UnSelling: The New Customer Experience

Chapter 2Joshie Is Branding

We travel a lot, and we can tell you finding anything lost in a hotel is a miracle. In fact, if you yourself get lost in a hotel, you may never be found. We regularly donate phone chargers and airplane pillows to hotels. Is there some kind of underground racket for lost chargers being run out of these places? I simply refuse to be wowed by any new hotel technology as long as I am hauling furniture out of the way to find an outlet. New apps don't run on dead iPhones, you know.

When I first read the story of Joshie Hurn and his extended vacation at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, a beautiful spot we've visited personally, I could not stop talking about it. A child losing his favorite thing is not something to easily manage as a parent. It's kind of like if you lost your phone.¹

Joshie's stay at the hotel is one of my favorite stories of UnSelling. The care and concern of the hotel, and their treatment of a guest already checked out, is outstanding. I love to tell audiences that to be awesome in business you really only need to be mediocre, because let's be honest, everyone else sucks. Well, the Ritz-Carlton staff were way more than mediocre. They were incredible.

Here are Chris Hurn's own words about the experience:

Most people have experienced outstanding customer service in one form or another—an attentive server at a restaurant or a retail store employee who goes the extra mile. A thriving industry comprised of consultants dedicated to training ...