A Tale of Two Hotels: How Not To Engage Your Customers

I travelled to Kano city, a major commercial city in northern Nigeria. I have consistently visited Kano since 2008 when I worked with Procter & Gamble. My most frequent visits to Kano, however, are in my current role. I represented my firm on the board of a company that our fund invested in. Before Covid, I visited Kano every month, spending two to three days each visit.

One of my highlights of visiting Kano is the Prince Hotel. For most frequent Kano visitors, you will not be unfamiliar with the hotel. I have no idea how many stars the Hotel has, but I looked forward to visiting the hotel. My major attraction is the hotel’s consistency and predictability. I can describe what the hotel will be like before I arrive. The smell of a disinfected room, the wooden table and chair, the cowbell milk on the tray, the shower curtain, the picture frame on the wall, the tissue box, the Dala sugar sachets, the tasty cow legpepper soup, the breakfast menu, and the decent, courteous attitude of the staff, who have been with the hotel longer than I can imagine. Cry me a fountain, but this is the most predictable hotel I have visited in all my years of travel. Even the TV channels are my pals, and I know at what angle to the TV I must lay on the bed to avoid the reflection of the light on the screen. I love it at the Prince Hotel.

Last week, I was visiting Kano after a while, and unfortunately, the hotel was fully booked, at least for my first night. I agreed to be booked into another larger hotel close to the Prince Hotel but only if I will be transferred to the Prince Hotel for the second night. How could I visit Kano without spending a night at the Prince Hotel? I arrived at this other hotel at about 1:30 am due to flight delays – tired and hungry. The receptionist seemed occupied with something behind the desk. The engagement left much to be desired. It was like he wanted to discard me quickly and get going with the most important task he was doing, which was anything other than receiving new guests at the hotel. Well, I excused him. It was 1:30 am anyway. The next day, I was checking out and wanted to get breakfast, which apparently should be paid for separately, but I was unaware. There was another receptionist, and I thought this might be a better experience. It was like this hotel specialised in recruiting and training receptionists to drive away guests. I was hurriedly dismissed by this other receptionist too. Before you start wondering if gender had a role, the first was a guy and the second a lady. It became clear why the hotel was scanty. I hurried out quickly. When I arrived at the Prince Hotel in the evening and entered the smaller lobby, the first thing I heard was, “we have not seen you for a while, sir; how is the family?”. It was said in a non-exotic, non-grammar-blasting way. But I knew I was home! Do not compromise your customer experience for anything. It is the key to your survival. I am not talking here about tolerating insolent customers. I am talking about making every customer feel welcome. Irrespective of your line of business, whether you sell tomatoes or build houses, let your customers feel at home with you, and you will see the dramatic impact on your business. For most entrepreneurs, unfortunately, your staff reflects you. They are angry and frustrated. They are yet to receive salaries even though you just paid for your summer vacation with your family. Their working conditions are abysmal at best. Little wonder they are unsympathetic to your customers. It’s a famous saying. Excite your employees, and usually, they will excite your customers. Let’s be better