Write the last chapter of the service experience when a situation falls short of expectations.

In our travels, we get to see/experience a number of clubs around the country, and get to hear the success stories of many of those club leaders. One of the best stories was from Jeffrey Kreafle, GM/COO at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. Jeffrey related to me the inspiration he and his team got from the book, “Setting the Table” by Danny Meyer. In it, Meyer suggests that you always have the chance to write the last chapter of any service experience. From that, Jeffrey and his team came up with the concept of forming a Last Chapter Council of the most creative minds of the Club team.

Jeffrey explained several specific, powerful and successful responses his team came up with after recognizing an instance where the team or a situation had fallen short of member expectations. When identifying one of those ‘moments’ that we try to minimize in frequently, but all have at some point in our clubs, the Last Chapter Council quickly convenes and collectively figures out the best response and who will deliver it! The program has been very successful, and in one instance even caused a member who heard about the team’s response to another member’s situation, to rescind their resignation (which was unrelated and due to a divorce)!

It always does seem to come back to the fact that its often how you react to a situation that makes the real difference, not the situation in and of itself! 

Kurt D. Kuebler, CCM, CMAA Fellow, is a partner with KOPPLIN KUEBLER & WALLACE, a consulting firm providing executive search, strategic planning and data analysis services to the private club and hospitality industries. Kurt can be contacted at kurt@kkandw.com.