Paul delivered one of the best seminars at Le Méridien Hamburg. The World Congress of Intercoiffure Mondial was taking place in Hamburg. When we work, we at least want to stay in a beautiful hotel. So we book the Le Méridien Hamburg. Sure, the views over the Außenalster are spectacular. The hotel offers the five-star service you would expect. But what can a

service business — an economically managed hairdressing business — learn from it?

Service is the be-all and end-all if guests are to feel at ease, no matter the service sector. But what we experienced with Paul Doberitzsch at breakfast in the Heritage restaurant on the 9th floor was service at the very highest level. Paul knew everything. Not intrusively, but with an almost magical empathy. From the second morning on, he knew our names, our preferences, where we liked to sit. It felt as though he had been waiting for us. As if we were the only guests in a house full of people.

He paired us with colleagues who suited us perfectly. He walked us to our table and gave us the feeling of having arrived. And when I got in touch with him again after quite some time, he even remembered that I had injured my knee back then — and that the injury had to be operated on right away, there in Hamburg. This attentiveness wasn’t put on; it was genuine.

Whenever something didn’t go quite smoothly — even outside his actual area of work, that is, in the hotel itself — you could talk to him about it. He seemingly had all the time in the world. Apparently nothing around him interested him more than our problem, and yet: he saw everything, made small gestures with his hand, and his colleagues knew what he meant. And what happened next? You didn’t have to go to reception, nor to the housekeeper, nor knock on any door. No, Paul simply took care of everything. Officially he was responsible only for the restaurant and, just then, for the breakfast service. But to us he was the face of the house.

So Paul also took care of things that weren’t part of his remit at all. And that is exactly what made the difference. It was more than a stay in a great hotel — it was an experience and, “en passant,” a marketing seminar. A genuine object lesson in customer loyalty at the highest level.

And that clearly shows: wherever you are — a café, a service provider, a hotel — move through the world with open eyes. Look at what others do particularly well. That alone is enough to make lasting changes in your own business. And sometimes the best marketing seminar simply begins at breakfast.

An article by www.presse-dagne.de

Photos: the Heritage restaurant on the 9th floor of Le Méridien Hamburg

And Jens Dagné with Paul Doberitzsch, 9th floor of Le Méridien Hamburg