06 Jul No ‘Spa’-rkling service here. Why first impressions REALLY matter

We’re not necessarily a fan of accepted truths here at Onswitch (everything’s up to be challenged!). But our recent experiences at two very different hotels have re-confirmed one for sure – the criticality of the first impression, and the fact that you don’t get a second chance to make one.

Being a little frazzled by too much travelling and too many hours on the laptop, Onswitch booked a day at a luxury spa with some friendly clients, for a ‘meeting’. After all, according to their website, they are “a 5 star hotel .. which is like no other in the home counties.” This can only be good news for all the other hotels.

We arrive with high expectations; after all, it’s a top end place that promises luxury and relaxation. In fact, the “1,000 acres of glorious parkland” that surround the hotel are so glorious that it takes us ages to find the hotel in the dark. There are no signs.

When we do manage to locate the main building, we have to hunt for reception, which is eventually located in a small room hidden away behind a closed door.

We feel welcomed and relaxed already.

A formidable lady wearing a rather unfortunate facial expression greets us, along with a one-worded, and one-sided conversation, during which the only words she utters are:

‘Yes?’

‘Name?’

‘And?’

‘You speak to the spa about that.’

What a lovely welcome! What an ‘interesting’ day it turned out to be, in fact.

Here are our highlights:

• We are promised free robes and slippers, there are no slippers to be had
• We can’t use the lockers at the pool as they need £1, and nobody told us so we don’t have coins
• There are screaming children in the infinity pool.
• And in the jacuzzi. The staff just watch, even though the signs say no under 16’s and the website promised us that the spa “has been designed to create a calming and relaxed atmosphere where you can totally unwind. We always try to make sure that each one of our guests leaves feeling totally relaxed and rejuvenated, not just from head to toe but in mind and spirit as well.” Pah!
• We are told we can’t go into the dining room in our robes (unlike at every other day spa in the whole universe!)
• We are served stale bread at lunch
• Our orders are not taken at dinner because we did not tell them we were there!!
• After our food is rushed through the kitchen late, and we retire to the bar, we ask for another bottle of wine. ‘Another glass?’ ‘No, another bottle please’ (there are three of us after all.) The last words we hear as the bar shutters are slammed down are “For F*ck’s Sake!’

Now compare and contrast:

At a second hotel, travelling for business, we arrived with low expectations – after all we had found it by searching for ‘cheap B&B’ on LateRooms.

Our expectations are given a swift yank skywards when we are greeted by a team of four smiling, friendly staff.

‘Good Evening Mrs L, we’ve been expecting you.’

‘All of our rooms are themed, and you are in Treetops.’

And boy, were we! The decor was perfectly suited to a luxury Kenyan safari lodge, without being twee.

And this time there were slippers to match the fluffy robe.

And our own proper coffee machine.

And probably one of the world’s greatest fish restaurants downstairs!

We went to sleep feeling very happy and smug.

Until 6am. The alarm call we’d booked for 7am came an hour early. So there may have been just a little bit of swearing at the apologetic receptionist! Still, it seemed like the ideal opportunity to avail ourselves of an hour in the enormous limestone bath. Except the plug did not fit.

Now these are fairly major misdemeanours for a hotel – waking clients up early and having impressive, but ultimately useless facilities. But we forgave them as we could not forgive the first hotel. Because their first impression had been so genuinely great. Our emotional bank account was full to overflowing when we went to sleep, so even though diminished, was still healthily in the black after ‘alarm gate’. Our first destination had invested only pennies, and thus by the end of our stay, our emotional account was reaching overdraft proportions verging on those of a fifth year vet student.

And so we realised the reason it is so important to make a good first impression, to stock up on some client goodwill, is that you never know when you’ll need it.

Things will inevitably go wrong at some point. They may be small things, but even if it’s not your fault, your clients will blame your practice. If their emotional bank account is full of love for you and your staff, they’ll forgive these transgressions for what they are – human error. If the default setting of your customer care is brusque and slow, they’ll ask themselves why they are surprised you’ve got it wrong, and go elsewhere.

So it’s time to start making regular investments in your practice / client emotional bank account, and keep saving for the unknown.