Delivering the Brand Promise
Lina Ko July 31st, 2007
In my article on Selling ‘Soft’ Ware, Not Hardware previously posted on May 4, 2007, I mentioned that I would be going on a luxury cruise this summer. Upon my return from my vacation, I owe it to my readers to give an overall evaluation. Cruise lines are marketed now, more than ever, to baby boomers. As a discerning boomer myself, my overall score was a 7 out of 10 after my seven-day cruise along the Adriatic Cost and Croatia.
While the cruise line exceeded my expectations on food and beverages – both were of Michelin Guide calibre – it fell short in other areas such as service, entertainment and facilities. Service is very much about selling ‘soft’ ware, and although there were highlights such as having a copy of the Canadian News printout every day outside my room, overall the cruise line has not delivered its brand promise due to a lack of understanding of its customers. The overall ratio of staff to customers was about 1:1.3 which should have made us very happy. However, after being asked four to five times over dinner about how we felt about the food, I had to stop them because I felt that my intimate conversations with my girlfriends were interrupted. The way the wait staff asked also annoyed me – you could tell from their eyes that they weren’t very sincere, instead they came across as almost robotic, trained to ask the right questions.
I also feel that this company is out of touch with us baby boomer women. When my two girlfriends and I entered the dining room one night in spectacular evening gowns (the dress code was black tie optional), three male waiters offered us their arms and insisted that they escort us to our table. Being friendly and accommodating individuals, we willingly obliged. On the second night when this happened again, two out of the three in my company had to politely refuse. I didn’t have time to explain to the maitre d’ but our completed questionnaire on our feedback reflected what really bothered us. In this contemporary era when boomer women are increasingly independent, we would be very comfortable at any time, in any dress code, to walk solo and unescorted into a big room and still look happy, charming and feminine.
This, together with the housekeeping staff missing one night of refreshing our room, led to an overall less-than-satisfactory score.
Then came the entertainment which was once again disappointing. The cruise company misunderstood that because this was a more expensive voyage, their passengers would be senior citizens and might prefer aging lounge singers and cabaret performers. Believe me, while we’re not expecting rappers or hip-hop musicians à la Black Eyed Peas, we were expecting a mix of contemporary and classical music and yes, after paying that much, even Broadway-quality shows on board the ship!
In the end, the highlights of our drive along the breathtaking Amalfi Coast and Positano, and the food on the cruise made our trip worthwhile, and not to mention the great company I’ve had over numerous glasses of champagne with caviar!