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Actor Robert de Niro is a busy man.  Not only is he teaming up with director Martin Scorcese, Al Pacino and others to make a new blockbuster gangster movie, he is reported to have applied for permission to build an 83-bedroom luxury boutique hotel in London’s Covent Garden.

Actually, that last bit probably not strictly true – one imagines that de Niro has people to submit planning applications for him – but he does have a bit of a hospitality industry track record, and owns a chunk of The Greenwich, a hugely-successful boutique property in New York’s TriBeCa district.

Naturally, one wishes him well with his latest project which, if all goes to plan, will be open in 2019.

Of course it always helps to have a starry name attached to your business, but in most cases, that is all it amounts to.  Celebrity chefs “have” restaurants by the dozen, but they cannot possibly work their culinary magic in all of them, all the time – they have people to do that for them.

It’s all vaguely reminiscent of the old “Queen Anne Slept Here” claims made by hotels across the nation, leading one merely to hope that they’d changed the bed-linen since her visit, and the endless pubs that all claim to be the smallest (ie most densely-packed) in the country.

All these musings came about following the news that Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts are to merge, thus overtaking Britain’s InterCont9inental Hotels Group (IHG) as the world’s largest hotel company by number of rooms.

Admittedly, there are loads of hotels that fly the Marriott flag, but the company operates many properties under other brands.  Starwood’s best-known division is Sheraton Hotels & resorts, while IHG owns the Holiday Inn brand, among many others.

In short, the name above the door doesn’t amount to much these days, and can even be misleading, although I should stress that I’m sure that won’t be true of Mr de Niro – his lawyers are bigger than mine.

What has all this to do with Dorset businesses?  Simply this – make a name for yourself, rather than for somebody else.  In these days of cookie-cutter hotels, fast-food “restaurants” and coffee chains, consumers are increasingly seeking out quirky, one-off experiences.

They have to be good experiences, naturally, but it is generally better to be a “one-off” than “ just another one”, and Dorset’s small and medium-sized enterprises are ideally placed to take full advantage.

It doesn’t hurt to have a celebrity endorsement, of course, but I wouldn’t bother Robert de Niro.  As I said at the outset, he’s pretty busy just now…

What used to be called “new” technology has undoubtedly transformed all our lives – and, for the most part, we take it for granted. Mobile phones, tablet computers, multi-channel TV, hole-in-the-wall cash machines, online shopping, you name it, we’ve got it – and, crucially, we like it.

However, it has long been a concern of mine that technology is moving faster than we want or need. Teenaged computer geeks, working out of their back bedrooms, are busily innovating for innovation’s sake, often with little or no regard for the market need, let alone desire or demand, for their latest gadgetry.

After all, how many of us feel an irrepressible urge to access the internet via a wristwatch? If you need to work “on the go”, why buy a driver-less car when you can hail a taxi? Do we really want to be given directions by our spectacles?

The latest so-called breakthrough merely serves to underline my point. Japanese techno-giant Toshiba has developed three “communications androids”, one of which is employed in a shopping mall, while another is “working” as a receptionist in a Tokyo hotel.

The third is called Chihira Kanae. “She” is inexplicably female, and she’s touring the world as an ambassador for her current and future “siblings”, programmed to persuade people that she – and they – represent the future of customer service.

Using pioneering “human-looking” technology, these robots will have better memories than us, they will be able to speak more languages than we do, they will work 24 hours a day for nothing, and they’re never going to nip out for a cigarette, or call in sick, or take holidays, or maternity leave.

The technology is breathtaking. What’s not to like?

The answer to that rhetorical question is “quite a lot”. Like those back-bedroom teenagers, Toshiba seems to have lost sight of the needs and wishes of human consumers. Are we really going to ask an automaton to recommend a good local restaurant? How would it know?

The only way it could “know” is if it had been programmed to “know” – and if a truly appalling local restaurant pays enough money to be included in “her” knowledge bank, Chihira and her ilk will tell you it’s wonderful.

Rather more seriously, technology has a nasty – if increasingly infrequent – habit of going wrong. Cash machines don’t always work, computers crash now and then, mobile signals come and go.

When the Dalek at the desk suffers a microchip malfunction, checks you into the gents’ loo, and orders a pint of Guinness with a side-order of custard creams, whilst reciting the latest Premier League results (in Mandarin), who do you complain to?

As an enabler, technology is unquestionably a boon. It allows us humans to interact more quickly, more easily, and more effectively, than ever before. It is, however, only an enabler. It is not, and never will be, “the future of customer service”.

That’s down to us.

Editor’s note: For further information, please contact Simon Scarborough on 07801 571357 or at simon@simonscarboroughassociates.co.uk.

We all know that the old adage that “the customer is always right” could hardly be farther from the truth. In the real world, the clients who think they’re always right are usually wrong – our job, as service providers, is to agree with them and make the appropriate amends.

However, a recently-published report from Cornell University in New York puts an interesting new slant on the whole concept of customer satisfaction, by looking at the subject in terms of customer expectation.

In essence, the three co-authors say that if hotel guests have low expectations, it’s relatively easy to give them a pleasant surprise, whereas if they have sky-high expectations, it’s relatively easy to disappoint them.

Anyone who’s paid next-to-nothing for a night in some backstreet hovel bereft of star ratings will be overjoyed if they are offered a free coffee, while someone who has paid top dollar for the Presidential Suite only to discover that room service is fresh out of macrobiotic aubergine smoothies is likely to be more than a little miffed.

The key, the Cornell report authors say, is to give staff the freedom to take matters into their own hands and improvise. The hotel business is increasingly built on systems and procedures, and “computer says no” is the wrong response to any request.

A colleague recently visited a four-star hotel restaurant and plumped for the sea bass with clam sauce, only to be told that it was not available because they had run out of clams. “OK,” said my friend, “I’ll have the sea bass without the clam sauce.”

You can see what’s coming – a real sitcom moment. The restaurant’s menu said the sea bass came with a clam sauce, and there were no clams. The menu did not offer sea bass without clam sauce, so the waiter couldn’t take the order…

In the end, the matter was resolved, but my friend will not be rushing back. Even in a four-star hotel, the waiter was not empowered – or he felt he was not empowered – to take matters into his own hands.

No-one expects the local chippie to serve clam sauce – free salt and vinegar is a given, a wedge of lemon is a bonus. In a four-star hotel restaurant, “no” is never the right answer.

The Cornell report focuses on the hospitality industry, but there are lessons here for all, regardless of industry sector. It’s the commercial equivalent of helping an old lady to cross the road; there is no immediately-obvious financial gain, but the old lady – and those who witness the act of kindness – will be back.

Customer-facing staff need to understand that while rules inevitably exist, they are there to be broken, or at least bent. Satisfied customers are just that – satisfied. Exceed their expectations, and they’ll be delighted.

There’s a world of difference.

Editor’s note: For further information, please contact Simon Scarborough on 07801 571357 or at simon@simonscarboroughassociates.co.uk.

According to a recently-published “insight” report, rising UK consumer confidence looks set to prompt something of a spending spree this year, with one-third of respondents to a Barclaycard poll saying they are planning at least one major purchase this year.

In 18 per cent of cases, the money will go on a new home; more than a quarter are eyeing a new car; and 37 per cent will be splashing out on new furniture. However, Barclaycard reveals that a massive 52 per cent are planning “a big family holiday or overseas trip”.

Of course, there are those for whom the two are synonymous, but that little word “or” is all-important, suggesting that “a big family holiday” is not necessarily the same thing as an overseas trip, an important – and, as it happens, timely – differentiation that should be music to Dorset ears.

The overwhelming majority of Brits who holiday abroad head for either France or Spain. The euro, which last summer hovered just above the 70p mark, was last month trading at 75p.

It’s not a huge price-rise, but it is probably enough to cause some people to think twice.

Barclaycard’s suggestion that there is a distinction between “a big family holiday” and a foreign trip also comes in time for the UK domestic holiday bookings peak, in February and March.   Singles, couples and smaller families may book later, but larger groups get in early to ensure the accommodation is available.

Consumers’ confidence is increasing (or maybe they’re just fed up with all this talk of austerity) and they’re looking to splash out on travel – just when Europe is becoming more expensive and “home-grown holidays” are hitting the headlines.

It’s a sellers’ market – what’s not to like?

The challenge for Dorset, yet again, is to present a united front. Our county has a hugely diverse range of attractions, from Monkey World to the Tank Museum, from Bournemouth to Blandford Forum, from Durdle Dor to Dorchester – and they all work independently of each other.

The result is that Dorset doesn’t have the kind of cohesive identity it so richly deserves. Holidaymakers brag about their time in Cornwall, the Cotswolds, or the Cairngorms, not about individual towns or attractions, and Dorset offers far greater variety than all of the above.

Overseas, we talk of Tuscany, Provence, or Andalucia, precisely because these places are known for the diversity of their holiday experiences. Dorset could, and should, be in the same league.

If Barclaycard is to be believed, the market is there, perhaps with a stronger appetite now than it has had for some years. If even a handful Dorset’s tourism sector businesses could overcome their often-petty parochial differences, and pool their resources, the rewards are there to be reaped.

Once others recognise the potential, they will be queuing up to pledge allegiance to the sales and marketing union, and the county’s economy will be all the better for it.

Now is the time to realise the Dorset dream.

Editor’s note: For further information, please contact Simon Scarborough on 07801 571357 or at simon@simonscarboroughassociates.co.uk.

In terms of value for money, UK hotels are among the worst in Europe, with only those in Denmark and Norway keeping us from the bottom of the likeable league. In Britain, according to online booking agency hotel.info, Coventry gives you the least bang for your buck.

If you want the very best value for money, the company says, you should head to the Czech Republic, Portugal or Poland, while the best of British are to be found in Leeds, Sheffield and Liverpool.

Guests booking through hotel.info are asked to rate their experience on a scale of one to ten – the higher the mark, the greater the perceived value. Czech hoteliers racked up an average score of 8.13 points, while their UK counterparts managed only 6.92.

Of course, it’s all very subjective. One guest’s idea of value may be very different from another’s; hotel.info’s clients may just dislike the UK; “average” scores mean nothing – there are some truly naff hotels about, but they don’t feature in the rankings because no-one books into them.

Even so, while the numbers might not add up, the underlying premise of the study raises some interesting issues, and not just for those in the hospitality industry.

At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, “value for money” is not the same as “cheap”. That infantile daub stuck on the fridge door may have cost next to nothing, but many a parent would argue that it is intrinsically more valuable than anything that Picasso ever knocked out.

While “price” is simply matter of maths, “value” involves an emotional connection, and in the business context that means going the extra mile. There’s a world of difference between keeping your customers satisfied, and making them happy.

Personally, I can’t stand prawn crackers, but I’m invariably pleased (although not as pleased as the dog!) when they arrive – free of charge – with our Chinese takeaway order. That drink “on the house” is always welcome. Cheerful check-out staff make my day.

In business terms the cost is negligible, even non-existent, but the potential benefits are enormous.

This month marks the start of the third year of Ryanair’s “Always Getting Better” campaign. In 2014, chief executive Michael O’Leary publicly renounced his disdain for the budget airline’s hapless passengers, and promised to adopt a more user-friendly approach.

Profits soared. Even Mr O’Leary claims that he had never known that “being nice” could be so lucrative. Few of us are in the same financial league as the Ryanair boss, but there is a very obvious lesson to be learnt, an example to be emulated.

If hotel.info’s assessments are to be believed, the UK’s hospitality sector should take note – and so should everyone else.   Barrister or barmaid, welder or waiter, accountant or acupuncturist, all should wake up to the fact that the term “value for money” has a second connotation.

You provide the value, and there’s a strong chance that your clients will provide the money…

Editor’s note: For further information, please contact Simon Scarborough on 07801 571357 or at simon@simonscarboroughassociates.co.uk.