First published 18 July 2022 on Your Best Year Starts Here with Nigel Risner.
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At the end of episode 190 Nigel said he wanted to come back to satisfaction versus loyalty. I only remembered because I'd looked back at my notes. He started with McDonald's. You know what you're getting, you get it, and millions of people are satisfied enough to keep going back.
Then came the villa. Nigel had just got back from Spain with a better tan than me. He'd stayed in an ex-footballer's house that looked stunning in the pictures but was really built as a party house for stags and hens. Nobody met them when they arrived. There were no instructions, and the kit in the house needed (his words) 18 manuals. They also had three nights without air conditioning. And around day nine or ten the neighbours leaned over the fence to tell him they were the quietest guests they'd ever had. He wanted that on public record.
The best bit came afterwards. The agency wrote to say they'd talk about compensation for the air con once he'd left a review about the positive parts of his stay. He's saved their number in his phone under a name I won't repeat here (it's in the transcript).
So he was satisfied, more or less, and he'll never go back. When either of us speaks at an event, being funny and motivating is pretty much the job title. Loyalty is getting rebooked. Nigel has key fobs for some of his clients' buildings so he doesn't have to wait in reception. With a recession on the way and every bill going up, he wants people to look back over every client and ask if they did enough to earn the next booking.
I brought in a news story about a family who'd left their daughter's favourite teddy bear in a UK holiday let. The cleaners found it in the bed, and the owners wanted 20 quid to post it back. Then there's a Cheltenham restaurant I love. The owner got asked to talk to business students at the university and said his whole approach was to smile, and if anything goes wrong, say sorry and offer free drinks. Everyone I know who's eaten there has gone back.
The bits worth keeping
- Doing what it says on the tin (Nigel's Ronseal line) only gets you as far as satisfied.
- No complaints doesn't mean they're happy. No news is not good news.
- Eight out of ten isn't enough when plenty of places already do eight. A ten is what people share.
- If someone raises a fair complaint, sort it. Don't ask them for a good review first.
- When something goes wrong, own it straight away. Free drinks help.
But many times we think doing enough is enough. Good enough seldom is.
Nigel Risner
If you're in business and people raise a valid concern to you, listen to their concern and deal with it. Don't ask for something back.
Neil Martin
