When you think about it, a bank and a hotel have a certain similarity. The customer-facing staff stand behind high counters and work with computers.
We arrived at Sofitel St. James around noon on a recent Saturday to prepare for a friend’s wedding. The woman on reception used her phone to check before informing us the room wouldn’t be ready for half an hour – still ahead of the published check-in time. Would we like to have coffee in the bar while we waited, she asked, coming out from behind the counter to hand us a voucher and direct us to the bar across the lobby.
Twenty minutes later she came to the bar and told us the room was ready.
It might have been, but we couldn’t tell because our card keys didn’t work. Another woman at reception ran the keys again and came up with me to ensure they would work. They didn’t, but she used her key to let us in and promised to have an electrician fix the lock while we were out picking up rented tails for the wedding.
When we returned, we picked up our keys and everything worked.
Besides the unfailing courtesy, what impressed me was how proactive people were, and how they didn’t use the desk as a barrier to keep away from customers. They repeatedly came around it to engage and to be helpful.
Umqua Bank in Washington, a leader in service, sends staff to Ritz Carlton for training. English banks could do worse than spring for an occasional weekend at the Sofitel for a few of their people.

Filed under: Technology