Episode #26 of ‘Help! My Business Sucks!’ with Andrew Lock - The Hilton Hotel Incident, How to Move the ‘Free Line’, an Online Presentation Creator, and a BIG Marketing Lesson from Bose.
October 14, 2008New to this website? View Episode #1 to bring you up to speed (we don't want you to miss out). Oh, and don't forget to sign up for show updates (top right corner of this page)
Episode #26 - I stayed at a Hilton hotel recently and was shocked to experience their ridiculous room service policy. See if you agree with me and let me know your thoughts on the blog.
This week’s viewer question is about moving the free line. You may or may not have heard that expression before, which I think was popularized by Eban Pagan. It’s all about giving customers more free stuff early on in the relationship, so they can get to know, like, and trust you much faster.
I mentioned this last week but I’ll repeat it again. So many people have been asking me for more NiftyClicks I’ve launched a spinoff site for them at http://www.NiftyClicks.com - if you’re quick you can get in at the ridiculously low, special pre-launch rate of just $10 per month!
In the show I reveal an amazing alternative to PowerPoint or KeyNote that’s managed online. It’s called SlideRocket.com and I love it! I’ll show you a demo in the episode and I encourage you to try it out, especially since it’s currently Free.
The BIG marketing lesson comes from BOSE, the audio equipment company. Not all their products are great in my opinion, many are cheaply made and don’t last long in my experience (some people even say BOSE stands for Buy Other Sound Equipment), but they definitely understand marketing, that’s for sure.
SlideRocket (online presentation software like PowerPoint but MUCH better)
NiftyClicks.com (admit it, you need to feed the addiction)
Microwave Marketing (Special offer for viewers only)
Regards,
October 15th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Hi Andrew,
I LOVE how annoyed you are at the stupid policy and the ridiculous charges at Hilton. I am annoyed at such things too. The nerve! I think it’s shameful and despicable hiding charges like this.
I can not believe people still use PowerPoint. It sucks. It’s so 1989.
Thanks for another fun show!
Lisa
http://www.SurveySam.com
October 15th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Andrew,
I agree with your displeasure with Hilton. We’re a society that enjoys convenience, (but an hour later for room service-I bet you just wanted to give an extra gratuity, huh?, or had the hunger pains left?).
In addition, the nickel and dime attitude, is crazy. Just bundle the cost in the cost of the item. I’ve always felt that room service fees were higher anyway (for convenience)– but I’d be screaming about the $3 delivery fee.
Pat Littleton
http://www.cashfreedomsecrets.net
October 15th, 2008 at 10:51 am
You could go on and on. Why do expensive hotels charge for wifi and local phone calls, when cheaper chains like Motel 6 and Super 8 charge nothing?
Why do places where they hold you captive — airports, stadiums, amusement parks — charge inflated prices for food and drink?
Why does congress tax the poor and subsidize the rich?
Why does Adam Sandler make a lot of money?
So many mysteries…
October 15th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I have to admit I was one of those suckers to add an additional 20% to a room service bill because I didn’t read the small print; for a total of a 40% tip, plus also a $3 service charge!
Another blunt money grabbing scheme is when you go to a take out restaurant and they add a tip line to your credit card bill - for what? I’m taking it with me, there is no waiting a table, no clean up - and they expect a tip?!
If you pay cash, they expect a tip in their tipping jar.
What you can do? Buy your coffee or sandwich at a grocery store - they’re not asking for tips (yet)!
Like your show! It’s fun and informative.
October 15th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I understand that this is a common practice that hotels use. I do not think it is right at all but what can we do about it but complain. I have heard that if you complain about these charges that sometimes they are reduced. I am not sure but it would not hurt to try. Great show I always learn a lot. I think I will share this with my blog visitors. Thank you for having it, that it can be done that way. Thank you again.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
I will not be putting it on my blog it would not go. Thank again any way.
October 16th, 2008 at 6:33 am
Andrew…
Couldn’t agree more with your outrage at Hilton. Unfortunately tagging on little extra charges is common in the so-called “service
industry” I used to work in the rental car industry and was shocked and amazed at all the sneakly little tricks they use to tag on just a few extra bucks here and there. I once asked about it and was told that those extra bucks amount to millions of dollars in added income across the board annually. Is it right?
NO, but “caveat emptor” still reigns supreme in the business world!
The hotel practice is no different than the current “stealth” practice of “down sizing” being used in boxed, canned and other pre-packaged food items in groceries. The boxes are the same size, the prices continue to go up, but what was a 16 ounce package a year ago is now only contains 14.5 ounces!
October 16th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Hi Andrew,
Used to be a manager fora few hotel chains and have to say that the Hilton incident above have become an ‘industry standard’ in hotels now, especially any branded hotel. Some even charge upto £8 (yes, Sterling!) for delivery - mostly I would say that what hotels charge really isn’t worth what you are getting to be honest, 99% of the time. Plus, many hotels use the gratuities charged to ‘top-up’ workers’ minimum wage that they are paid - very high in London. Wifi - now that takes the biscuit - £8 for an hour.
October 16th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Hmmm, seems like this episode hit a raw nerve with a few people!
Deanna,
Click on the button below the video that looks like three linked circles, and then click on the button marked ‘copy code’ - that will copy the html code to your clipboard, you then simply paste that code into your blog post, and the video will appear.
Regards
Andrew
October 16th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Living in Sydney Australia, the whole idea of enforced tips (non-gratuities!) is a mystery that the American culture seems to have created.
We do give tips. They are not demanded (or, in most cases, are not even expected).
I am told that tips exist in the USA because the hospitailty industry wants to keep its costs down and so pay less than a living wage to front line employees who supplement their income using psychological pressure on customers to fork out.
I must say that overall, service across the board (not just in hospitality) is better in the USA than just about everywhere else I’ve been (including my home Australia). There are exceptions in both directions but maybe the expectation of a higher tip has contributed to higher service.
My preference, tips that really are gratuities given for quality service, just like we do Down Under.
October 17th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I’m with you on the tipping issue Ian.
I’ve never adjusted to ‘forced tips’ in the USA. I’d feel happier if they renamed it ’service charge’ because that’s what it is. I understand that the U.S. operates on a different system but just don’t call it a tip because it’s not! A tip is for going above and beyond the call of duty, whereas a service charge is simply for the service part of a transaction. In restaurants and taxis it is expected.
October 18th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Andrew,
Since you already have your food when the receipt is given to you to sign, how about using the second gratuity line to *reduce* the charge to what you feel it should be for hour-late food by entering a negative number? Just an idea…
James
October 19th, 2008 at 5:03 am
Absolutely hilarious.
I hate Hilton too, ever since a similar experience I had arriving at a Hilton late at night with my 6 month old baby. They had given away our reserved room, just like in the Seinfeld episode (”You know how to TAKE the reservation, you just don’t know how to KEEP the reservation”). So they put us in the only room they had left, where “the carpet is a little damp.” Yeah, turned out it was SOAKING, went squish when we walked on it. It was like sleeping in a sauna, and all 3 of us got sick. Did they give us a discount? No, but they “upgraded” us to a room with a view of the parking lot.
Keep on keeping it real!
October 19th, 2008 at 5:28 am
Everybody duty is to report all kinds of frauds, even if you are not sure it is. My suggestion is to consult a lawyer, or send the bill with a letter and description of the event to a newspaper. If you only make jokes on their account, equal to no result. Court is like hell for hotel manager, even for reason like this, but you will make them think twice in future.
About your episodes, make a schedule, mon-fri, a day for specific businesses, so the viewer can know his term.
Invite some businesses experts or judge for instant verdict
October 19th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
good info, and its not boring to watch like many videos online
October 19th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
ok first of all…as an american tipped employee…i’m not sure what hilton pays their people but i make $2.13 an hour working in a steak house that charges $25 + a plate…i could only DREAM of my company automatically charging people a 20% gratuity b/c most people only tip 10% and that’s for excellent service…a 10% tip is what i tip a poor server not one that gets everything right and gives me either entertainment or at least a personal experience to a typical meal! just so everyone knows…TIPS literally means To Insure Prompt Service…which is why they should be given before the meal rather than after…i don’t want to waste my time on a dollar when i could be investing in a $20 two tables down
October 19th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
i would like to say also…that this was an awesome show…very informative and diverse in its substance…i’ll be tuning back in! thanks locky :*
October 20th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
I couldn’t agree more.
I see where you are comming from. Eye to eye. I have raved about such things to my freinds and families for years. The only reason they can do it though is the public walk around with their eyes closed to everything outside of their own little world.
November 7th, 2008 at 4:56 am
I couldn’t agree with you more on the Hilton (and other hotels for that matter…I experienced the same thing at a Starwood property earlier this year) thing. I just leave a bad taste…I would prefer to just be charged more the actual food than have all this sneaky stuff. I have a blog (http://studiog.greayer.com) that is about landscape design (my business). Our clients are in 2 main categories - residential and hospitality. I think that this piece would be useful for them to see…though maybe not what they would like to hear. is there a way to isolate the Hilton hotel part of the video? - Then I just need to figure out how to talk about it without offending anyone.
Thanks for the great videos.
November 24th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I just got done reading a book called “Gotcha Capitalism” that talks about Hotels, Cell Phone Carriers, Banks, and all the other companies who are now squeezing us with fees and “gratuities”… while very enlightening, the book ended up making me even more infuriated. The only recourse, according to the book, was to write complaint letters and call customer service lines to demand refunds. Some companies do refund you, but A) Why should I have to complain and B) Why should they be allowed to keep money from people who *didn’t* complain?