Friday, May 14, 2010

It's all about the People

From the Church of the Customer Blog:

How to humanize your brand

Posted: 06 May 2010 10:45 AM PDT

If you travel for business frequently, take this quiz:

Think of the hotels you've stayed at this year. Can you name even one employee by name?

I can. Felix from the San Mateo Marriott. I stayed there a few weeks ago and noticed this poster in all of the elevators:

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Curious, I stopped into the Marketplace Cafe and sure enough, there was Felix.

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Friendly, approachable and mostly resembling the man on the poster, Felix told me he has worked for the hotel for 12 years. He said he loves his job and loves meeting people. He recounted the story of a man he met from Europe who, on his second stay at hotel, remarked that we was surprised that Felix was still there. Felix asked him when he had visited the hotel the first time. The man said "seven years ago."

A now-departed manager had thought up the idea eight years ago for putting Felix on the posters. Felix said there used to be a life-size cardboard cut-out of him in front of the cafe that was so life-like that it would stop people in their tracks to say hi. That is, until someone stole it.

I travel alot and for the most part, hotels are nameless, faceless places that aren't very memorable. But I won't forget the San Mateo Marriott because of Felix.

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