Rink

F or the past week, I've been mulling over what went wrong with the STAR Undercover piece. I had actu- ally made 12 calls to rinks around the country in two days for this article and ended up printing the top four. I'll let that sink in. The. Top. Four. One rink out of the 12 scored a grand total of 5 (on a scale 10) while the other 11 managed a score of 4 or lower. I had high hopes after the May/June issue of RINK Magazine that these Secret Shopper pieces would simply be a customer ser- vice showcase. The Best of the Best. The Who's Who of facilities that get it done! Celebratory pats on the back! Toasts to excellence in basic business fundamentals for all! Not the case for this issue. I mulled, mused, speculated and con- templated. What was off? Why couldn't the front desk answer basic questions regarding their programs? Why couldn't the numerous staff members I spoke to put me in contact with the right person or group to answer my questions? I called a few of the rinks back that I had originally contacted. I decided that I need- ed to get answers — not on their summer camps, but on why they couldn't answer what I assumed were easy questions. THE CALIFORNIA RINK "Jess" picked up the phone this time. I did the whole spiel, asking the same questions, and received almost identical answers. She even ended the call with the "check it out on their website." JM: Hey, hold up! I'm just a little curious — is there a reason why you don't know anything about this camp? Jess: I'm not really sure what you're asking. JM: I'm asking why you can't tell me any- thing about the ABC guys you are partnered up with that are hosting this camp in your facility. It clearly states on your website to call your rink for more information, but you've told me a few times that I need to call them. What gives? Jess: Yeah, listen. I think maybe you need to talk to my manager. I'm just doing my job. It's not like this camp is here all the time. It's just a couple of weeks in July, so you can't really expect me to know every- thing about it. Ahhh. That last statement could explain it all. Birthday parties, our first Secret Shopper topic, are a year-round activity for the most part. Staff has actual experi- ence with this activity. They've seen it, they understand it, and they have probably been trained on the FAQs. Seasonal programs like camps, on the other hand, aren't typical. Staff has low repetition on answering the same ques- tions over and over (like public skate times and types of birthday party packages), and probably hasn't experienced the program yet. They are not equipped to think on their feet, nor do they have the confidence to do so. So what did we learn? Managers have an obligation to educate their staff on new programs and activities. This is a fundamental trait of facilities that don't experience their customers hanging up the phone while slowly shaking their heads and thinking, "What the heck was that?" J Final cut Lessons learned around the rink 54 / JULY.AUGUST.2012 RINKMAGAZINE.COM WHAT WAS OFF? WHY COULDN'T THE FRONT DESK ANSWER BASIC QUESTIONS REGARDING THEIR PROGRAMS? WHY COULDN'T THE NUMEROUS STAFF MEMBERS I SPOKE TO PUT ME IN CONTACT WITH THE RIGHT PERSON OR GROUP TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS? by JOHN MONTELEONE Head Scratcher Editors note: "Final Cut" features John Monteleone's reaction to "STAR Undercover" on Page 20. PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

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