How Texans Can Communicate Better

Posted on | October 12, 2008 |

As they say in the song, “God Bless Texas.”   It really is a great state.  I do a lot of business in Houston and Austin (one of my favorite cities).

On a recent trip to Houston, post-Ike, I saw they are still struggling to recover.  Almost all the hotel rooms were sold out.  But my co-worker and I were able to snag two rooms at the Crowne Plaza.   The hotel was undergoing renovations, which certainly didn’t help matters.  And it was full to capacity with insurance agents and other relief agency officials.    So I know they had their hands full.  But there was one big problem with the hotel.

I discovered it the first morning.  Well, actually, my co-worker Jeff discovered it the first morning.  I received an early morning call from Jeff in a slightly panicked voice asking if I had any shampoo with me.   Now, I almost always do, but for this particular trip, I’d just switched make-up bags and didn’t have any.  I looked in my bathroom, and there was no hotel shampoo either.

“I know” said Jeff when I informed him my room seemed to be out.  “The whole hotel is out.”    How does an entire hotel run out of shampoo?  They had all the other bathroom necessities:  conditioner, lotion, mouthwash, but no shampoo.

Well, I figured I’d just use a little conditioner and pull my hair back in a pony-tail.  Jeff, who didn’t have the pony-tail option,  was, actually, far more upset over the whole incident than I was.    (”Greasy head” was not the look he wanted when giving a major presentation). I can’t repeat his exact words due to the language, but just suffice it to say, he was…agitated.  He fumed about the situation, wondering what  conspiracy/fraud/theft had depleted the hotel shampoo supply.

Now, the hotel obviously had a lot going on.  But the whole unpleasant Shampoo-Gate situation could have been avoided with four words when we checked in - “We’re out of shampoo.”    Armed with this knowledge the night before, we could have hit the streets of Houston and bought/borrowed/begged our way to at least one bottle of Herbal Essence.

If you know there is a problem, something that will prevent you from delivering the customer service level you would like, be up front about it.  Communicate ahead of time what customers can expect, even if it is unpleasant.  Women, especially, value this kind of open communication.

So do men with flat hair issues.

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