How To Be A Lightning Rod and Truly "Ground” Guest Negativity

17 - 17 January 2025
Grand Hotel Amrâth Amsterdam
Prins Hendrikkade 108
Amsterdam, 1011 AK
Netherlands, The

While most everyone knows what a lightning rod is, not everyone knows what one actually does. When lightning strikes, it stands tall to attract the energy and then dissipates it harmlessly into the ground, which makes it a great model for expanding your traditional service recovery training. In exactly this way, properly trained staff can be ready when guests with negative vibes approach, receive that "strike" of negativity, and walk away unaffected and unscathed because they are prepared with the proper responses, proper actions, and just as importantly, with the coping skills to maintain mental wellness.

Join us as Doug covers some of the newest concepts from KTN's on-site and private, live webcam versions of our latest hospitality and guest service training programs.

• When the next guest approaches or calls, it's kind of like spinning a roulette wheel where each spoke has emojis representing different guest personas.
• If you encounter 50 or more guests per shift, the roulette wheel is bound to stop on the faces of difficult people. The good part is that you always get to spin again; odds are, the next face is a happy one.
• By striving to understand the experiences your guests are living out daily on the other side of the front desk, bar, phone call, or guest room door, you can better remember that their frustrations are with the situations and not with you personally.
• Showing sincere empathy before offering an apology helps defuse tense guest encounters, whereas a lack of empathy and a scripted apology can ignite guests' anger.
• The difference between compassion and co-experiencing versus internalizing guests' trauma. (You are going to be okay!)
• Break the habit of ruminating on negative guest encounters. Otherwise, you re-live the emotional duress each time you re-imagine the situation or retell the story.
• What to do when extreme bullies cross red lines, such as using personal insults, slurs, and inappropriate language.

Doug Kennedy’s Next Training Webcast: Reservations Sales QUEST – 2025 Edition!


Doug Kennedy
Email: Doug@KennedyTrainingNetwork.com


Kennedy Training Network (KTN)
www.kennedytrainingnetwork.com
5595 Orange Drive, Suite 201
USA - Davie, FL 33314
Phone: (01) 954.533.9130
Email: info@kennedytrainingnetwork.com