Caution: Brief and Occasional Train Noise

Are you ever tempted to downplay shortcomings, either in your own business or when evaluating someone else’s?

This past weekend my wife and I took a journey up to the Pacific Northwest. We booked a hotel that had great reviews, was right on the water, had a spa, and was close to the center of town.

And it was right on the train tracks.

Prior to booking the trip, the following exchange took place with my wife:

Me:  “Looks like the nicest place in town for us to stay is right on the train tracks.”

Wife: “That’s ok with me, I like trains – you know how they put me to sleep.”

Upon check-in there was a small plaque tucked over to the right side of the registration desk that said, “Brief and Occasional Train Noise.”

I said to the front desk clerk, “Wow, you are really close to the tracks!”

To which she replied, “No problem, we have ear plugs in the room.”

Uh, oh.

The first train that went by was fairly brief, as promised, as it was an Amtrack passenger train headed to Canada – 10 cars, tops.

The train that rolled through at 3 AM, however, was of the freight variety. Judging by its size, I am fairly certain that the train had most of what the city of Vancouver, BC needed for the next month contained in its endless stream of cars.

After that train, this is the exchange that took place with my wife:

Me: “You awake?”

Wife: “I guess trains only put me to sleep when I’m riding on them…”

And so it continued. For all four days we were there.

These are the lessons I learned:

1. No matter how good other components of the business might be (spa, décor, view), if it has a fundamental flaw the other amenities can’t make up for it.

2. You can’t put lipstick on a pig. Try as they might, the staff at the hotel can’t downplay the noise created by five trains per night.

3. Customers might come to your business once (as we did), but those fundamental flaws will inevitably damage your chance for a loyal, lasting tribe of followers and raving fans.

Maybe your business or practice doesn’t suffer from something as obvious as a noisy train track that runs right alongside it.

But are there more subtle, yet still insidious, issues that plague your business and prevent you from the next level of success you want to achieve?

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One thought on “Caution: Brief and Occasional Train Noise

  1. You’re right, you can’t bank on getting any referral business if there’s a vital component missing.

    Our company deals in web design and technology. At the root of this and our continued growth and success, is customer service. If Customer Service isn’t at a level that indicates we care and acknowledge our customers, the whole system falls apart. In addition to the product, we’re providing an experience that hopefully says “we’re here and we care.”

    In the case of your experience, I think maybe the hotel is lacking that second part “we care.” Ear plugs isn’t enough to really fix/address the problem.

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