The Emotional Signature of Hospitality
Sarah Jons 
Clearly they need some basic training in the Peak End Rule and the Emotional Signature of Hospitality. The theory behind the Peak End Rule is simple
The Neuroscience of the Peak End Rule & the Emotional Signature of Hospitality.
Hello, do you have a reservation Sir?
The restaurant is empty. There are no people. A veritable desert, a ghost town. Why are you asking me this?
You’ve got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk*?
Clearly they need some basic training in the Peak End Rule and the Emotional Signature of Hospitality. The theory behind the Peak End Rule is simple. Humans hedonically (pleasure based) evaluate past experiences using a short cut in the brain. This heuristic process leads people to judge an experience by its most intense point and it’s end, as opposed to the total sum or average of every moment of the experience. It occurs regardless of whether a ‘peak’ is pleasant or unpleasant, and regardless of the duration of the experience. Maya Angelou once said,
People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
So what is the emotion you are trying to evoke in your customers when they walk into your bar, hotel or restaurant? Do you really know? If not, why not? Emotions are the biggest driving force behind all human behaviour. And the neuroscience of this emotion is the future of marketing and the future of all success in hospitality. Buck Rodgers, not the Sci Fi guy, but the Vice President of Marketing for IBM once said,
People buy emotionally and then justify with logic.
The concept of customers’ emotions have now been widely accepted, as Forresterpoints out in the article, ‘2013 Predictions for the Customer Experience Industry’ stating:
Emotional insights will take centre stage. The idea that happy customers are more likely to remain loyal, try new products and services, and spread good news about their experiences has started to catch on.
But amazingly, surveys reveal 80 percent of companies believe they deliver superior customer experience, yet only 8 percent of their customers agree. What is going on to create this massive disconnect? The first thing that neuroscience tells us is that in hospitality, like any form of transaction, everything is an emotional buy; everything. Whether buying a cup of coffee, a fine dining restaurant, choosing a wine, purchasing a holiday, a car, or a house. Our emotional reaction to a service transaction is the fundamental driver of the purchasing decision.
According to psychologists, what people remember about a customer experience is determined by the intensity of emotions created in specific moments, not the overall experience. During the ‘80’s and ‘90’s customer satisfaction was king. It was based on research suggesting that continued improvement in product and service quality would mean corresponding increases in satisfaction, and customer satisfaction was going to ensure a returning purchase.
What further academic research and empirical evidence now shows is that companies who followed this guideline were surprised to find that even high scores in customer satisfaction did not guarantee loyalty. Companies have discovered that loyalty, not satisfaction, drives profits. The economics are very compelling. As little as a 5% decrease in customer defections can mean a doubling of profits. Loyal customers are not only repeat purchasers, and are more likely to buy other products and services, they become advocates of the company. It is nine times cheaper to keep an existing customer than acquire a new one.
This is true for most experiences throughout our lives. Our sub conscious mind categorises and catalogues experiences according to the nature and intensity of emotions. When it starts processing new stimuli, the sub conscious mind associates past memories and responds emotionally before rational thought occurs. When neurologists discovered that 95 percent of thought, emotion and learning occur this way, behavioural economists like Daniel Kahneman realised that:
We are not thinking machines that feel. We are feeling machines that think.
In other words, sub conscious emotional responses shaped by past emotional memories determine customer attitudes, perceptions and behaviour, rather than conscious, rational decisions. This is the basis of the Peak End Rule (PER), citing that customer experiences are judged almost entirely on the intensity of emotions at their peaks and resolution point. Virtually all other information appears to be forgotten, including net pleasantness or unpleasantness and how long the experience lasted. Think about this in the context of any aspect of hospitality.
More than 60% of the typical customer experience is emotional. Everyone wants loyal customers. Consider the meaning of the word loyalty. A well designed hospitality or customer experience (process) triggers emotions that have a positive effect on customer retention and customer loyalty. Effectively, a great experience transcends the rational/physical attributes of the literal product (quality, price, delivery, quantity) or the what and becomes part of the product itself. The irony is that right now your customers are feeling emotions with your customer experience; the issue is that you have no control over them and they are not deliberate. Great customer experiences are emotional and create an attachment to a company and once that emotional bond is created it is difficult to break, and thus can become a long term differentiator.
What the customer feels or doesn’t feel at every single encounter with a service provider is directly related to the service providers ability to manage the totality of the experience and customers expectations. Customer experience is not simply about smiling sweetly, or keeping an even tone when handling an irate customer.
Here is the key:
It is all about creating, operationally, transactionally and behaviourally an emotional connection with the customer that leaves them feeling that they are the most important person in that moment in time.
Addressing the emotional needs, desires expectations of fickle – I want it now and I’m not going to wait – customers is difficult and can’t be left entirely to the great customer service skills of the individual. Start with some fantastic training.
Now let’s start that again.
Good evening Sir.
*I know what you’re thinking: 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?
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