Upgrade Your Words to Improve Your Customer Experience

Warning: The words you use to communicate with your customer can destroy the customer experience instead of improving the customer experience.

On a recent business trip to San Diego, I was checking into a hotel.  The girl working the front desk seemed very nice.  She had to inform me that my room was not ready.  She pleasantly offered to put me into a different room. However, the words she used ruined the customer experience.

She said, “I’m sorry the room we pre-assigned you is not ready, but we could downgrade you to a different room and get you in right away.”

The word “downgrade” grabbed my attention, so I asked her what “downgrade” meant.  Apparently, they had me in a corner room with a king-size bed.  Those rooms are just a bit bigger (not much) than the other rooms.  She was downgrading me to a “non-corner” room with a king-size bed.

All of the rooms in this hotel are very nice.  What she could have said was, “I’m sorry the room we pre-assigned you is not ready.  It was a corner room with a king-size bed.  You can wait until it is ready, or we can put you into another room with a king-size bed.  It’s also a very nice room.”

By the way, I took the “downgraded” room, and it was perfectly fine.

What words are you using that could improve the customer experience instead of destroying the customer experience?

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.

(Copyright ©MMXI, Shep Hyken)