As we move into the next stage of unlocking lockdown our shops, attractions, restaurants and bars are opening up. And I’ve spent more time over the past few weeks talking to clients and prospects about updating staff training as they are going to need to be welcoming, friendly but firm, handle queues and still provide […]
In my last article of 2019 I talked about one of my top learnings after 19 years of running Partners With You, and that was … it is easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission. I said that so long as you have made the best decision you felt you could, based […]
I was in London a couple of weeks ago for several meetings so I stopped in a nearby coffee shop before each one. I expected to get a bit of work done but what I got was a quick lesson on how two businesses can deliver the same service and yet leave the customer with […]
I’ve been married for 30 years and we recently went away for a long weekend to celebrate! We had a wonderful trip and if you had asked me yesterday I would have said I thought the hotel was great too. We had excellent service and when we left, the concierge assured us that the 50 […]
I’m in the market for a new car. Although I am very fond of it, my 11 year old car is beginning to cost me more money each year than it is worth. To add to the woes of the car it was recalled last month. Apparently there was a danger that the airbags might […]
A few weeks ago, at lunch with friends, we got onto the subject of how important a smile is and how you can “hear” a smile in someone’s voice. I recounted the story of how one of my first bosses made us put a sticker on the phone saying “Smile when you dial!” so that […]
Isn’t it funny how just a look or someone’s tone of voice can affect your feelings towards them? Have you ever considered how your staffs’ tone of voice or body language is affecting your customers’ feelings towards your business? A few weeks ago I went to Oxford by train from High Wycombe which meant buying […]
At a hotel the other day I saw a sign set out with traffic light symbols to denote when they were busiest and the best times to get breakfast when in a hurry. At a recent hospital appointment I was warned I could be there for 4 hours and I wouldn’t be seen immediately. I […]
I was in a coffee shop chain the other morning where I was greeted with a smile. My order and name were taken and I then queued to be handed my cardboard clad coffee after my name was (incorrectly) yelled out. How did the process make me feel? Not great, not bad, just OK. How […]
Experiences are now at the heart of what museums provide “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes” – Marcel Proust Museums and heritage sites are informal learning spaces where visitors experience society’s preserved knowledge and objects of historic, cultural, artistic and scientific importance. We’ve all been to […]
