Preparing Your Showroom for Success

At the recent 2022 BKBG Conference, it was impressive to observe how the Gaylord National staff approached their jobs. An elderly team member who struggled to bend his knees, nonetheless, bent over multiple times in a short time period to pick up scraps of paper and trash. The housekeeping staff would say hello to every guest who passed by in the hallway with a smile and a warm greeting. The catering staff took extra care to remove dirty dishes promptly and quietly as to not to interrupt the program that was taking place. It was an impressive performance because everyone seemed to care about how the property looked, was maintained and functioned.

This attitude was refreshing in light of the difficulty hotels have in attracting and retaining any type of talent yet talent that is invested in the success of its clients and guests. The retail industry is struggling and it’s obvious. How many stores have you been to where racks feature a mishmash of sizes and items that make no sense. We’ve all been to showrooms that don’t flow or have poor lighting, etc.

If you get a chance to see Sir Elton John on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, you will be amazed by the staging, befitting a master song writer, entertainer, showman and humanitarian. Every detail is addressed to perfection. It is similar to the feeling one gets when attending a professional baseball or football game. The condition of the playing surface is immaculate. It does appear that a single blade of grass is out of place. Every detail is meticulously manicured. A baseball diamond, Elton John concerts, or hotel convention does not happen by accident. The performance is prescheduled, prescripted, prechoreographed, pretrained, prereheased and presynchorinized. As Rick Houchek writes in his Monday Motivator the environment is prepared for success.

The lesson for BKBG Shareholders is to look at your environment and to determine how you can better prepare it to be successful. What can you do to better prepare your showroom, displays, closing areas and even the bathroom to be more successful and inviting? Use the opportunity to become more successful as a great team building opportunity. Challenge your team to suggest improvements to make your showroom better prepared to be successful. Emphasize that they need to look through the lens of your customers to identify improvement opportunities.