The value of feedback - part 2

Read our recent post about our guest feedback process and you'll know that it's a subject close to our hearts. Learning how to use it, how to interpret it, has been a learning curve over the last 18 months. If you take it too literally, then it could either lead you to complacency (you're wonderful, don't change a thing) or conversely drive you mad (you're terrible, get your act together).

The new cooker in situ at Quarry Cottages, Ballachulish

The best example we can give is on the subject of the comfort of our beds, as it's quite possibly the most subjective of all opinions that we receive. Tracking our forms we've discovered that completely opposite opinions can be forthcoming on the same bed within a matter of days. The solution? First and most obvious is to test out a negative comment to make sure something hasn't suddenly gone horribly wrong. And second, is to maintain a register of all our mattresses with replacement dates, so that we can tell exactly how old a mattress is and whether it's due for the next round of our rolling replacement programme.

One area where we have acted directly on feedback received is on the cookers at Quarry Cottages. Knowing quite how well these perform is a bit tricky unless we're told, and recent feedback suggested that they weren't performing well at all. And rather than risk acting on just one of the properties, we've replaced all 3. So, Quarry cottages are now equipped with some rather nice new cookers with double cavity fan assisted ovens and ceramic/halogen hobs.

Next up, 3 new flat screen TVs. These should be in within the week!

Thanks for the Feedback

Feedback from our guests is tremendously useful. We receive feedback from our guests via a variety of avenues.

Firstly, we actively ask for it. We've now got over 600 completed feedback surveys from our 2009 guests at the inn, plus a lot more from our self catering guests. We read it on forums such as Tripadvisor. And sometimes it just comes to us because people want to tell us about their experience. Here's an example that hit the inbox yesterday.

Oak Lodge, Clachaig Chalets, Glencoe

In the last week of October we stayed with you in Oaktree Lodge, and have kept meaning to send an email to say what a wonderful stay we had with you, I am not sure that you have time to read any guest comments in the books you provide, but the staff were fabulous and so welcoming, I have a Scottish friend from Glasgow and she told me the place was magical but only if you were Scottish, well it was magical to us, my children haven't stopped talking about it, the lodge felt like a home from home and we certainly were sad to be going home. Keep on doing what you obviously have off to a fine art, it was a brilliant stay. And we will be back.

Fantastic! Stuff like this just keeps us going. We really appreciate the fact that our guests take the time to contact us after their stay to tell us things like this. Thank you.

And now for a commercial break...

You too can book Oak Lodge at Clachaig Chalets.