Can you repair a Hospitality Fail? Ok, you have to try anyway. And I must give credit to Domaine Chandon for e-mailing me an apology and an offer to give us a better tasting experience. Here’s an excerpt from Chandon:
“On behalf of the entire hospitality staff at Domaine Chandon, I would like to thank you for your very powerful feedback and extend our most sincere apology in regards to your visit to our winery. I am absolutely shocked at the lack of attention that you and your guests were paid, and you are absolutely right in calling us out on it… we always aspire to provide each of our guests with world class customer service and with your group we obviously dropped the ball. I agree with you whole 100% that even a smile or an I’ll be right with you would have had a significant impact on your 15 minute downward spiral… I cannot speak as to what happened on Sunday, but I always appreciate the feedback and I always address the issues at once.
On a lighter note, we would really appreciate if you and your group would come visit us again our compliments.”
If you missed the terrible customer service story from last time, check out Hospitality Fail. There are SO many wineries in northern California, and say I go this once and of course it will be …better, because they will be trying to fix the hospitality fail experience from our previous visit. Then the next time I go (if I go) to Domaine Chandon, what then? I’m worried about risking the same embarrassment with guests again.
Of course we will go back and let you know how that visit works out. I do feel obligated to go and give them the opportunity to come full circle despite my hesitation. Poor hospitality is an unfortunate by-product in areas where success, tourism and complacency collect…and sadly, Napa is sometimes one of those places. In these bad economic times, complacency is a sure bet for failure. The kind of customer service that makes the most difference is inexpensive and easy: it is that personal touch that reminds your customer that they are important…beyond what they spend. The business that can offer great customer service with a personal touch will gain my loyalty and my recommendation to all my friends and family.
A brand can definitely fix a customer experience gone bad. That is the best thing about this new era of blogging and consumer reviews… The instant feedback.
I am glad to hear that Chandon is monitoring what is being said about them online and are responding. It shows that they are trying and that is worth more to me than a one time experience. I will be in there soon to see if they have learned from your posting and talked to their employees.
No word from Korbel….
This is really encouraging to see Lisa, thanks for sharing. I plan to put them to the hospitality test again in about a week. I’ve visited Dom. Chandon 3 times in couple years and have had good service, though not on par with tasting room with smaller wineries where I’ve had the opportunity to get to know the winemaker and staff. And compared to Korbel website, Dom. Chandon’s has a lot of features, with all links working! Lynn
DC deserves some credit for stepping up.
This falls right back into the whole Social Media impact on wineries- 1 person has a bad experience, and it is shared instantly across the globe- not by strangers, but by friends, peers, colleagues, etc…
It pays to listen now more than ever.
oops! But wait. YES, offering to fix the problem is essential. BUT, we were giving them credit for finding the problem online themselves as if D.C. were listening…it seems that may NOT be how they found out about the Hospitality Fail.
I just got notice from a D.C. Wine Club member who is on twitter that she sent Domaine Chandon an e-mail with a link re: the bad service visit and my blog post. (Thank you for sharing your concern with them!)
Maybe it doesn’t matter HOW they found out about it…we all want to fix bad customer service, but to Shana Ray’s point, they may not deserve credit if they really aren’t listening online. Though after this, maybe they (and others) WILL set up their google alerts, etc!
Good point Lisa, maybe if D.C. wasn’t listening to Internet chatter about their winery and customer experiences before, they will now!
I was told a long time ago by a chef I had the privilege of working with when I was in the restaurant side of the wine business that every day is your last chance at making a lasting impression on every single person who walks through that door. He said, everyday is your Super Bowl. You play to win, and you do everything right to make sure that happens.
I never forgot that lesson. And no matter what anyone does for a living, the bottom line is that you have to excel to succeed. In the hospitality business, as in everything, its in the details – the smile, the acknowledgement, the “Hello, How are you today?” Anticipating your guests and being there for them without being in their way – its all crucial.
While I do at least give DC credit for getting back to you and trying to make it right, these guys should be making sure that this is a wake-up call to their staff and management to get it done right the first time. Heads should roll here, and every effort should be made to improve themselves.
Hope the second go-round works out. And keep sticking it to all those slackers out there.
It is good to see DC take responsibility for their mistake. However, as this WSJ article pointed out about the best restaurants in New York, you only get one chance to give someone a memorable experience.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120425033688201845.html
[...] 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 winery in Sonoma County. And finally, Sonadora (aka the [...]