You have probably been working with your product or service for so many years you feel no one could know it better. Maybe it is so second nature you don’t even think about it anymore. And if it’s been a while or you are relatively new to your product or service – try it! Actually use your product or service or if you are a process leader, go through your process yourself.
I had a great stay at a 5 star hotel in Sorrento, Italy this fall/autumn. The décor was gorgeous and the service impressive. I would recommend it to anyone. And for a staff who were so committed (xxx was there after midnight tending the bar and back at 7am clearing breakfast plates) there were a couple of things outside of their control that made it seem as the hotel designers hadn’t experienced staying at the hotel.
There were beautiful toiletries in the rooms – shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bath salts – with packaging that wasn’t functional in the actual bath and shower. The bottles did not sit in the wire holders in the bath without tipping over, the bottom of the bottles were too narrow for the wider spaces between the wires, spilling most of their lovely contents when used. It seemed like a case of the purchasing department not buying for the space or the space not designed with the ultimate toiletries provided.
The bar/lounge was beautiful – it could have easily made the pages of a high-end design magazine.
And again the functionality was just a bit lacking for the effort they had put into the design. We relaxed on the white leather sofas which were quite deep to enjoy the cocktails we had ordered. When the cocktails arrived they were placed on the low square table in front of the sofa. This necessitated sitting on the front edge of the sofa, leaning forward and slightly down to actually reach the cocktail, and staying perched on the edge in order to enjoy the drink. No more relaxing into the luxurious leather. A small table that could have been moved to the front edge of the sofa would have made all the difference in relaxing. It may even have generated more business for them as we would have been more comfortable and stayed longer hence ordering more.
From a different source, a trainer friend recounted to me a recent conversation with the new business development leader that joined their organization. He informed the trainers of all the great programs he is presenting to potential new clients to generate more income, to which they said “Great. Who is actually going to deliver that training?” “You of course,” he responded. Their response: “we don’t have expertise to offer those programs, that’s not what we actually train people on. We again encourage you to attend a session to see and experience our actual training.”
What would you learn about your product or service if you experienced it again?
Anne Taylor is an executive and personal life coach in London.
