Years ago, upon arriving at my hotel in Sri Lanka, I asked the Front Office Manager if the car transfer I had taken was indeed arranged by the property. Roshanth, the manager, said yes it was and asked if all had gone well. I hesitated to comment on the poor condition of the vehicle (not much suspension, rather dusty interiors) and not wanting to dredge it up further, I simply replied, "It's ok."
Instead of giving up, not caring or being relieved at not receiving any negative feedback, Roshanth said he would be happy to have my feedback so that they could further improve. (Well-put and not pushy.) So I told him about the less-than-desirable experience, and he immediately apologised and said he would look into the matter with the outsourced company they usually worked with.
Once the check-in process was done, I was escorted by another employee to the lift. Roshanth came up to me just in time to inform that the transfer would not be charged and extended his sincere apologies. He explained briefly that the transport company had an issue with the usual fleet designated for hotel guests and ended up using a vehicle that they should not have used.
I was most impressed by Roshanth's keen interest in my feedback and his prompt follow-up thereafter. He was observant in reading my body language/facial expression to deduce that the trip was not as ok as I had made it to be. I appreciated that he assumed responsibility and did not try to shirk it. Roshanth made me feel very much valued as a guest, simply by caring.
Service Bank: 💖💖💖
Reflective thoughts: In general, how would you or your team handle the situation above? Let it slide? Push on with it? What are some phrases that would help (and not help) in soliciting for further feedback?