I was in Bangalore those days. We had one of the leading hotels as our client.

The General Manager introduced an interesting service guarantee for room service. It is somewhat like what Domino does now. If the room service order was not executed in 15 minutes, the guest did not have to pay.

The General Manager thought that it was a brilliant idea. The Room Service Guarantee was introduced but even after a month, he heard nothing from the guests. Therefore, he spoke to a few guests. They were happy with the service but did not think that he was serious about the service guarantee part.

The GM was disappointed. His team felt that the service guarantee idea did not work and should be withdrawn. However, he was keen to pursue it. He was discussing this over a cup of coffee with me.

“Why do you think it is not working?” I asked.

“Because I have not got a single response from guests.”

“What did you expect?”

“I thought guests will be delighted. I thought some of the guests, who have now become good friends, would have spoken to me.”

“Why do you think they have not spoken to you yet?”

“I asked some of them, but they did not even notice the tent card we have placed in the room, about this service guarantee.”

“Tell me again, about how the guarantee works.”

“It works when the service is delayed. Then the customer does not have to pay anything.”

“It is meant to work, whether the order is big or small.”

“Absolutely.”

“Suppose the customer has placed an order and the bill is substantial. The service is delayed by a minute. You will waive off the bill. Is that what your service guarantee is all about.”

“Yes.”

“Have you tested this?”

“Yes, our guys deliver within 15 minutes. The entire system is geared for this.”

“So the guest can never experience the real benefit of your service guarantee. He only experiences fast service. I assume these guests travel around the world and must be used to great service.”

“What is your point?”

“I think the guest will experience the real benefit of your guarantee only when your service is delayed. Imagine I have a few guests with me for dinner. We decide to eat in the room. The room service guys delivers my room service order. I am extending my hand by force of habit asking for the bill I have to sign. He then springs this surprise on me and says ‘There is no bill Sir. I was late by 45 seconds. Our room service guarantee says that if the order was not delivered in 15 minutes, it is on the house. Our General Managers sends you his greetings. Enjoy the dinner sir.’ Can you imagine the impact on me and my guests if this happened?”

“Yes, I get the picture. I now have an idea.”

“Tell me”

“What if we chose one room service order every day. We will choose it carefully. We will ensure that it is slightly expensive and there are other guests in the room. Delay the service by less than minute. Then dramatically announce that the dinner was on the house, in front of every one.”

“Brilliant. What do you think will happen?”

“We will ‘wow’ people and they will talk about this. The free dinner is my investment for word of mouth marketing.”

The General Manager went on to execute his idea and it worked very well.

“Did this really happen?”

“Yes, Prasna.”

“I loved the way you steered the thinking, by asking some smart questions. Good show. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”