We have been to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas a number of times over the past ten years, but during this last trip they seemed to crank it up a notch or two when it came to customer service. It started when we received a personal email from the concierge at The Reef (the part of the complex where we stayed). Let me take a step back to set things up a bit. Typically, we go through a travel agency when we book trips and an assistant takes care of all the travel details. This time, Patricia (my wife) received an email directly from the Atlantis that contained a special offer. The price was right, so we jumped all over it and booked direct by just clicking the link in the email.
That triggered the concierge to reach out to us. A very attentive woman, Najla, emailed Patricia to see if we needed dinner reservations or any other assistance. We took her up on the offer and she booked the restaurants we wanted at the exact times we wanted (in the past that was not always a given). We also asked that the resort set up private transportation to and from the airport. In a very timely manner, Najla sent us confirmations for all of our requests. It was all very easy, very efficient and pleasantly surprising, albeit that’s the way it should be.
We were in for a much bigger surprise when we arrived. Catherine, from the Ministry of Bahamas Tourism, was waiting for us in the hallway and escorted us through customs, to baggage claim and to our driver. It was a breeze. We got to the hotel and everything was ready to rock. The service throughout our stay was spectacular and the staff was overly attentive, all wearing t-shirts that had a big “Thank You” on them.
As I stated above, we have been going to the Atlantis for years and service, although good, was never at the level we experienced this last trip. It was obvious that there was an initiative for employees to really pay attention to detail when providing customer service. These hard economic times have definitely caused folks to cut back on their spending and fine-tune everyone’s decision making on purchases of all kinds. Companies should always provide the utmost in customer service, regardless of the conditions; however, the smart management teams crank it up in difficult times to further separate their organizations from the competition. The measures taken to stand out now will reap the benefits when times are lush. It is during the thin times that spending a little extra to make an impression goes a very long way.
In this world of many options and choices, companies and their employees not only have to be Custodians of the Brand, they also have to take charge of the customer experience. So kudos to Najla, Catherine, Laron, Gregory and all the folks at the Atlantis and in the Bahamas who realize that we have choices and that they need to make the experience special so we continue to choose them. Well done, see you next year!
