The first hotel had unfriendly check-in staff who made me feel like they were doing me a favor by letting me stay there. Then I discovered that the lights in the room were only controlled by a switch by the door, so you had to get out of bed to turn them off when you were ready to sleep! I'll spare you the details of the countless other annoyances, but to top it all, the radio alarm clock by the bed was ridiculously complex to set, to the point where I, mister ?techy' himself, had to call down to the front desk to ask for instructions on how to do it!

Oh, get this. I mentioned this the next morning to two friends who were also staying at the same hotel, and they both said they had done the same thing! This begs the questions, (1) how many calls does the front desk get about the issue every day, (2) why did they choose that alarm clock in the first place, and (3) why don't they replace all of them so that the guests don't get frustrated, and so that the staff taking all the calls can use their time more productively?

Sounds simple enough to me, but someone obviously doesn't ?get it.'

Well, hotel number two couldn't have been more different. At check-in I felt welcome and valued. The room was spotlessly clean, and the bed was extremely comfortable. Every little detail had been thought out. The bedside lamps had dimmer sliders that were easy to reach when you were in bed, and in the morning you also didn't have to fumble around for a switch near the lamp holder, only to have to wake up to a blinding flash of 150 watts, as is normally the case.

I always like to have a glass of water by my bed as the air-conditioning tends to dry you out, and in this case a complimentary bottle of water was available, again within easy reach. Oh, I almost forgot?yes, the alarm clock was super easy to set.

I know that you've had an experience like this, we all have. If it isn't a hotel it's a restaurant, or a store, or a movie, or an item that's been delivered by the mail.

If you've found yourself in a competitive marketplace, you really don't need to innovate much to be the leader, as my example proves. For all intents and purposes the actual cost of building and equipping the two hotels was probably very similar. But the second one gave much more consideration to providing a customer experience.

Do you measure how satisfied your customers are? When was the last time you asked them for their honest, detailed feedback? (All you have to do is pick up the phone and call a few of them). Of course, all of this applies on eBay, just as it does to other selling environments. The stupidity and short-sightedness of the majority of business owners makes it easy for the rest of us to win plenty of loyal customers, who are often happy to pay MORE for the better service we can provide. Stop now, and think carefully how you can provide a better customer experience.