Santa's grotty grotto
Another day, another failed ‘experience’ hits the headlines. It’s not Fyre Festival or Willy Wonka this time; it’s a Santa in a Hampshire grotto whose beard was too fake.
“Santa's 'grotty grotto' reduced children to tears over fake beard and 'cheap red suit' - as angry parents demand refunds,” ran the Daily Mail headline.
Well, newsflash: Father Christmas isn’t real. But I get it – there are good and bad fake beards and if you’re up close and personal with one of those wiry synthetic joke shop ones then it's not pleasant.
Disappointments like this aren’t confined to ‘experiences’ though. Take the man who last month complained to Mars that his bar was sans ripple. The confectionary giant sent him back £2 in compensation.
It’s clear that all of us have high expectations of things and services these days.
We know what’s real and what’s fake and we expect authenticity and integrity at all times.
This has always been true of financial services where trust is everything. But these days clients are even more sensitive - and sceptical - of anything that feels overly polished, insincere, or unreal.
Unfortunately there’s an awful lot of insincerity in this profession for them to wade through: bland websites with cheesy stock photography, generic blog posts and lifeless email newsletters.
The good news is it doesn’t take a massive overhaul to fix this. You just need to show what's behind the beard, but in an engaging, personal and professional way.
Easier said than done though. Reply to this email if you'd like some help
Shameless plug
Over on Substack this week I discuss ‘How I messed up my first job’ by upsetting ex GB News presenter Andrew Neil…
Party pod
The FT’s Working It podcast covers How to survive the office Christmas party – and how to recover from any faux pas.
It's Christmaaaas
Slade’s Noddy Holder has revealed he wakes his wife up every Christmas morning by bellowing the iconic lyric "It's Christmas". They’ve been married for 30 years…
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