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FROM THE TOP: Laundry "Service"?
You know the laundry bag in your hotel room that has “Laundry
Service” written on it? Well, sometimes you get “service” and
sometimes you don’t. On a recent trip to the States,
the lack of laundry service in a Marriott hotel in Boston
turned into a very successful lesson in customer service.
I turned in my laundry to the front desk in the morning with
the expectation that it would be returned the same evening.
After a full day of meetings, I returned to my room. Guess
what? No laundry.
I called the front desk to inquire about my laundry. The
woman I spoke with assured me she would investigate and
call me back. I am not particularly patient. After five
minutes, I headed to the front desk.
There, I was greeted not with laundry service but with
true customer service. I was so impressed
with the customer service that I wrote the following to
Mui Hang, the woman who helped me.
Thank you for following through as you promised.
While I was very disappointed by this problem, I was impressed
by your thorough response and your follow-up.
You achieved something rare:
You did not say "I've done all that I can.” Instead, you told
me exactly what steps you took. Through this, I understood you had done
all you could do. Then, you told me what you would do
next — and you did it.
What you did for an aggravated customer -- and the professional and
friendly manner in which you did it -- is a compliment
to you and to Marriott.
I would appreciate it if you would share my note with
your supervisor.
My thanks for your attention and your efforts.
My laundry did not arrive by the time I checked out of
the hotel. Mui Hang assured me they would FedEx the laundry
to me. And they did! The laundry arrived in Israel one
day after I did.
Mistakes happen. How you deal with them is the measure
of ... you.
By the way, Mui Hang is the assistant general manager
at this Marriott. She started in that position the day
before my laundry incident.
Todd Dollinger, CEO,
T.I.F Ventures
See the From the Top archives.
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Just
a few places remain for
the 4th annual Trendlines/WolfBlock Venture Conference
on November 28, 2007. If
you are an Israeli company involved in life sciences,
cleantech, or IT, this is the one venture conference
you won't want to miss
Present to and network with dozens of venture fund representatives, angel investors,
and corporate investment and business development executives -- all of whom are
focused on business and investment opportunities in Israel. Last year's conference
attracted close to 70 investors.
The conference will be held at WolfBlock's offices in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Participation is limited to 25 Israeli companies. For
more information, contact Tina Ornstein (04.958.3323, ext. 120) or
Maura Rosenfeld (050.877.7012).
Companies attending this year's conference attended a pre-conference
seminar in Tel Aviv on October 30. They received conference details from David
Gitlin, WolfBlock partner, and
Tina Ornstein, managing director of Trendlines. Karen
Kozek, senior marketing communications consultant at Trendlines,
presented the conference attendees with a presentation filled with effective
tips "guaranteed
to make them better presenters."
Good
luck to all of the Israeli companies participating in this year's conference.
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Mark Dollinger, president
of Trendlines America, and Todd Dollinger, CEO of T.I.F.
Ventures (and Trendlines chairman), give key tips for
turning an ordinary meeting into a successful event.
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Trendlines at MEDICA |
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We were "on the ground" at this year's MEDICA
(November 14-17).
Andi Chai (Senior Consultant, Trendlines
International), D.
Todd Dollinger (CEO, T.I.F. Ventures), Mark
Dollinger (President,
Trendlines America), and Steve
Rhodes (CEO, Misgav Venture
Accelerator), all traveled
to Düsseldorf
for this year's show.
Todd called in with this observation: "I've noticed something
interesting this year. In a number of cases, I do not have
a clear idea from the booth signage, text, and materials
what the company is doing or selling. I need to
go into the booth to find out. Due to the tremendous scope
of the show, I don't often have time. So I just walk right
by. Because of unclear messages or ideas, the
companies may be missing opportunities."
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The International Home & Housewares
Show is the world's premier event for what's new for home
and house.
One of the most exciting opportunities for show attendees is the behind-the-scenes retail
tour (Wednesday, March 19). This full-day event visits some of the most
exciting retailers in the Chicago area. There's no better way to understand the
strength of the American market than to experience it first-hand. And there's
no better way to see it than this tour.
Currently scheduled on the tour are visits to the following retailers:
• Best Buy
• Circuit City
• The Container Store
• Crate & Barrel
• The Great Indoors
• Linen'n'Things
• Target
• Wal-Mart
• Williams-Sonoma
We've been attending the Show for nearly 30 years. For information about how
Trendlines can help you at the Show (even if you can't be there), contact Debbie
Yerushalmy at 04.958.3323, ext. 122.
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