Clearly I’m pissed…annoyed, perhaps. Actually embarrassed. As tweeted earlier today, I took friends, a wine blogger from SF and a Food and Beverage manager from New York (this is all context) on a spontaneous wine tasting day in our beautiful Napa valley. Sunday morning seems to be one of those days that begs for bubbles. We headed north to Domaine Chandon. The rain, the fog, the day was, frankly, stunning. We arrived at D.C. as the prologue to start our venture into the best of Napa Valley Hospitality. Or not.
We entered the store where 3 employees chatted amongst themselves and greeted us before resuming their conversation. Heading upstairs for the tasting room, we found a place at the bar and tables ready for us. Fantastic blood oranges adorned the champagne cocktails as winter life during the mustard festival buzzed on this delicious Sunday noon. As we chatted about where we’d lunch and visit it was almost 15 minutes of waiting without a single word, glance or acknowledgment, from anyone working there. Totally invisible, we looked around, found another place at the bar for about 2 minutes before deciding we were not going to be helped in any way. Domaine Chandon was clearly too important to care. With too many choices in the valley we left. Sadly surprised at this discouraging start, we walked out past the same 3 chatting employees (greeters?) who didn’t say good bye or interrupt their conversation…yet another missed opportunity.
Generally we expect adequate service. That’s the kind of service you barely notice as it becomes part of your daily routine…basically it is the bare minimum. Occasionally we get really good or even great service or great hospitality. When we do get that kind of service, it changes our day. We talk about it …a lot. We go back. We take our friends. When we get bad service we talk about that too…but it also changes us, or at least it changes our day. Soured, disappointed, a hospitality fail is incumbent on every person working there. From the manager down to the newest tasting room hire, any guest leaving with a bad experience does so because each and every person on that team failed to do their job.
Simply put, we were ignored…for over 15 minutes. No “hi”, no “welcome” no, “we’ll be right with you”, no nothing. I would never do that to my friends coming to my home. Why would any winery let that happen? We left with me embarrassed by my choice to go to Domaine Chandon and the lack of hospitality here in Napa. I am so grateful that Elizabeth Spencer (a fabulous tasting room just across from the Rutherford Bar and Grill), and specifically, Vanessa, turned our entire experience around. With a calm ease and charm, she shared the wines and delightful conversation reminding me that a Sunday with friends in Napa Valley can be a spontaneous joy with just a little hospitality.
I’d recommend anywhere else for bubbles in Napa: both Domaine Carneros and Mumm are less likely to ignore you than Domaine Chandon. But at Elizabeth Spencer (and at Darioush, Rutherford Bar and Grill and Rubicon Estate) you’ll get at least good service, if not great hospitality. Customer service is the best marketing, hands down. For another perspective on the same visit, check out The Luscious Lushes’s Blog, or The Roger Smith Life. It wasn’t just me.
I have never been to the Chandon tasting room so I cannot talk about past experiences and how maybe your visit was a one time experience, but I do know a thing or two about customer service. Working in a tasting room for a bit, as well as over three years at Starbucks, I know it is the little things that make all the difference.
If a visitor has a bad experience they will tell an estimated ten people, where as if a person has a great experience, they tend to only tell about two people about their experience. This means those in the customer service industry have to work three times as hard to get WOM that can be ruined with one bad experience.
If just one of the people who you encountered would have at the very least provided a simple greeting or maybe even a smile, your experience would have been completely different… and we wouldn’t be talking about it.
I now feel it is my duty to pay them a visit and see what the experience is like.
Hey Lisa, Wow it’s not like you to write like that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you post something like this. So it must have hit home – esp. since you were at home showing others around.
I also know how you are when it comes to a customer, or a friend, experience. You are the bestest hostest in Napa!
But overall to get back to the point (us marketing ppl can be a little flighty) it takes 16 times more positive to overcome the negative. But more importantly in our current economic times it is doubly if not triply (not a word I’m sure until now) important to pay attention to the customer and WOW them.
You need customers right now and those ones that use your service or buy your products are the ones to pay attention to. They are far easier to upsell and they will buy from you because they have before – but don’t take it for granted. It is far cheaper to do that than try to aquire a brand new customer.
That reminds me we need to go out soon – but not to DC apparently.
Ugh… Experiences like this lose customers for a lifetime. There is a winery in GA (don’t laugh), that has a similar CS issues. No one I know has ever been back.
On the flip side, it makes it a perfect opportunity for places like Elizabeth Spencer to win some new fans.
Agreed. I’ve gotta say, most people respond as you have above. But it seems like too many say “Oh sometimes that happens…” This isn’t the Doctor’s office or a mechanic’s shop…my point is that Domaine Chandon SHOULD be great at hospitality…it’s what they DO! So no, it shouldn’t ever happen. And if it sometimes does, that is a complete and total Hospitality Fail.
Now that I think about it, I don’t remember seeing anyone pouring behind the bar with a smile or chatting with the customers either. It was just not a place to enjoy on any level. Good luck, Shana. I’ll be curious to find out about your experience. My parents are wine club members there…I have been there many, many times. We went there for Thanksgiving dinner, and I have friends that work in the restaurant! When they come to pour or wait on me the service is extraordinary. Otherwise, even in the club only section, the best it ever got was passable. No, there was no feeling of warmth, welcome, we’re so glad you are here. It was fully a machine. Again, I say…so sad.
But yes, Dirty South! The best part WAS re-discovering Elizabeth Spencer Wines
It’s even worse than that – take that 3 or 16 times power that negative has over positive, and multiply by the Awesome Power of the Internet. How many people are going to read this and decide to skip Chandon next time they visit Napa?
Hopefully someone at Chandon has some blog searches working and will find this post – and attempt to right the wrong. (I once had to find out about a customer service issue via a blog post – not a good feeling…)
[...] Just a day after reading about a friend’s lack of acknowledgment at Napa sparkling wine maker Domain Chandon, I was asked by a friend of mine to visit the Korbel tasting room to pick up some Zinfandel (yes, [...]
Is the number 16 times more powerful? I was close. Lisa- I would love to know if anyone at Chandon does respond. If I do get any sort of response from Korbel, I will gladly share it as well.
I know that for myself, being a younger (and looking much younger than I am) visitor, I feel that some tasting room staff members think that I am not going to purchase any wine which in turn makes them treat me differently. Which then in turn makes me not want to purchase.
I sadly have to concur with your thoughts about Chandon. I have been a member of their wine club for 10+ years and loved going to the winery and being recognized by staff. Sure, the place has grown, but perhaps it has grown too big. I stopped by a couple of weeks ago with two friends with large cellars and we felt invisible, even when walking out with six bottles in a box. It remains a beautiful place, but the hospitality seems somewhat lacking.
First impressions really do make a difference. Whatever staff member is nearest the entrance needs to at least make eye contact and smile. Not making a snap judgment about whether the person will spend money would be a good idea, too, of course.
ouch! let this be a lesson to us all in the industry to make sure this kind of blog post never has to come out about us…
Since I was there, I have to say – the SINGLE most disappointing factor at Chandon was that no one even acknowledged us at the tasting bar.
If one person had looked us in the eye, or said, I’ll be right with you, it would have been an entirely different experience. I understand busy, I do NOT understand ignorance. Having been to very busy tasting rooms and crowded events, I know what it is like to be overwhelmed in the tasting room. DC however, was not that busy. Yes, they could have added staff – but simple hospitality would have helped.
Furthermore, at one of our later stops, we were served, but snubbed since we were identified as industry people. Is my money not good anymore? Just because I tell you I am industry, and you waive my tasting fees, does NOT mean I am not going to buy wine. You lose on that fact.
[...] winebratsf This weekend, I was fortunate enough to find myself in Napa, celebrating Lisa’s (@winedivergirl) housewarming. Since I was staying the night, we had planned to go wine tasting [...]
WOM Fail too! Some of the best word-of-mouth referrals we get are from industry people.
As the visitor from NYC and a F & B Director at a boutique hotel in mid-town my expectation of service is high. I am not looking for red carpet I am just talking cover the basics.
1. Greet new guests and say “hello”
2. Thank them for coming to your establishment ( considering the options in Napa we could have gone elsewhere and did )
3. When people leave give a warm farewell and welcome them back.
Unfortunately this experience was so bad it took one of the most positive wine bloggers I read and sent her into a tailspin. It is in no way a rant, Lisa’s post was still more eloquent than most would have been under the same circumstances.
The rest of the day was amazing and was actually one of the most memorable in my life. I applaud Lisa for not letting this start of the day put a damper on the whole adventure.
See my post for pictures and smile that ensued for the rest of the day!
http://tinyurl.com/cxpf44
Well done Lisa !
Sounds like there is a need for hospitality training in our own hospitality industry. Fortunately, Lesley Berglund has started the WISE Academy specifically for this purpose. We’ll see if the wineries that NEED the training actually pay attention.
It seems to happen too often.
The sad part is, it’s not like it takes a great deal of effort to acknowledge a customer.
Fail.
[...] the greatest investment any business can make in customer loyalty. On the heels of my experience last weekend, this is even more breath taking to me. The Roger Smith Hotel didn’t spend an outrageous [...]
[...] the greatest investment any business can make in customer loyalty. On the heels of my experience last weekend, this is even more breath taking to me. The Roger Smith Hotel didn’t spend an outrageous amount [...]
[...] shown by Lisa de Bruin’s trip to Domaine Chandon, Gary Vaynerchuk’s visit at Mondrian, a “hip” hotel in Miami, as well as my [...]
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I’ve had similar experiences at Chandon, as well as Dom. Carneros. I don’t know what it is, but there is a distrinct lack of caring at these bubble house. In contrast, the folks at Mumm and Shramsberg are always on the ball.
I’ve had similar frustrations in restaurants and stores. I mean, how hard id it to ackowledge someone and crack a smile? I’ve often thought of putting together some sort of training on good customer service. But, nobody would buy it since I’m sure they already think they know everything.
In the end, good service may not make your experience, but bad service will certainly break it.
[...] wine-related service has been the focus of a few recent posts in the blog-o-world (e.g., see Wine Diver Girl’s “Hospitality Fail”), and I myself had a recent misadventure at a local wine bar / restaurant (which shall remain [...]
For kicks, I forwarded the thread to ‘customerservice@chandon.com’
We’ll see what happens!
Cheers!
[...] on the heels of my friends’ not-so-great hospitality experience when they visited Chandon, I had a bottle of it waiting in the fridge to celebrate some [...]
I just had to dig up an old blog post that punctuates your experience….
from December 2006….
Ok…time to rant. I’m fuming. Scathing mad. Blood boiling. Fists clenched. Teeth grinding. Scowling…simply scowling. I’m not a happy camper. I HATE being treated without respect. I despise people who do not take responsibility for their actions. I don’t have time for people who are not knowledgeable about their product and afraid to take ownership of their business. Underpaid and under-trained employees need to be put into an eternal abyss and forced to wait in a Best Buy return line FOREVER!!!!
I’m in the customer service business and I’m damn good at what I do. Why? I believe in taking care of the customer. Period. None of this “Customer is Always Right” crap. The customer is king/queen and people forget what drives the retail business. I try to say “Yes” under any situation. You need to return that? Sure, no problem. Made your drink wrong? Sorry, let me remake that for you…and here’s another free one when you come back. It’s alright to screw up because we’re human. Can’t be perfect under every situation. Just say “I’m sorry” and really freaking mean it. People actually appreciate communication during the transaction. “That’ll be about five minutes” goes a long way. Saying nothing is evil, stinky and downright rude.
I am very patient when it comes to a busy office or store. I know what to expect and anxiously await my turn. You could open another register or actually adequately train and staff your store…but you didn’t so I’ll suffer the consequences of your tomfoolery. But when you cross the line with me, you’re gonna hear it. I understand that “It’s not your fault”, but guess what Biff? You’re wearing a name badge with your company’s logo on it. They sign your paycheck and now you’re dealing with me. Now get your manager before I push you into that display over there…
Ok…rant over…I feel better. Time to get back in line.
Ok, that was an impressive rant, Dublwrap. And one small consequence of bad service…going postal. Geesh, I sure hope it never gets to that! Isn’t it amazing how far kindness and good service can go…what a difference!
[...] posts lately on how poor customer service can affect the bottom line. WineDiverGirl describes her experience on recent trip to a local Napa winery and their response. Shana Ray had a similar experience at a [...]
[...] read, a fellow blogger recently had a terrible experience with her wine club. Myself, and another blogger and wine industry insider also experienced terrible customer service. In this time of crazy economics and failing [...]
[...] Your sales staff are the front lines of your business. If you have a tasting room, this is even more evident. Your staff must look to engage each and every customer as they enter your tasting room, storefront, or online environments. Take a look at this post for an example: Hospitality Fail! (@winedivergirl) [...]
[...] thanksnks to Lisa de Bruin for contributing to this op-ed [...]
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