Chapter 3: Right here, right now - how fast is fast enough?

Upon arriving in Bangkok, we immediately went to the taxi queue to get a ride to our hotel. This public taxi service is the cheapest way to get into town.

After 40 minutes with a kangaroo driving our taxi (no, not literally), I looked at my family who by now were more green than pale in the face and I realized we might have to choose a different option for our future transportation needs.

I don't know why some taxi drivers struggle to apply even pressure to their accelerator when driving, which makes them drive with a jerking feel, which with some sensitive people like myself can cause motion sickness.

I had trouble getting Grab to work (Grab acquired Uber's South East Asian operations in 2020) - some would argue that Grab won over Uber in this region because its products and services were better localized.

But upon reviewing the Google, TripAdvisor, and Facebook reviews of various transportation companies, Enjoy Taxi Bangkok https://www.enjoytaxibangkok.com/ stood out. 600 5-star reviews are impossible to fake. You can see that their website probably will not win a webby, but if you take a closer look, their strategy is to be easily accessible on all instant messaging platforms.

As soon as I reached out to them through Facebook messenger, I received an immediate response. We were able to arrange our next airport drop-off within after a very quick chat interaction. I would follow up in the same thread for future bookings and receive instant replies, whether early in the morning or late at night. That's fast enough.?

Here’s an example that's more in line with where i feel many hospitality players are today. Before traveling, I emailed a leading Koh Samui hotel to ask if we could have an extra bed in the room I wanted to know this before booking to ensure all four of us would be comfortable. Yes, I could also have called them, but that seemed too much of a hassle, and sometimes I prefer chatting over speaking with people on the phone. It took 48 hours for them to reply, and I had long chosen another accommodation for us by then.?That's not fast enough!

As discussed in yesterday's post about QR-codes where pickup happened only after the scanner was built into the phone and no longer required a separate app download, I strongly believe that brands must use the platforms where their customers are and not force them to use some crazy new communication channel. Streamlining this poses some big questions for larger operations, but there is really no way around it.?

So what is fast enough. Of course, this still depends on the situation. Is it a customer support ticket, a sales lead, or an internal email. I'm not an expert, but I'm sure there are studies out there that show a correlation between speedy replies and leaving a positive impression, putting you in the best place to convert leads to customers and angry customers to happy ambassadors. Truth is that if I were to set up a new customer-facing business today, I would work hard to get my instant response communication channels in place and, secondly, work towards allowing the customer to use his or her preferred means of communication when reaching out. To add a bit more complexity, each market has its own peculiarities, which must be taken into account. Just look at this Denmark vs Thailand comparison of most-used social media platforms. How many of you have ever used Line?

More great indebt reports on each market are available here: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-denmark (replace denmark in the URL with any country you want to study further)

Lastly, I would like to mention a best-in-class example: When we checked into Capella Bangkok, our Capella Culturist handed me her business card. I think these team members have the coolest title at the hotel. As personal concierges, their job is to provide accurate, courteous, and efficient services tailored to guests' needs. In tomorrow's post, I'll tell you more about Capella.

The card had a QR code (tada...), which led to a website where I could choose my preferred communication form. A click on the WhatsApp logo gave me instant access to my culturist. Whether in the hotel or outside, I would receive prompt responses to all my requests. I'm satisfied with that!??That's fast enough :-) ?