The Magic Castle Hotel made the top ten of all Los Angeles hotels on Trip Advisor. The reason why would probably surprise you, but it's one of those little secrets about why customers buy that they don't tell you.
You would not be impressed if I showed you pictures of this hotel. It looks to me like an old apartment complex that was painted yellow and converted into a hotel. So, by the looks of it, at least, it's nothing special.
However, the consumer reviews of this hotel are off the charts. People love it. Why? Most of the positive comments are about service. What is fascinating is that when people get specific about what they love about their stay, the trivial things are what make them rave.
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For example, the hotel has a pool in the courtyard. Next to the pool is a red phone, and above it is a sign that reads, "Popsicle Hotline." So, if you are a kid swimming in the pool, you can get out, pick up the phone, order a popsicle, and then an employee will appear (like a white glove service) with a popsicle.
It is essential to mention that the popsicle isn't anything special. It's the standard one you would get at the store; a low-end, high fructose corn syrup variety that's never even seen the fruit it claims to be flavored by. However, the idea of sending it to the pool via hotline, no less, makes it a surprise and delight to these kids and their families. Hence, the great reviews and high ranking on the list.
This experience is an excellent example of the topic I want to cover today: the disproportionate effect that small things can have on a Customer Experience.
The significance of small details in an experience is often overlooked. Lots of organizations fix the big things that go wrong in an experience. But, unfortunately, fine-tuning what could go right with the small stuff doesn't get the same attention from them.
These details in the small things are critical, though. For example, consider the following that some experiences feature:
- Going into a courier center where someone has fresh flowers in the store, which is what you smell as soon as you enter
- Seeing that folded V on the toilet paper when you first enter your hotel room signaling that the housekeeping team serviced the space
- The cruise staff making little animals out of your towels, so when you come back in the evening, there is a surprise critter waiting for you
- The smell of vanilla wafting through the rooms of a home you want to buy when you enter the open house
- The expectation created by a restaurant with linen tablecloths and napkins
These little nudges (thank you, Richard Thaler) evoke emotional responses. People think about these little things, like the smell of flowers or the clean, crisp appearance of white tablecloths, and use them to make decisions. However, if you ask them about it, they might not be able to articulate them to you.
Before we go any further with this concept, there is a caveat. If you want the opportunities for small things to create a lot of value, you must be sure that the rest of your experience is excellent. Well-planned and executed small things do not trick customers into thinking something is better than it is; they are an enhancement of what was already good.
For example, having a folded V in your toilet paper wouldn't impress you if the rest of the hotel had broken windows, and upon check-in, you learned there was an extra fee for guests that wanted clean bedding. So, if you're looking for small things that'll make a big difference and you're not getting the basics right, focus on the basics first.
Small Things Can Change Behavior, Too
Small things work in the other way, too. For example, several years ago in the UK, there was an increasing awareness about the damage to the Earth's environment that plastic bags created. Therefore, the government had shops charge customers for giving them plastic bags for their purchases. It was a nominal fee of £0.05, around $0.08. Nevertheless, the "taxing" of plastic bags reduced customers' use by 85 percent.