Chapter 1: The Basics of Guest Service
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
Identify and describe the history, ages of change, and current status of guest service in the United States.
Identify the uses of various reasons why guests may not complain outwardly.
Identify and explain the reasoning behind why guests share their poor experiences with others.
Describe the expectations of guests as they relate to hospitality.
Explain and apply the concept of using quality service as a competitive advantage.
Describe details regarding the legends of guest service.
Terminology
- Age of communication: The service economy combined with proliferation technology created an age in which services can be communicated instantly, information can be accessed cheaply, and ratings can be found easily.
- Age of service: At present, the US economy is comprised largely of service organizations.As the United States lost many of its manufacturing jobs to other countries, it began replacing them with service-related jobs.
- Age of technology: Coupled with service, the United States also saw a boom in analog, then digital technology in the 1980s and 1990s. This heavily influenced the way that businesses operate. Business functions were expedited by computerization.
- Doing it right the first time (DRIFT): A quest to reduce errors and inefficiencies so that you won’t have to fix as many things and pay the price for producing a poor product.
- Management by walking around (MBWA): Idea that managers should “get in touch” with the employees and customers to learn what is really occurring.
- Moment of truth: A point of service at which customer service is either made or lost. The concept of the moment of truth was first popularized by Jan Carlzon of SAS Airlines.
- Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA): A four-step process for implementing change, or, continuous improvement. It is useful for incremental or breakthrough improvement. It promotes the idea that a business can always improve.
- Quality Customer Service: Meeting and exceeding the individual expectations of the customer.
Chapter Summary
Meeting guest expectations is an underlying premise of guest service. Much goes into delivering quality guest service. As a result, bad service continues to occur for many reasons. This lack of meeting guests’ expectations can lead to a guest telling many others for a variety of reasons.
The United States has transitioned from an agricultural to a manufacturing, to a service-based economy. With that, it has seen ages of change that continue to include technology and communication.
There are many people that have contributed to the quality guest service movement. Deming, Juran, Drucker, Peters, and Crosby are a few of the most popular.
Chapter Key Points
A SCIENCE AND AN ART
We all know that you should be nice to people, so why are there so many negative guest experiences in the hospitality industry? This is because good service doesn’t just happen by itself. It requires a special blend of procedure, technique, and skill combined with the human element.
It is both a science and an art.
INTEGRATION OF CUSTOMER SERVICE
Customer service must be integrated into the overall business model. It must be part of the company’s identity, or brand; and it must be tailored to the individual operation and customized, planned, and executed with systems that support it. Employees must be knowledgeable about the brand, the products, and the operations. Also, the customer must be properly gauged or assessed to ensure proper alignment with the brand image. It is part of the core of the business. It is integrated into nearly every decision. It is calculated and planned. It is evident in all of the operations, the people, and the plan.
MEETING GUESTS’ EXPECTATIONS
There are a variety of definitions for customer service. Essentially, anytime patrons, or even prospective patrons, interact with a facet of the organization, customer service is rendered. Quality customer service is meeting and exceeding the individual customer’s expectations. If service meets or surpasses customer’s expectations, in any situation, it is said to be quality customer service.
OVERVIEW OF HOSPITALITY—HOW IT RELATES TO CUSTOMER SERVICE
Despite controversy, most would agree that all of these disciplines fall within the service sector of the economy. Being a service industry means that customers determine the success of the operation and business. The customer can make a business the most popular business in town. The customer can also shut down a giant operation by choosing not to patronize it.
Remember: Many may appear legitimate; none is truly acceptable.
EXAMPLES OF BAD SERVICE
Staffing
They are understaffed.
They aren’t paid enough.
They aren’t properly trained.
They are just having a bad day.
No person or system is present to monitor.
They are in training.
They are overworked and tired.
It isn’t their responsibility.
The boss isn’t present or doesn’t care.
Systems
The computer is slow.
The kitchen is slow.
The ______is broken.
We just got a new ______.
Capacity/Customers
There are too many customers.
They didn’t expect this many customers.
The customer is rude.
The customers are too demanding.
The customers don’t know what they want.
The customers don’t pay attention.
The customer doesn’t seem to mind. No one has complained to corporate.
The party next to us or in the other room is too loud.
Setting
Everything in this neighborhood stinks.
This place is all about low cost.
We are renovating.
There are numerous reasons why poor service is delivered. Most of these reasons are common to all customer service settings. They are used regularly. It is important to have a mindset that none of them is truly acceptable.
List of reasons describing what might be going through the minds of guests.
I don’t think it’s worth it.
I tried before and no one listened.
I am in a hurry.
I don’t want to make a scene.
I feel bad for the staff.
It isn’t the staff’s fault.
I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.
There seems to be no solution in sight.
I’m afraid that they’ll mess with the food.
I don’t think that it will make a difference.
I don’t think anyone cares.
I just hate this place and I want to leave.
You may not always know the reason why some customers don’t complain. While they won’t tell you, they will be sure to tell many of their friends.
GOOD SERVICE CAN MAKE UP FOR BAD FOOD
A common phrase is: “Good service can make up for a bad food, but good food cannot make up for poor service.”
Scenario A
You are out to dinner. The steak is cooked incorrectly and it takes a long time to receive a new one. You are nervous that you will be late for your show. You try to get the check as soon as you can, but spend the rest of the time anxious that you will be late for the show.
Scenario B
You are at a nice restaurant with a date before an evening show. You mention to the server that you have tickets. The server inquires whether the show is at the nearby theatre and confirms the time. The server then smiles, nods, and says “Very well. We will do our very best to ensure that you have a great experience and make the show in plenty of time.” You order a medium-rare steak. Your date orders the pasta special. Within a reasonable amount of time, the dinners arrive at your table. You cut into your steak and discover that it is overcooked to the point of being well done. You look up and realize the server has remained at the table to address any issues. He immediately apologizes and rushes the steak back to the kitchen to correct the issue. He promptly returns with a complimentary appetizer so that you and your date can begin eating together. Before you know it, your new steak is delivered to the table. Again, the server stays to ensure that it is cooked to your liking. This time it is. You are delighted that it was solved so effortlessly. You are asked if there is anything they could get for you. Your response is no. At that point, your check is placed on the table and you are told that there is no rush but that it can be settled at any time that you would prefer. You finish your dinner pleasantly and arrive at your show in plenty of time.
Shortcomings will occasionally occur. When they do, good service can help to make them much more bearable. Remember that good service can make up for other problems, but those other items cannot make up for bad service. Even if the steak were prepared perfectly, the guest would have worried about making the show on time. No matter how great things are, good service must be present.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF SERVICE
While each business is slightly different, most hospitality businesses offer a generic product. What really makes the difference is the specific service of the business or establishment. This idea can generally be applied to all businesses that offer guest individual service. The tangibles and logistics can be copyrighted but are quickly replicated. Employees and managers transfer among brands, and companies benchmark each other’s ideas. What competitors have the most difficulty with is replicating the individual service experience.
Ritz Carlton Hotel chain is a company that has based its strategy on providing exceptional customer service. As a result, it has twice won the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Award for quality excellence. Much planning, training, and preparation resulted in standards that are copied throughout many industries.
Most notable is their motto stating: “We are Ladies and Gentleman serving Ladies and Gentleman.”
They also have a credo telling the employees to “fulfill even the unexpressed wishes of our guests.” The customers are referred to as “guests.” The services provided are “wishes” that are fulfilled, and the employees should anticipate the needs above and beyond those verbalized.
Ritz Carlton also implements empowerment to a high degree. Their service values include statements such as: “I own and immediately solve guest problems.” It does not matter who caused the issue or what department it is in, the employee owns the problem and will see to it that it is solved immediately. Another service value tells employees to, “build strong relationships and create Ritz Carlton guests for life.”
The Three Steps of Service include:
- A warm and sincere greeting. Use the guest’s name.
- Anticipation and fulfillment of the guest’s needs.
- Fond farewell. Give a warm good-bye and use the guest’s name (The Ritz-Carlton).
BAD NEWS TRAVELS FAST
By some accounts, customers will share a bad experience with 8 to 10 people.
There are reasons why bad news travels so quickly.
- The customer still needed to vent. Customers need to be afforded the chance to express themselves. Venting is a normal part of the customer service process.
- Customers may seek revenge. If customers believe they have been wronged, they want to get even.
- Customers remember unusual events. Customers continually take in information and filter all but the most unusual, emotional, or important of information.
- People love to repeat extreme events. Really great and really bad events are more interesting to share.
- People can relate to these incidences. Everyone has been wronged at some time.
- Service organizations and employees appear impersonal.
THE VALUE OF A RETURNING CUSTOMER
Loyal, return customers are highly sought-after prizes. Businesses spend infinite amounts of money attracting customers and then undervalue them as they arrive and experience the product. They are often treated as if it is the first and last time they will ever be seen. A return customer costs far less to keep than obtaining a new one. Businesses should spend less money attracting customers and more effort retaining the ones that they have.
HISTORY OF SERVICE IN THE UNITED STATES
The history of customer service is not very old. The application of scientific methods to the art of customer service has expanded into what it is now only within the past 100 years.
Within that time, the United States has seen ages of change advance relatively quickly. We have transitioned from an agrarian society to a service society in just about the past 100 years. It is unlikely that either agriculture or industry will ever return as it once was, so the age of service should be present for quite some time.
- Age of manufacturing: Originally, the United States was largely an agricultural nation. It evolved into a thriving manufacturing nation but then quickly lost its dominance to other nations. A large portion of the management techniques used in the service industries have been adopted from manufacturing, which dominated the literature before the late 1900s.
- Age of communication: While service continues to dominate the economy and employment of the United States, the advances and proliferation of technology spurred a new phenomenon of communication. Never before could so much information be so readily available so cheaply and easily. This spread of communication has forever changed the way that customer service operates in the United States and the world. Suppliers, businesses, and customers can now all communicate in real time and have the ability to access each other’s records.
- Age of technology: Coupled with service, the United States also saw a boom in analog, then digital technology in the 1980s and 1990s. This heavily influenced the way that businesses operate. Business functions were expedited by computerization. As the United States lost many of its manufacturing jobs to other countries, it began replacing them with service-related jobs.
- Age of service: The current age in the United States. As the United States lost its manufacturing jobs, they were replaced with service-related jobs.
BACKGROUND OF SERVICE
Until recently, a majority of people lived in relatively small neighborhoods where everyone knew each other. Workers had a craft or trade. The small craftsman went out of business. As more and more people began working for an hourly wage for big businesses, craftsman began to lose their sense of neighborhood and craft.
This forever changed the idea and tradition of service. Management also changed to reflect the progression. Rewards, motivations, standard operating procedures, and punishments reduced craftsman to a subhuman standards.
Since the end of World War II in the late 1940s, Americans developed a “need for speed.” Customers could be impulsive, and expectations increased.
The idea of self-service is now ubiquitous. It has provided the industry with both advantages and disadvantages. Below is a list of each.
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Advantages
Decreased labor
Increased speed of service
Increased processing
Shorter lines
Increased access
Disadvantages
Loss of human interaction
Subject to input error
Difficulty fixing errors
Unfamiliar with technology
Unfamiliar with process
Uncertainty of transaction
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Quality customer service remains the cornerstone of the hospitality industry.
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LEGENDS IN SERVICE MANAGEMENT
We seldom refer to total quality management or customer quality initiatives in recent times, but the techniques are still used to this day. Guest service has evolved but still continues to be an underlying assumption of the hospitality industry. It continues to set businesses apart from one another. Most businesses claim to have a passion for service, but only a few do it exceptionally well. When a business masters customer service, that service truly becomes a strategic advantage.
W. Edwards Deming
Dr. W. Edwards Deming, a talented statistician and management consultant, is considered to be a leader in the customer service movement because of his work with the total quality management (TQM) movement. After World War II, Deming approached the Japanese with his ideas of applying statistics to automotive manufacturing. They accepted and embraced his ideas. He helped the Japanese automakers implement “continuous process improvement.” As a result, the 1980s saw Japanese cars dominate the car market. Dr. Deming was also popular for his Deming Cycle, most commonly referred to as the Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA) Cycle. This is a four-step process for implementing change, or, continuous improvement. It is useful for incremental or breakthrough improvement. It promotes the idea that a business can always improve.
Joseph Juran
Joseph Juran was credited as being the Father of Quality Service. A friend and colleague of W. Edwards Deming, Dr. Juran also helped to introduce quality to the Japanese. He first spoke to Japanese managers in a series of 1954 lectures promoting quality. He was a lecturer and business consultant in over 40 different countries.