What a massage drive-in on the ski slope can achieve

Finally!

The sun is slowly climbing over the mountains. The initial sub-zero temperatures are moving towards zero degrees. A wonderful ski (pre-)day awaits. I like to choose hotels in a way that allows for such spontaneous actions. Just to be safe, I have my skis with me, as I am actually here for a seminar. It is my own trainer education that I have been conducting for over 5 years. However, there are always co-trainers teaching as well, and today is one of those days: I have the morning off and decide to take advantage of this opportunity since I am already in the Salzburg ski area. The 3-hour pass is quickly purchased. Into the gondola and up the mountain. At almost 2,000 meters above sea level, a feeling of freedom mixes with great anticipation for some swift turns on the slopes. The skis are freshly waxed and sharpened.

The Surprise

I fasten my helmet and start skiing. Just before that, I notice a few red tents set up at the mountain station of the gondola. "Groups are probably meeting there to practice," I think to myself as I ski up and down the first few slopes. However, coming from one of the lifts, I notice one of these red tents again in the second part of the morning, as it had a sign on a tarpaulin stuck in the ground: "Massage Drive in - for free!" That sounds interesting. I quickly slide over to inspect it more closely and indeed discover 2 young men massaging the backs of 2 other guests, while sitting. The scene looks relaxed, one of the two people getting a massage is a woman, and it is evident that her son is waiting in front of her. After a short time, he asks, "Mom, when can we go again, I'm bored?!" The mother, apparently relaxed with her eyes closed, reassures him, saying it will be soon. I seize the opportunity and sign up for the next round, which I can start within a few minutes. In a relaxed conversation with the masseur, he tells me that this is a complimentary service provided by the mountain railways and they are here every Friday. What luck that today is Friday. On other days, they are in different ski areas, he mentioned. What a lovely idea.

Exceeding the Surprise Once Again

After five minutes, I, or rather he, is finished, and then I receive some peppermint oil on my finger. "Rub it lightly under your nose, it clears your nose," he tells me. Done and done, with this pleasant scent in my sense of smell, I leave the scene with an even better feeling. And once again, it is confirmed: Exceed your customers' expectations, no matter what. Often, small things are enough for that. Of course, the basic quality must be there. A massage is worth nothing if the lift or the slope were miserable. But they were not. With a coherent basic quality, the customer is ready for the "Something More," the unexpected. If we can achieve that, no matter in which industry we operate, then as providers, we receive something very valuable in return: Active word-of-mouth advertising, in other words, promotion. Do you want that too? Then the question is, how do you surprise your customers? And get them to talk about it. Or share it on social media. By the way, this is what I will do today, a few days after this experience. A few hundred, maybe a few thousand Facebook friends will see it. And who knows, maybe some of them will also ride up the Grafenberg Bahn on a Friday for skiing and get a complimentary massage in beautiful Wagrain. Service. Innovation. Thinking ahead. These are our challenges. Both this year and next. Good luck with that!   You won't get a massage here, but you can find more information about our Top 100 Speaker Gabriel Schandl, CSP: https://www.speakers-excellence.de/redner/gabriel-schandl-csp-cmc-leistungsglueck.html