Posts Tagged ‘experience’

@maurilio:

2

An Amazing Dinner Experience and Why Details Matter

It was perhaps one of the best meals I’ve ever had. And I have had a lot of good meals. Restaurante Casino is top rated by Zagat. I made reservations based only on the reviews I read on my phone, hours before flying into Madrid. I had high expectations, but was not sure what to expect. The experience exceeded my expectations by a mile. While the food tasted great (all 15 courses), what made the overall experience unforgettable was the attention to every detail from the moment I called them to the last goodby as a couple of the staff escorted us to the VIP elevator. “Just a reminder, jackets are required for gentlemen” said the voice over the phone on a courtesy call on the day of my reservation. In the sum total of my valuation of the night, I think about the food as much as I recall…

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12

It’s Time to Rethink the Welcome Center Experience

Welcome centers are at heart of the experience in most service-oriented businesses and churches. The idea is a good one: create a focal point that allows newcomers to find the information they need in order to have the best experience possible. But I think we have missed the point on implementation, specially churches. Somehow we have bought into the idea that a counter-service type of approach is the optimum way to welcome someone. It isn’t. The problem with most welcome centers is the foundational assumption it creates by the virtue of its design: a counter fortress where staff or volunteers stand  behind waiting for those seeking help to engage them. Some are quite elaborate constructions in the middle to atriums and concourses with computers and flat screens.  To me that’s not a welcome station; it’s a help desk. It puts the entire ownership of the process on the new person.…

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8

You Need a Heart for Business

The man to my left leaned in and with intensity in his eyes asked the question: “I’m contemplating a strategic business partnership; I want to lead my business into outliving me.” Across the table from us sat a veteran CEO with years of experience in multi-billion dollar business. The answer surprised me, but, again, it should not have. The delivery was deliberate and the words were kind but firm: “Check your heart. What kind of person do you want to entrust your clients to?” For some, this is the kind of answer you expect when one searches for a mate at a dating site. I cannot get passed that statement because it resonated with me in everything I’ve learned about business. Yes, business. A flood of thoughts with tangled emotions attached to them are still swirling around my mind as I think about the times I “checked my heart” and…

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