hotel, one of their amenities was a “scrunchie” for ladies to use to tie back their hair if they used the gym.
Fundamentally, what we are talking about is a culture where everyone in the property is involved in the focus on, the maintenance of and the involvement in developing the details that will both delight our guests and separate us from the competition.
As author Paul Auster says in The Brooklyn Follies “The truth of the story lies in the details.” You just have to decide what story you want your hotel’s details to tell.
Timothy Millett’s training roles have seen him deliver programs across Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa and America ensuring cultural sensitivity as well as a broad base of experience in lecturing, teaching and training.
A graduate of the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland, his hospitality career spans management and director positions in Front Office, Guest Relations, Public Relations, Food & Beverage and Training with organisations including the Regent of Melbourne, The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Mövenpick Gastronomy. He was also a founding staff member of the internationally renowned Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School in Australia.
Tim is currently the Director of Training and Development at iperform, an organisation that specialises in Sales and Service, Leadership and Effective Personal Organisation programs.
