If it's not right - fix it fast!

On a recent holiday in Vanuatu, we stayed at a resort near the entrance to the Erakor Lagoon.  Everything was great until we used the restaurant.  No problem with the food but the service was absolutely shocking – not just one night, but the second also.  We had to continually ask for our next courses and at the end of the second night we had decided to do a sunset cruise the next day and never return to that restaurant, and probably the resort. 

Unfortunately the cruise was cancelled at the last moment and rather than stay in town for a further two hours until dinner time, we reluctantly chose to return to the resort for our last meal in Vanuatu.

From the moment we stepped into the bar it was obvious that there had been a change.  The waiters were smiling, joking and snappy.  In the restaurant they were moving with a spring in their step and stopped at many tables as they passed to talk to the customers.  The meal was complete about 80-90 minutes faster than the previous nights.

I couldn’t resist seeking out the resort manager to make comment.  I found both the manager and the owner together, explained my experiences over the last three nights, and asked them what they had done to make a difference.  They explained that they had themselves, noticed a slip in the service level and had called the staff together, explained to them why fast, friendly service was important, and tweaked a few systems.

How simple is that?  They may well have left it one night too late to act, but the point is, they did act, and even though we were in the restaurant only by accident for our last meal, that experience reversed our overall impression of Breakas Ocean Resort.

If something is wrong, take action fast – you may never get a second chance.