“Excuse me,” said the guy behind the Wynn’s checkin desk, “did you know you’re actually booked at the Encore?”
“Um.” I said. “Really?” (I am, you see, as eloquent in real life as on the screen)
“I can check you in here,” he said, “and you can walk over, go straight to your room. It’s really easy. I’ll show you on the map…”


And then he handed me this:
The right key, for the right resort (not a repurposed Wynn key), with all the info I need - the location, my name, and my guest ID#.
Want to charge something to the room? Just show your key..
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In Vegas - as everywhere, only more so- the experience is key. Per Wiki:
Encore Las Vegas and its sister property, Wynn Las Vegas collectively hold more Forbes five-star awards than any other casino-resort in the world and it is considered to be one of the finest hotels in the world.[4]
So if you were to study good hotel service, anywhere - you’d study it here.
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About that Experience…
Compared with other Vegas hotels, The Wynn and Encore feel like upscale southern hotels - warm, bright, tasteful. Definitely not overwhelming. The atrium has a miniature forest with hanging lights, curving walkways. Angles are carefully calculated so no hallway seems too long. Checkin is a small room off to the side (versus the Venetian or Caesars, where the desks go on forever..)
The experience is closer to exclusivity than carnivale (for Vegas).**
The room: wall-to wall mirrors reflecting a full-wall window view of Vegas. Beige carpets. Black furniture. An enormous TV. Wifi and an impressive range of snacks. Pretty much your average Vegas, only with modern decorations. ***
I called room service. They said half an hour. They showed up in half an hour, to the minute.
It was very nice.
It wasn’t wildly impressive.
But it was consistently good, and it was what I’d expect from the Encore.
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So … why write about an average experience?
Collectively, the Interweb has made a great deal out of over-the-top, extraordinary service - like Morton’s bringing a porterhouse to the airport for Peter Shankman.
That’s a level of service you and I are unlikely to ever experience. And we shouldn’t have to.
Freebies, when done well, go above and beyond - but they should go above and beyond service that’s already strong, already a great experience. Freebies should be an attention-grabbing gesture pointing toward an awesome average experience.****
Sometimes, over-the-top service promotes an already strong brand - and sometimes it’s meant as a bandaid, to cover the gaping wound of bad service and (or) worse products.
In other words: If your service is lousy, or all you hear from customers is product complaints, fix that first! The extraordinary gesture brings more attention - but it doesn’t fix anything. Extraordinary service makes a very bad bandaid.
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The Bottom Line
An extraordinary service experience is marketing - especially when had by a carefully-chosen social influencer. It creates buzz. It brings in new business.
The average experience is the one that defines your brand, and keeps customers coming back for more.
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So yes - the extraordinary experience gets all the press, but it’s not the most important. To be successful at service, it’s imperative your day-to-day service experience is consistent, good, and as expected.
A t the Encore, that means linen napkins, hot soup, and real silver - all hand-served by a butler. I’ve gotta go back and try the steak…
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* I blame this on the corporate reservation system, and not my own absentmindedness. Honest.
** An interesting point here: Is miniaturization in electronics, mass-produced ‘luxury’ goods, and interaction with Europe and Asia driven a new concept of luxury — the new apogee is a smaller, impeccably tailored experience (vs. an overwhelmingly grand one?)
*** also condoms and a series of ‘adult games’ right next to the bottled water…
**** Like Mortons’ :)
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