“Noah, what was distinct about the bathroom?” Shawn asked.
This wasn’t exactly what I had on my mind as we made our way over to the first Evergreen Summit. But my good friend and business colleague Shawn Veltman (who did an incredible guest session at the Summit) always has his eyes open for interesting lessons.
Shawn: “Think about it. What else did you notice?”
Me: “Well, it had heated floors.”
Shawn: “Yup, the floors were heated. What else?”
Me: “They had incredible amenities.”
Shawn: “Absolutely. What else?”
Me: “There was a TV in the mirror.”
Shawn: “There was. Anything else?”
This exchange went on for a few minutes – here’s a video of us sharing this lesson with a packed house at the Summit.
Shawn and I spent the night in fantastic rooms at the Shangri-La Hotel in Toronto, a posh hotel that prides itself on “timeless luxury.”
Make no mistake, this is one of the nicest hotels I’d ever stayed at. For the most part, the service was impeccable. And after dining with 12 VIP guests at one of the top restaurants in Canada, it was a great feeling to snuggle into one of the most incredibly comfortable beds I’ve ever slept on.
So what distinct about the bathroom?
Shawn replied: “1-ply toilet paper!”
And there it was…hitting me smack dab in the middle of the face because I noticed it too.
This hotel spared no expense anywhere in my hotel room, except, perhaps, the one place it mattered most. Everything was top notch, except the toilet paper.
What does this have to do with you and your business?
It’s a reminder that the entire experience needs to match and remain congruent with the promises you’ve outlined in your sales and marketing efforts (even the small details). We can be sure that if they’ve cut costs here, they’ve cut them elsewhere.
If your website and your business cards state that you’re the easiest company in your industry to do business with, then that’s the expectation. If you follow-up with a lengthy contract or a confusing proposal after we’ve agreed on the details, then you’ve pooched it.
The minor details matter. You might not notice. You might not think the customer’s will notice – but when they do, they talk about it.
And now you might think Shawn was overreacting about the toilet paper. I mean, after all, it’s toilet paper. You might think surely, your customers wouldn’t ever notice the small stuff like that.
But then something happened with the same hotel a few hours later that I’ll share with you next week.
Something that happened AFTER my stay was complete and the sale had already been “closed.”
Something, I couldn’t help but relate back to the 1-ply.
This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about 1-ply, and I’m feeling like it won’t be the last. Even sports team aren’t taking any chances with the toilet paper!
Is the customer’s experience from point of first contact to happily ever after congruent with the promises you’ve made in your sales & marketing efforts?
Here’s the major takeaway: The better you are in most areas, the less you can get away with being subpar in any area. Because the better everything else is, the more noticeable ‘average’ is. It’s a great reminder that we always have to strive to be better in ALL areas. And yes, even toilet paper.
