Pleasing

[JBloggs]

Innspiration for innkeepers
[FONT= 'Trebuchet MS']Pleasing[/h3]A motto for those doing work that matters:
"We can't please everyone, in fact, we're not even going to try."
Or perhaps:
"Pleasing everyone with our work is impossible. It wastes the time of our best customers and annoys our staff. Forgive us for focusing on those we're trying to delight."
The math here is simple. As soon as you work hard to please everyone, you have no choice but to sand off the edges, pleasing some people less in order to please others a bit more. And it drives you crazy at the same time.
from Seth's Blog
[/FONT]

 

[Alibi Ike]

And that is one of the lessons it is hardest to learn, but really is essential if you're going to survive.

 

[Joey Camb]

Another hard lesson is you have to realise some people are just

and there is no dealing with them they are determined to have a crap time and they may as well get on with it. I just wish they would sit at home and have it and not inflict it on the rest of us! lol (all my people in at the moment are really nice)

 

[HighMountainLodge]

Something to be said about marketing here (please forgive me if this sounds patronizing): Is your marketing message attracting people to your Inn who may not be pleased by what they discover when they arrive? Are you shooting for one demographic while accommodating another? Disappointing people--not meeting their expectations--can doom you to cranky people.
Let's face it: the idea of a B&B conjures up certain expectations in travelers. Consequently, if you haven't thought about the sort of guests you want and market to them, you may end up getting the sort of guests you don't want.
At our place, we don't work very hard at "pleasing" people. We assume that people who choose to be our guests come to us because one of our marketing messages connected with them; they will be pleased with what we offer.
Seth's Blog overlooks that marketing perspective. The implication is that everybody is beating a path to our door, and we consequently have to pick the demands of a particular guest to meet, while letting all the others, er, twist in the wind.
What nonsense.
It is true that we know with every atom of our being that we can't please everybody. However, we do our best through our marketing to weed out the people who won't be happy with our inn before they ever get here. There are "message filters" all over our website, so that any potential guest with half a pint of brain cells understands that our sheets don't have a thread count higher than their IQ.
When we set out to open a B&B, one big part of our business plan was to think about the sort of guests we hoped to attract. Every part of our business plan--and later, our marketing plan, was based on this perspective. And we are very happy with the consequences of the choices we made.
Bottom line: we get the sort of people we market to. They aren't disappointed because they get what they expect. And it's fun to surprise our guests and exceed their expectations.
Regarding the initial post on this thread: we don't work hard to please everyone, but we sure work hard to please everybody who comes to our inn. They are paying rather a lot of money to stay with us, and that alone demands that we try to meet their needs, however peculiar.

 

[Alibi Ike]

Something to be said about marketing here (please forgive me if this sounds patronizing): Is your marketing message attracting people to your Inn who may not be pleased by what they discover when they arrive? Are you shooting for one demographic while accommodating another? Disappointing people--not meeting their expectations--can doom you to cranky people.
Let's face it: the idea of a B&B conjures up certain expectations in travelers. Consequently, if you haven't thought about the sort of guests you want and market to them, you may end up getting the sort of guests you don't want.
At our place, we don't work very hard at "pleasing" people. We assume that people who choose to be our guests come to us because one of our marketing messages connected with them; they will be pleased with what we offer.
Seth's Blog overlooks that marketing perspective. The implication is that everybody is beating a path to our door, and we consequently have to pick the demands of a particular guest to meet, while letting all the others, er, twist in the wind.
What nonsense.
It is true that we know with every atom of our being that we can't please everybody. However, we do our best through our marketing to weed out the people who won't be happy with our inn before they ever get here. There are "message filters" all over our website, so that any potential guest with half a pint of brain cells understands that our sheets don't have a thread count higher than their IQ.
When we set out to open a B&B, one big part of our business plan was to think about the sort of guests we hoped to attract. Every part of our business plan--and later, our marketing plan, was based on this perspective. And we are very happy with the consequences of the choices we made.
Bottom line: we get the sort of people we market to. They aren't disappointed because they get what they expect. And it's fun to surprise our guests and exceed their expectations.
Regarding the initial post on this thread: we don't work hard to please everyone, but we sure work hard to please everybody who comes to our inn. They are paying rather a lot of money to stay with us, and that alone demands that we try to meet their needs, however peculiar..

Good points! But you're still expending energy with the peculiar needs guests possibly at the expense of someone else who wanted to be there and has no peculiar needs. No matter how we sort out the guests before they arrive there are always those who take more than others. It's their nature to be the center of attention. Those are the guests who can sap our energy to the point we're not giving our all to everyone else.
I'd definitely say our website has weeded out the sort of people who don't want to be here and experience what we have to offer. The problem arises when rooms are short and tourists are many. We do get guests who want/need to be in this area but don't partucularly want to be right here in this place. Most grin and bear it and learn to reserve earlier next time in the place the really want.
Others are out to make everyone miserable because they didn't get what they wanted. Which is why 99% of our guests are at best wonderful and at worst tolerable. But that 1% still gets in the door!

 

[Joey Camb]

it is what always drives me mad about valentines day (the man) wants a cheap deal and to impress the girlfriend and does not realise you cannot do both. Therefore he is cross as is made to look bad and she is embarassed he has made a scene and cross he has made such a bad desicion It is a complete crap fest all round!

 

[Alibi Ike]

it is what always drives me mad about valentines day (the man) wants a cheap deal and to impress the girlfriend and does not realise you cannot do both. Therefore he is cross as is made to look bad and she is embarassed he has made a scene and cross he has made such a bad desicion It is a complete crap fest all round!.

Yes, and they're cranky they waited so long and all the 'good rooms' are gone. This is somehow my fault! No fireplace? No spa tub? No king beds? All you have left is queen with a detached bath?