The man who came to pick up some of my guests today (as I am in hotel work) was very impatient and rude. A taller middle aged man with brown hair who was balding. He was very distraught when he asked me to call his tour recipients as he could not get through to them on their cell phone. A common situation for our resort as cell phone service in this region is very scattered. I called the guest who said they were told their tour was for 8am not 6am. I repeated "Oh okay, so 8am." That way the man could hear the misunderstanding. The man's face, who was impatiently watching me, contorted and while I was STILL on the phone with the guest said something to the effect of "No they weren't." An extremely rude and unprofessional comment. The guests informed me they would be there shortly. "Shortly?" He retorted. "That could be ten minutes from now!" It was 6:06am. He later said, "eight o'clock. We don't make mistakes like that!" I often work with the tour guides in the area helping them get in contact with guests. The other tour guides are nice and polite even if they are late. This man was not. He stormed outside and began pacing as he continued to try to contact the guest via cell phone, who I had only hung up with on the phone seconds prior. He came back and asked me to see if he could speak with them this time. The call went to voicemail. It was 6:11am. He then threw his hands into the air and said "Well, they didn't answer!" I informed him that they were across the street and were probably on their way. My guests got to the van within a few minutes of the call.
If I was the owner of this company, I would go over basic customer service with him. The basic rules I was taught at my first job - fast food restaurant - was called B.L.A.S.T. Believe Listen Apologize Satisfy and Thank. Believing is the first step to satisfaction.
I am not saying that you are the ones who made the mistake of informing your tour recipients of your tour pickup being at 8am when it was for 6am, nor am I saying it is the guest's fault. What I am saying is that regardless of whose fault it is, there was a misunderstanding, and that misunderstanding needs to be worked through excellently. I hope that the small advice I left will suffice to fix this customer service issue.
Best,
Hailey
"Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment." - Bob Burg