Maybe that’s exactly what’s happening…

~Graham

Haven’t seen the offender in question. By the time I got to the triplet, I was laughing out loud. If they were playing that for laughs, it would be perfect.

Sounds like it’s just waiting for Saturday Night Live to do a parody of it.

“Hey stupid” is the easiest way to get me to run screaming from a show, too. Good call.

Later,

Kelly

‘Course I should have by all rights packed it in after the episode when the wife shot the husband, but it turned out she really shot his secret twin brother, but then it was her secret twin that really did the shooting, and (here’s the kicker) her baby wasn’t actually hers, but her secret triplet’s kid. When online dictionaries start using YouTube to give definitions, this episode will be there to explain the word “contrived”.

It’s like the writers and producers are sitting there going “You’re stupid”. I finally got the message.

~Graham

Aw, shucks. Thanks!

Friar,

Ah, you didn’t disappoint. That is a horror story. Shooing away a customer who’s been loyal for ten years is just. not. sane. (Thanks for not naming names, though.)

Isn’t it terrible how an experience like that can still make your blood boil years later? The old saying back when I took business and marketing classes was that every upset customer would tell seven friends and colleagues. Now, with the web, we tell hundreds and sometimes thousands (in addition to the seven we still run into in person!).

Plus now, you let your blood boil on a little Internet page, and it’s out there in the ether forever. Forever’s a mighty long time to be getting negative publicity from bad customer experience!

Until later,

Kelly

P.S. You should go about two hours south. My parents will put a key out if you even hint at being late. They love their guests but there is no *way* they’re staying up for you, LOL.

There was this small motel in Lake Placid.

I used to stay there when I went hiking, once or twice a year. I was a loyal customer. Among dozens of motels, it was the only one I’d give my business to.

Last time I dealt with them, I tried to make a reservation over the phone. I mentionned that I was coming in from out of town, and that I won’t arrive till late (midnite). Maybe if I gave them my credit card number, can they leave a key in the door, and I’ll do the paperwork in the morning.

The desk clerk said they dont’ like to do that, because they’ve been burned in the past by people who dont’ show up. And the next thing I know, they were proceeding to give me shit! Scolding me over the phone, and telling me to forget it. Just forget it. If I’m not going to be there on time, there are no rooms for me. Just Forget it!

I hung up, phoned another motel down the road. Who gladly accepted my credit card, and were perfectly fine with my late arrival.

At that point, I phoned up the first motel. Told them I’d been coming to their place for 10 years. And that their competitor gave me a room when they WOULDN’T. And that they just lost me as a long-time customer.

And I never went back.

That was years ago. But even now, I’m half tempted to GLADLY broadcast that nasty Motel’s name as a place NOT to go to.

(Even here, if I know it wouldn’t get moderated).

Did you go through my e-trash? I actually had that pointed out a lot more clearly and decided to hit “delete” and let it be more implied. Hahaha, so glad you caught that!

Oh, the travel stories I could tell. Just as you say, I expect that some will not be around long because of it. That’s the business-crushing truth, eh?

Regards,

Kelly

I’d like to highlight an important message about customer experience you’ve embedded. The great experience is what your ideal customer expects. It’s what they want and what they’re willing to pay for. So, unfortunate as it is, why would they thank you and spread the word on something that was ‘what they were wanting and expecting?’

Seth Godin calls it being remarkable. Kelly calls it the *maximum* customer experience. Once you’re damn sure that you have rid yourself of the bad apples, what are you doing to do to turn it up a notch and make it next to impossible for your prospects to NOT tell others about you?
Andy Hayes | Travel Online Partners´s latest blog… The Most Important Part of Your Online Strategy