UnMarketing, 2nd Edition

Introduction

“Good afternoon!”

It was the start of an exchange that would set off a chain of events and would shift our opinion of a billion-dollar establishment with one simple act. Let us explain. It's no secret we “enjoy” Las Vegas. After going there 15 times in the past four years, we consider ourselves unofficial tour guides and residents of Sin City.

A place that you definitely cannot miss on the strip is the Wynn—very fancy, very pretty, and very expensive. Because the place cost $2.7 billion to build, we assume selling 99-cent hot dogs isn't going to make that money back. We really didn't care about the Wynn—not in a negative way, it just wasn't on our radar. After getting comfortable staying at MGM Grand, the Venetian, and other places, we didn't really see a need to change, until that Saturday.

We had a meeting at the Wynn during the BlogWorld conference. We strolled in through the majestic doors. As soon as we walked in, we spotted a man (Wes) using a large carpet-cleaning machine. He wasn't in our way, so we really thought nothing of it, but he thought differently. He stopped what he was doing. He looked up and smiled. Not one of those “it's part of my job to smile” ones, but a genuine, warm, authentic smile. And then he said, “Good afternoon, and welcome to the Wynn, please enjoy your day,” all the while looking us right in the eye, like it was his mission to ensure that we knew he meant business.

His welcome changed our entire perception of the Wynn. Almost $3 ...