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Service: The Heart of Hospitality

Principles of Hospitality and TourismRisa McCann

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Terms to know:• Service *Customer Service• Consistent quality service *Quality Service• Empathy *Service

encounter• Guest recovery *Empathy• Customer satisfaction *Critical moment• Front of the house *Back of the

house• Word of mouth publicity *Empowerment

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Thoughts to Think!

Question: How does consistent quality service help a business gain and keep customers?

Question: When does a customer’s experience make the biggest impact on customer satisfaction?

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What is Customer ServiceIn the hospitality industry it is the total

customer experience with that business.In other words: –the performance of the staff; –the courtesy of the staff, –the cleanliness of the property, –and the way customers are treated

during their visit

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Guest or Customer?• A customer is someone that purchases

products or services form a business• A guest is a customer who purchases

products or services from a hospitality business

• The success of any hospitality industry business is return customers-thus great customer service is imperative (critical)

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One Size Fits All?• People travel all over the world for a

variety of reasons • Cultures are different and sometimes

very unique• People all have different needs and

abilitiesDiscussion time- Why might it be hard to

relate to people who are different from you?

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Empathy• The best way to understand the guest is to

have empathy or the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.• Empathy helps you figure out what

customers need

Discussion time: • When have you showed empathy to someone?• What is the difference between empathy and

sympathy?

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3 Examples of Unique Needs• A corporate business traveler might value

speed of service and “frequent customer” treatment

• Senior citizens might value earlier meal times, quieter surroundings, Senior Discounts and buffet meal service

• A young family might value activities geared toward children, kid’s meals and less fancy accommodations

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid

• Abraham Maslow developed a method to describe how human needs are met.

• He ranked needs in order from most basic needs to higher needs.

• The pyramid shows the basic needs (Physical Needs & Safety at the bottom)

• As needs are met people advance up the Pyramid

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Pyramid of Needs

• The needs at the bottom must be at least partially met before a person can work to meet needs at the higher level

• Most hospitality businesses fill customer’s basic physical and safety needs

food, lodging, locking guest room doors, security staff, medical staff, clothing for purchase

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Pyramid of Needs• The three higher levels of the Pyramid involve

more psychological needs• Acceptance – eating with friends, attending a

convention/conference, wedding or family reunion

• Esteem – staying a luxury hotels or fancy resorts, renting fancy cars or limos, Preferred Customer status

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Pyramid of Needs

• Hospitality employees can also meet the customer needs of acceptance and esteem by treating all customers with courtesy, respect and dignity, also by remembering a customer’s name and using it!

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Pyramid of Needs

• Self Actualization is the need at the top of the Pyramid

• Self Actualization is Expressing your true self through reaching goals and helping others

• This need can be met by travel to a foreign country, educational tours, mission trips

• The Story of Kelly Wilson

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Customer Satisfaction

• It is the positive feeling customers have about a business that meets their needs

• Hospitality companies meet the needs of their customers through quality service

• Quality service is achieved by thoroughly training employees in the art of customer service

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Happy or Not?

• Happy satisfied guests on average tell 3 people• Unhappy, dissatisfied guests tell over average

12 people!• Feedback from customers is essential to

identify a problem that exists and act on it.

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Quality Service

Service depends on people – the employees who provide the serviceTherefore employees need to be trained in being Customer-Focused, empathetic and consistent

Consistency is hard to deliver but is critical to the loyal customer! All employees must deliver quality service.

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G.U.E.S.T.

Greet the guestUse their name

Establish their needSatisfy their need

Thank the guest!

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RitzCarlton Gold Standards

1. Create 6 groups of 4 people each2. Receive topic3. Access RitzCarlton.com4. Find your information5. Each person in the group must take part in

presenting and explaining the information6. The projector may be used7. There will be assessment of your group work

and presentations

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RitzCarlton Gold Standards

Access www.ritzcarlton.com, bottom of page-About Us, then About Us (right side of page)

• The Credo• Motto• The 3 Steps of Service• Service Values 1 – 6• Service Values 7 – 12• The Employee Promise

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Service QualitiesSpecific Service Qualities that all guests value:–Product quality–Cost–Convenience–Reputation– Staff service– Service after a sale–Communication– Efficiency

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Service Relationship To create a loyal customer (one who returns

repeatedly) the hospitality provider must understand the guest will evaluate the entire experience to determine the level of satisfaction

• Before – reservations process, ease accessing location, 1st impressions

• During- service interactions, food, accommodations, costs, etc.

• After – departure experience & follow-up by staff especially if there was a problem

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Worthy of Noting

• A loyal guest or returning guest tends to spend more and use more of the offered services than a first time guest!!!

• They will also refer family, friends and colleagues to the business

• Loyalty programs offer discounts, upgrades, lower rates, complimentary items

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All Customers Expect …

To be treated with dignity and respectTheir requests to be handled accurately and

efficientlyHonesty in product descriptions and answers to

questionsMoney transactions to be handled honestly and

accurately

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Customers Frequently Compliment

• Cleanliness and attractive appearance of facilities and grounds

• Employees who respond quickly to requests• Employees who anticipate and meet customer

needs

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Methods of Service

• In-person service – face to face personal service with the property, staff, food, etc.

• Indirect service – telephone bookings, complaints made by phone

• Electronic service – Some guests still prefer the one-to-one interaction over the easy and quick electronic booking system; emails & social media must be professional

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Collecting Feedback

• Questionnaires• Surveys comment cards• Trained personnel that listen to guest’s

comments• Trip Advisor and other websites

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Guest Recovery• Special management training is extremely

helpful in dealing with customer complaints• Empowerment is the granting of authority of

power to front-line employees for handling and solving guests’ problems

• When the situation is resolved quickly the guest & feels satisfied the situation is recovered!

• The employee must then report the situation to his manager for future reference &/or changes