You have customers.
Some enjoy smoking.
But, you have prohibited smoking sections on your property.
Smoking might even be restricted throughout your entire property.
From what we’ve seen, you’re going to have customers smoking where they shouldn’t be.
Agree?
Think about it.
How easy is it to sneak in a few puffs without anyone noticing?
It’s effortless, especially if there is no way for other customers to report this problem to anyone on your staff.
If there aren’t ways for your agitated customers and vendors to report prohibited smoking offenders, you’re in for problems.
- More smoking offenders catch on – the problem escalates
- Unhappy customers take it upon themselves to resolve – conflicts occur
- Medical issues because of second-hand smoke – legal cases
- Unhappy customers – your bottom line suffers
We’re sure there are other hidden effects from this offense.
So, we must ask, do you have a way to handle it at your property?
Many properties have a concern for this issue but don’t have any solution in place to help customers report prohibited smoking offenders to their team.
There is a software solution you can start using immediately: Text Communication.
Are you ready to learn how your customers can contribute to your fight against this frustrating offense?
Great. Let’s get started.
When Operations Don’t Have Text Communication
Does this situation sound familiar?
Are you going through this?
Let’s say you’re a property that prohibits smoking. Unfortunately, a lot of your customers smoke, and you know they do.
They like to “step away” and light one up.
Yes, you have the correct prohibited smoking signage displayed throughout the property, but no one pays them any attention.
Who’s got time for that when they’re worried about their day anyway?
Even worse, there are too many customers smoking to manage the situation.
So, your staff lets it slip through the cracks, your supervisors give up, and your non-smoking customers are still furious.
As the leader, you can’t just throw in the towel and let people get away with this.
Agree?
You and your team try to stop as many offenders as possible.
But, what’s that in the scheme of things?
One person, a couple, even a few here and there.
That’s not very effective, is it?
Non-smoking customers start staying home, your bottom line feels the impact, and the next thing you know, this becomes a nightmare for everyone.
Especially you.
Your customers, staff, and vendors are tired of it and are ready for you to take action.
What do you do?
How do you handle this out of control problem at your property?
It’s time for you to change your current situation.
It’s time to make prohibited smoking, prohibited, and for good.
Invest in text communication to empower your customers, vendors, and staff to thwart prohibited smoking offenders.
Are you ready?!
Empower Customers, Staff to Eradicate Your Smoking Problem
You’re sick and tired of the stress that comes with prohibited smoking offenders, right?
It’s not like this occurs every so often.
This is something you, your customers, vendors, and staff deal with every single day.
It doesn’t end.
You might even call it an epidemic.
The good news is, a text alert system can help you eradicate this mess from your property.
You can put the power to report and stop offenders into the hands of everyone.
As we always say, two-way text messaging gives you the assistance of thousands of eyes to report issues and mitigate incidents as they occur.
This sounds like a perfect solution, right?
Then, let’s get you using it today.
Here’s what you need to understand about using a text messaging software, from what you need to do to what you need to have in place.
Let’s get started on your peace of mind.
Promote Your System
You must promote your system because it’s the only way your customers will know it exists.
If they know it exists, then they’ll know how to use it.
Even better is that they’ll use it to report offenders.
You’ll need to make sure your signage provides the right information, so everyone can take part in your efforts.
Your system will only have value if it’s used.
You might already know this; you must display visible signage throughout your property for customers and vendors to see.
Or, it’s useless.
You don’t want it getting lost in the crowd with any other signage that’s being overlooked.
In fact, at the same time that you implement your text system is when you should consider how your other property signage communicates with customers.
Here’s a rundown of how promoting your system via signage works.
Display your shortcode and keyword on banners throughout your property.
Information required by operations should also be included on your signage.
Once a text message is sent into the text system, the system will automatically respond with a message to your customer. A message that you’ve customized for your property.
This message will let the customer know your staff has received the message and are in the process of responding to the reported issue.
Your customers will have confidence in your ability to handle the issue now, not 10 minutes from now when the smoking offenders are gone.
Once you have the signage in place and your customers begin sending text messages, you’ll have a heavy weight lifted off your shoulders.
Trust us.
Most of the success and value generated by using a two-way text system comes from the active promotion.
Put signage in place, and you’ll see results.
Real-Time, Two-Way Communication Is Effective
Your system’s signage is in place, and the text messages start rolling in about several customers smoking at your property.
You need to manage those conversations, so nothing goes undetected.
Your solution’s conversation thread provides your staff with an in-depth visualization of what’s occurring and being reported throughout your property.
The system displays the thread of any two-way conversation in progress.
It’s in an organized format.
All messages can be looked at for vital information.
- Location of the smoking offender
- What the offender looks like
- What the offender is wearing
- How long they have been smoking in the area
- Number of others smoking there too
Your ability to make real-time decisions and thwart offenders is now possible.
You get the facts needed to proactively respond to the issues customers are reporting, so nothing slips through the cracks.
Predetermined Responses to Quickly React to Customers
You probably have many smoking offenders around your property, which means you’ll be receiving several texts during the day.
Your team needs to articulate to customers what to do or what your organization plans to do without wasting much time needed for mitigating other priority issues.
Response templates let your team respond to a message in one click – with the exact message you want to deliver to customers reporting smoking offenders.
Providing predetermined responses based on the issue type educates customers on the situation and lets them know you have everything under control.
Establish the proper responses you need your staff to use for effective communication and maximum efficiency.
Need additional information?
Be ready with more response templates to ask specific questions that you need to be answered quickly.
Not only are you removing your prohibited smoking issues from the equation, but you’re also increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of your total operation.
Without Data, You're Just Another Professional with an Opinion
OK.
You put your system into action.
You’re receiving text messages and proactively responding to customers reporting smoking offenders.
You, your staff, vendors, and customers are really making a difference towards everyone’s experience.
You can get even better at it.
Now you have tons of data to look at.
For example:
- Where are people reporting most offenses from and when?
- How often are you receiving reports of smoking offenders?
- During what times of the day are you receiving reports?
- How many smoking offenders do you have on your property at any given time?
- How quickly are your staff mitigating these issues?
This information lets you better allocate your resources and reduce the time to get on scene, more and more.
Reporting tools and the ability to analyze your data help you improve.
Once smoking offenders see how quickly your team is responding, they’ll catch on.
They’ll realize it’s time to quit smoking – on your property.
Over to You
It’s fascinating to know the difference not having versus having text communication on your property has on everyone.
You can go from not having a system, where smoking offenders are slipping through the cracks, customers are miserable from secondhand smoke to using a software solution that can significantly reduce – even eliminate – all these problems.
Help your customers help you.
So, are you going to implement a two-way texting solution on your property to empower your customers, staff, and vendors to stop prohibited smoking offenders?
Editor's note: This post was originally published in June 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness and freshness.
