memBer PersPectives
that are going to support your position? That can be one
of the big challenges: collecting all the relevant data, not
just the data that suits your needs.”
Smith also cited human error as the weak link in using
data. She cited an example of how two guest profiles
might be created—one for Robert Bell and one for Bob
Bell—when they’re actually the same person, splitting
that guest’s service history and preferences across two
profiles. Smith still finds data in her guest profiles that
was collected before her arrival at the spa two-and-a-half
years ago. “There was no SOP on entering retail,” Smith
notes, “so everyone would do it a little different, and then
when we ran reports, we would get skewed data.” The
Spa at Kilaga Springs recently conducted a data clean-up
to combat this issue.
Kies elaborates further, noting that the primary data
collectors are front-desk staff, who are often inexperi-
enced and frequently changing jobs. “The staff has guests
in front of them, the phone is ringing, and they feel
pressured to put info in quickly,” adds Kies. “They’re
“We know what size slipper and robe they wear.
They always want a warm neck wrap. They
don’t like lemon in their water. They always like
to add 30 minutes.”
— trudy smith, spa manager, the spa at kilaga springs
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