When You Don't Want to Spread the Word About Great Products and Great Customer Service

Me = Idiot.

Hostel at Hidden Villa Farm and Wilderness Preserve = Angels.

Bad customer service experiences are a dime a dozen so I don't bother to rant here about them. Good customer service experiences are worth raving about - and rare enough that when exceptional customer service happens it's worth spreading the Googlejuice (i.e. leveraging my blog on behalf of someone else).

I'd read and re-read my contract for renting out the entire Hidden Villa Hostel for four nights and the meeting facilities during the day at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills, CA. There was no pulling out of it with less than 30 days notice.

I didn't have high hopes when I picked up the phone. Maybe it's because my ahem-less-than-satisfactory customer service experience with my cell phone provider was still fresh in my memory from earlier in the day.

I decided to lay things on the line and simply be real with them. So I took an unconventional tack and called Hidden Villa last week and... well, begged. Fully transparent begging...no lying. I told them my story.

Most businesses would have kindly (or not so kindly) reminded me to re-read my contract or have repeated its conditions. End of conversation. I ended by asking how could we work together to benefit both of us....with no expectations. And they generously obliged. (Nope, I'm not entirely out of the contract, but we worked out a feasible win-win scenario.)

So while I don't intend this message to necessarily get more folks to book a night between April 8th-April 11th (but please do if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, those are the nights of the block of rooms I released) for their own getaway - or join in my smaller intimite gathering, I know this posting will show up on the search engines somewhere and I want to gush about Hidden Villa.

OK...I don't really want to gush about Hidden Villa.

I remember picking up Guy Kawasaki's book, Art of the Start, and seeing Kawasaki tout Hidden Villa Farm and Wilderness Preserve as a business that "walked their talk." My first reaction was "No! No! Don't tell anyone about this place. It's my little secret." I cringe with every hardcover sold.

This week kicks off the first Word of Mouth Marketing Association Summit. But sometimes I wonder about the products and services people don't want to talk about: those little secret discoveries you made that you fear would be ruined by over-exposure and worse, be so crowded that you'd be nudged out as a customer. You purposefully prefer to keep them close to your chest.

Oh, there's a good story alright...but oh no you'd be a fool to spread it. Hey, there are only so many beds in a hotel, so many square inches of beaches and wilderness, so many hours in a freelancer's schedule after all. And so many suits your bespoke tailor can crank out per year.

Anyway, that is to say, this isn't easy. I don't necessarily want to let my secret out because next year when I want to go on another "advance" (the term I use for a "retreat" and a great yearly practice), who knows, I might find there is nothing available until 2007 or 2008.

Alright alright commence gushing already:

It's the perfect spot to contemplate and commune in nature including walking meditation into the woods only steps from the parking lot, your cabin or dorm room door. There are miles and miles of trails into the verdant hillsides abutting the large Rancho San Antonio open space. I have fond memories of its lush green surroundings (spring), napping on sunny meadows, and sitting out on the porch eating my supper with the night stars.

And it's typically booked months in advance when it's open - it's entirely off limits to the public in summer when it turns into a kid's camp. Hidden Villa is primarily a sustainable organic farm and wilderness preserve - a place to stay in a hostel is a side-benefit.

There are no temptations: Cellphones don't work, and there's no Internet access. It's just you and your journal, sketchpad and/or canvas. It's like no hostel I've ever stayed out. The sparkling kitchen and open area (with said porch) are brand new and warmly decorated.

I've conducted previous retreats in the Grand Canyon and Canyonlands National Park - and this location was one of my most productive; I couldn't believe it was only miles from the heart of Silicon Valley.

Also tucked into my memory was the separate little Josephine's Hideaway - which I thought was worth remembering if I wanted a cozy getaway from the bustle of Silicon Valley with a special someone.

It's a great place to escape into solace and unwind: for meditation, to hike, to draw or paint, to write or journal, and to playfully muse. I think it's ideal for a creativity retreat, a silent retreat, a mindfulness retreat or a spiritual retreat - but it's also set up well for families and reunions too.

Reservations at taken at 650-949-8648, hostel AT hiddenvilla.org. Website: http://www.hiddenvilla.org

(P.S. Don't go there.)

Comments

[Douglas E. Welch]

The nice thing is, you really don't have to worry about telling other people, as only a fraction will ever take your advice. It is similar to what happens with my computer consulting clients or at parties. Many people will ask me how to do something...install a new program, build a web site, etc...but once I get beyond about 2 steps their eyes glaze over and (usually) they simply hire me to do it for them.

I have recommended countless wonderful places to people and very few ever make the effort to get there. So, you might send a few people to Hidden Villa Farms, but not enough to push you out.

Thanks goodness!

Douglas