Casino Connection Nevada

Congratulations!

Your hard work has been validated

by Martin R. Baird

Doesn’t it feel great when guests at your casino give you a nice tip? You did something right—smiled, remembered guests’ names, brought them fresh drinks—and your hard work was rewarded.

I’ve got a warm-and-fuzzy feeling these days, too. I didn’t get a tip, but I got something else just as good. For years now, I have been telling casinos that the quality of their guest service matters, that stellar service helps turn guests into advocates for their favorite casino and that advocates translate into repeat business and new business. Senior management, middle managers and employees—they all have heard this message from me.

And now I have been validated by two highly reputable sources. Casino employees should be thrilled, too, because this also is a validation of what they do day-in and day-out. What you do is important to the success of your casino. It’s important that you show up for work every day and give it your best shot.

The first validation came from the Wall Street Journal. In a front-page article, the Journal reported that the Wal-Mart era is waning. I’m not a Wal-Mart basher, but I yelped with glee when I read the reporter’s reasoning. For decades, Wal-Mart has squashed its competitors by offering low prices. Now, says the Journal, consumer retail habits are changing and Wal-Mart’s competitors know it. What’s happening? I’ll quote the Journal: “Rival retailers lured Americans away from Wal-Mart’s low-price promise by offering greater convenience, more selection, higher quality or better service.” The article quotes brand-consulting firm WD Partners, Inc., as saying, “For the first time in a long time, quality has a chance to gain on price.”

Better service! Quality! According to this story, consumers today are more interested in the things Wal-Mart has shunned for years, including personalized service and a quality shopping experience. This is what people want. Let’s translate that into gaming terms: outstanding guest service and an amazing gaming experience. That’s what your customers want and, guess what, that’s what you do for them every day. Congratulations!

The second validation came from an IBM white paper titled “Advocacy in the Customer Focused Enterprise—the Next Generation of CRM Done Right.” IBM authors Robert Heffernan and Steve LaValle write, “Innovative companies know that they cannot merely sit safely in the middle anymore. Leading companies want to build strong bases of loyal, profitable customers who are also advocates for the company. Customer advocacy is a measure of customer attitude toward a company.”

In the executive summary, Heffernan and LaValle outline numerous things that help create advocates—among them understanding customers’ needs and expectations.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Your guests don’t win every time they play. Yet they come back and, if you’re carrying out the duties of your job superbly, what you do plays a role. If you have been properly trained, then you understand what your guests want. You understand what they expect. And then you give it to them. The end result is that your guests have a very good attitude about your casino. They are far beyond satisfied and loyal. They are advocates and, as advocates, they play at your casino again and again (that repeat business thing). They recommend your property to friends and relatives (yup, new business). Then those friends and relatives become advocates, and the whole process starts over.

But forget about me. You, the casino employee, have received a huge tip from the Wall Street Journal and IBM. That’s what I call a job well done.