Concierge in the Palm of Your Hand

How has this idea enhanced your club's operation, etc.?

With the increasing use of mobile technology—and because we recognized that cellphones are an indispensable, almost appendagelike augmentation for most members—the DAC implemented a customer service system that uses text messaging. When guests check into the DAC hotel, we invite them to communicate with us via text messaging. We have a special phone number that we use to send messages to the guest’s cellphone, and the guest can reply to the same number. This virtual service—we like to think of it as a concierge that fits in the palm of your hand—addresses any need or comment someone might have.

How was this idea implemented, and what have been the club members' reactions?

We contacted a company called Kipsu, which trained our front-end staff and supplied templates for communications with guests. The system is intuitive, so training new employees has been easy and expanding the scope of the system relatively simple.“Kipsu is an excellent idea,” one of our members wrote us in December. Better still, it is a well-thought-out way to use technology not for the sake of using technology but to further enhance the member experience.