Time Management
What is the mark of a great service? Read on to find out…
Mr. Allen is planning a business trip to Los Angeles this weekend and has a very busy schedule, packed with back-to-back meetings with multiple clients located in different parts of the city. Included in his agenda is a dinner meeting with a client who selected the venue. This client sent him an email with the name of the restaurant where they would meet for dinner.My task was to include the appointment in his calendar so that he had the name and address of the restaurant. I did not stop there, however. As Mr. Allen’s schedule was pretty hectic, and I thought that it would help if he was familiar with the restaurant’s menu - one less thing to think about. So I called the restaurant and asked them to send me a copy of their menu.
As I was updating Mr. Allen on his agenda, I mentioned to him that I am sending him a copy of the restaurant’s menu so that he could get an idea of what he wanted to order. He was very pleased about it and mentioned that those are the types of things that he expects from our service.
This was an email from Bert Landa, one of our personal assistants. Bert was given kudos by the member who felt compelled to speak with one of Prialto’s managers to let him know how impressed he was with Bert.
We can’t say it too often: People are at the core of what we do here at Prialto. They are our most important resource. And when every single employee feels empowered, and when they care about what they do and the quality of work they produce, you get service that is, well, pretty great.
“You rock!”
Here’s just one of the ways we make life easier for our members:
After trying unsuccessfully to book three nights at the Yosemite Lodge where he is planning to take a vacation with his wife, James, one of our members, sought my help. He gave me the dates and asked me to call the Lodge every now and then to see if any rooms become available - he was aware that the dates fell in the middle of the high season.
I called the Lodge consistently for two weeks when finally, a room freed up. Although it was only for two nights, not three, I asked the Lodge to hold the room and notified James immediately. I was hoping to add an extra night later on. I suggested to James that he take the room. He said yes, and the reservation was made.
Today I called the Lodge to see if we could extend the reservation to three days. They answered in the affirmative. I booked the extra night right away.
James was thrilled to know that he can plan his vacation the way he wanted without spending a lot of his valuable time making it happen, and I was glad to do it for him.
He sent me a succinct email that said it all:
“You rock, thank you.”
James
“Let’s just say that I am impressed. Great job!”
A wine enthusiast, Steve’s father Brent is quite particular about his wines. So particular in fact that he had trouble finding two vintages that he had to have. One was a 1999 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée, and the other was a 2006 Domaine Ramonet Bienvenue Batard Montrachet. Steve is a Prialto member and a believer in the merits of its services. When he found out about his father’s difficulty in finding the wines, he decided to ask his Prialto assistant for help. Steve’s assistant, Eddie, then went to work. Eddie contacted around 25 stores, speaking to fine wine specialists to try and locate the wines, and to also find a retailer that delivers to Pennsylvania, where his father lives.
Although a 2006 Batard Montrachet was easier to find, a 1999 Vosne-Romanée, at about $1,200 a bottle, took more time to locate. Eddie finally found one at Christie’s auction house. After locating the specific vintages, Eddie then had to figure out why there was an issue in shipping wine to Pennsylvania. It turned out that Pennsylvania maintains one of the tightest, most restrictive liquor-control systems in the U.S. and both Steve and Brent were unaware of this. So, Eddie brought this issue to their attention, and it was decided that the wines were to be shipped to Brent’s address in New York City.
What did Brent think of Prialto’s service? Here’s his email to Eddie:
Eddie,
Let’s just say that I am impressed. Great job!
Thanks,
Brent
Going above and beyond
One of our time managers was recently asked to find a printer with a scanning feature. This was all the information that was given. Encouraged to look beyond the information provided and to anticipate possible questions, the time manager set about completing the task. Based on reviews and the member’s requirements, he narrowed down the search to four printers. But the assistant didn’t stop there. He also compared, and found, the best prices on the Internet with reasonable shipping charges. In addition, he called an Office Max near the member’s house to see how the prices compared to those he found on the Internet minus the cost of shipping. The result was a comprehensive, detailed list that the member could act upon.
Going above and beyond what is expected is what we strive for at Prialto. Throughout our training program, and on an on-going basis, we encourage our time managers to be proactive and to think ahead. We ask them to not only answer the request, but to also think about what other questions may arise so that they may provide an actionable task that could save a member time, money, and energy.