What Would You Be Willing To RISK?

When it comes to life, we make daily decisions about what we are willing to risk.  Many people drive five miles per hour over the speed limit because they assume they will not get pulled over for speeding.  But would you drive 10, 20, 50 miles per hour over the speed limit?  For most people, the answer is NO.  The risk is too high.  You could have an accident and be severely injured or get a ticket and possibly lose your license.  Simply put, the perceived risk is too high for the reward.

Well what about guests at your casino?  What are they willing to risk when it comes to you finding out what is important to their buying decision?

The answer is if all you are asking is “satisfaction” questions, they are risking nothing!  If you ask, “How satisfied are you with your last visit to XYZ casino?” and the answer is Extremely Satisfied, Very Satisfied, Satisfied, Not Satisfied or Dissatisfied, the guest has no RISK in choosing a response.  Depending on if they had a winning streak or hot coffee, they could select any of the answers with little or no thought.

There is no risk involved in satisfaction!

If you change this to a question about “recommending,” now the risk is HUGE!  If a person recommends a casino, restaurant, bar, etc., they risk their reputation.  Most people do not take that lightly.  If they recommend a restaurant and you go and receive poor service or the food isn’t good, you might think less of this person.

The problem with guest and employee satisfaction research is that people’s answers will change by the moment because of the lack of risk.  When you ask the right questions that involve risk, you get very different answers due to the risk factor.

If you want to measure what is important to your guests and employees, you need to ask the right questions!  After all, if you ask the wrong questions, you risk your casino’s long-term success.