Functionality vs. Purpose

What is the difference between a glum looking doorman silently opening the door and a smiling doorman who warmly welcomes everyone with a ‘welcome to our hotel ‘or a ‘have a nice day’ greeting, whilst opening the door?  One might argue they are actually carrying out the same task. The answer is both yes and no. Yes, both carried out a ‘function’, yet, it was only one doorman who understood the true ‘purpose’ and brought a deeper meaning to that function.

Take restaurant operations. As a restaurant server, am I just taking menu orders or am I there to help create an exceptional dining experience? Dining at a Colombo 4-star hotel’s Moghul restaurant, we ordered several dishes including a potato curry from the extensive Indian menu. When the dishes were served on to the table, I was vexed to note that the chicken curry we ordered had potatoes too. At a macro-level the menu failed to describe that the chicken was prepared with potatoes and at a micro-level our ‘server’ missed out on advising us that it did, when we placed the order. What our ‘server’ should have done was to recommend another item in lieu of the potato curry. I.e. unless of course, he was ignorant of the menu and I wouldn’t be surprised if he really was.

In reality, the majority of waiters actually are and I would even add managers’ to this list, when  I recall the manager of a 5-star hotel’s Chinese restaurant dodging my query, as to how many servings  a ‘medium’ or ‘large’ portion holds, when glancing thru the menu. Seldom do you encounter a person delivering the service who is not just robotically serving but understands how he/she is contributing to the hotel's overall purpose. I often find myself thinking about these macro vs micro experiences that brands steadily discharge. I doubt most brands even see these tiny issues that have an impact on some of their Customers.

Take Starbucks for example. When you place an order they ask for your name. Making it a standard of operation at the macro level, to personalise the guest experience is a terrific process to implement. However, the real challenge is at the micro level – to ensure that customers are not insulted by the ordertaker calling out their names incorrectly or mispronouncing them. In the above examples, both the waiter and the ordertaker have a key role. It is to connect the dots properly at ‘touchpoint’ to ensure that their brand lives up to the promise they state to each and every customer and for these persons at the frontline of service to be successful, the senior most leaders must take ownership.

Sadly, there just aren’t enough managers around who do just that! Your brand promise is irrelevant if your customers do not believe it. Therefore, your promise must be supported by reasons-to-believe. If you are in the business of taking care of others, especially in the hospitality industry and desire to show that you really ‘care’, this ‘function vs. purpose’ concept makes a difference on how you are perceived. It separates the impersonators who provide mere lip service from those who genuinely deliver a memorable experience for their guests.

HSL

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