Reviewing customer service
April 2004
One would imagine that people working in the hospitality fields love customer service. While that is sometimes true, all too often it is far from true. Customer service may be the best form of marketing that you can do. Recently I was at a hotel in California. I had called ahead to find out if there was a computer in the hotel. The person at the front desk answered my question in a polite an efficient manner . Then she took my email address and made sure to write me so that I would know that that area of California was expecting snow and to remind me to bring a warm coat! To make sure that we all give that type of customer service, here are a few reminders for anyone who works with the public.
- Create a safe, courteous, good image and efficient environment and place your priorities in that specific order. Make safety your number one concern. If your guests are not safe none of the rest really matters. When dealing with issues of safety/security think through where you place desks, how good your signage is, and if your employees are well versed in all safety and security procedures.
- Always be courteous. Never forget to say thank you and to go out of your way to turn any negative experience into a positive one. From the perspective of the hospitality industry every one of our guests should be a VIP. If you do not know the answer to a question, never create an answer, instead find out the correct one and get back to your guest. Remember there is no problem at your locale that does not impact you and that you do not own.
- Appearance matters. Places that are dirty and poorly kept lead to a general let down of standards and finally be efficient. Not only do you want the attraction, hotel or restaurant to appear clean and tidy, but also the same should hold for all employees. How we speak, the tones of our voices and our body language all add to the appearance of the locale.
- Be efficient and effective. No one wants to wait while you chat on the telephone, get the job done in a timely and efficient manner. Develop standards for how long a procedure ought to take and then develop a plan to make the waiting fun. For example, if long lines plague your locale, what can you do to entertain people while they wait in line? Think through your interior and outside spaces, are you using your tourism geography to your best advantage?
- Study the guestology of your visitors. Guestology is the science of knowing whom you are serving and what those people need. Guests in their 20s are different than guests in their 50s. People from specific ethnic and religious groups often have special needs, if your guests come from places where other languages are spoken, do not make them suffer, provide information in their language.
- Work as a team. Visitors often judge an attraction, hotel, or restaurant, not by the best service but by the worst service. If a fellow employee needs your help, do not wait to be asked, do it now. Guests do not care who is in charge of what, they only want their needs met in a courteous and efficient manner.
- Work hard at creating a pleasant environment for both employees and guests. If you see trash, teach everyone on the team to pick it up, no matter how hard your day has been take the time to smile and radiate human warmth.
- Set personal standards. All employees should dress in the accepted professional style of the locale. Poorly dressed and groomed employees give the impression that they do not care, and people who do not care do not provide good customer service. In most cases it is most likely best to avoid displaying tattoos, unique body piecing, or the wearing of too much cologne/perfume. Remember that when working with the public, you want the emphasis to be on the customer/guest and not on you.
- Keep personal religious beliefs out of the work place. No matter how committed you are to your faith, when in a professional situation it is best to avoid discussing political and religious issues with our guests and our fellow employees. All too many people do not tolerate opposing views and what may have started as a mere intellectual discussion often can turn into a cultural/religious dispute. Under no circumstances should we ever be disrespectful of another person’s religion, culture, race, gender, or nationality.
- Become guest-centric. Remember that nothing that you do is as important as satisfying your guest. Guests should not have to wait, paperwork can wait. Treat people in the following order, those who are in your presence first, then those on the telephone and finally those who are communicating with you via email. Never interrupt a guest to take a phone call.
As we continue to learn more about customer service we are coming to understand that a tourism entity’s success depends on more than a good location and luck, that good service means repeat business and adds greatly to the bottom line.
