ARE YOU
PLAYING HOST
TO YOUR GUESTS?
When you work in the ‘people business’, treating your
lifeblood as customers is no longer enough.
WORDS: WENDY SWEET
aiting for Winter’ – that’s what we
do in our family. As Summer
ends, anticipation of the ski
season grows. Winters spent up the
mountain mean different things to each
family member: a part-time job as a host for
my university-age daughter; athlete training
and coaching for my competitive son; social
connections and a sense of place for me;
time out as well as time to work out for my
office bound, time-poor husband. We all
have a different lens that we look through
when it comes to this alpine environment.
The snow arrives. The mountain opens.
The ski-field has new owners. They are in
the tourism game, focused on delivering
a magical customer experience. They
know that making a profit in a seasonal
business that relies on the naturegods is tough. They also know that in a
competitive environment it’s the ‘customer
experience’ that must set them apart from
their competitors. It must be exceptional.
Getting this right or wrong makes the
difference between profit or loss.
We approach the ski-lodge in this Winter
wonderland. Unbeknownst to us, we have
started the ‘customer journey’. It started with
the greeting in the car park by the attendant
as we exited our car: ‘Have an awesome
day’. We thought it was a one-off, but we
heard the same greeting time and time
again, day after day. A customer host greets
us as we enter the ski lodge. It’s 7:45am. She
is vibrant, smiling; ‘Welcome to Cardrona.
We’re glad you made the time to visit us
today.’ Thirty years in the fitness industry,
countless gyms visited and I have never
been greeted like this. I feel welcomed. I feel
special. I feel acknowledged that yes, I have
made the time to be here. I notice her name
badge. Her title is ‘Cardrona Host’. As I order
“W
my wake-up coffee, I reflect. If she and her
team are hosts, then we are the guests. It’s
a game-changer. Even the barista’s happy,
greeting me with a warm ‘Hi, can I take your
order?’ Coffee and smiles at 8am.
I wander outside. Ski instructors and
coaching staff appear. I listen, watch and
learn. They greet their ‘guests’ with high fives,
warmth. They seem high on life and I get the
sense they love their job. The lifties are the
same. The lift queues are building. It’s school
holidays in Australia and New Zealand, so it’s
busy. Lifties keep the skiers spirits high. They
are entertaining to watch. They greet you
each and every time as you get the lift, also
conscious of their health and safety role. They
are motivated and motivating… yes, there
is a difference. They know their job, and it’s
just as much about ensuring the delivery of a
customer, oops, I mean ‘guest’ experience, as
it is about how to de-ice a chairlift. They are
trained as hosts. They focus on the guests.
It seems that instinctively they know that the
experience that each skier and snow-boarder
has each time they pass through the lift queue
are their reason for being. But they are young
and new, so I know it’s in their training.
They also seem to know the ‘regulars’,
those of us who keep paying for season
passes – our ‘membership’ to this mountain
environment. And this membership is access
to the lift without having to queue at the ticket
office each day. Any ‘extra’ is paid for. Athlete
coaching, ski-instruction, coffee and food
are not covered in our annual ‘membership
fee’, but we pay happily. Why? Because
we value the experience, the coaching,
the facility, the staff, the environment. We
are made to feel special. Our son gets the
training and therefore the results from the
high-performance ski coaches. They are
some of the best trainers in the country, and
The 30-second article
• Treating our members and clients as
guests instead of customers is a
game-changer
• How staff interact with and relate to
guests is critical
• The fitness industry is a ‘people
business’, so we should look to and
learn from other comparable
industries
• We need to help all of our guests feel
a sense of belonging, making their
time in our facilities count socially as
well as physically.
the world. We pay willingly, knowing that
they are the best.
It’s a slick well-oiled ski business. But
more than that, this ski-field gives us and
others a sense of ‘place’. This is enhanced
through the ability of all staff to acknowledge
us as their ‘guests’. From the welcoming
hosts at the front end, to the motivating,
knowledgeable, technical coaches that train
our son – PTs on snow. It’s all the same. The
service costs more, but it’s worth it. Others
must think so too. The High Performance
Coaching Academy is booked solid. These
‘trainers’ know their roles, understand the
goals of the athletes and engage with each
and every one of them in ways, technically
and socially, that keep the athletes returning.
This is a business that seems to have, at
its heart, a recognition that how staff interact
with and relate to the guest is critical.
The owners know they are in the ‘people
business’. Just as we in the fitness industry
NETWORK WINTER 2015 | 61