Excellent customer service is the cornerstone for hotels

Customer service is an internal and integral part of the processes of each hotel.  If there’s any place where customers are likely to be paying attention to the type of service they receive, it’s within the hospitality industry.  A job as a hospitality service provider is to maintain customer happiness and satisfaction. Keep your customers at the forefront of your operational plans to hold your hospitality business afloat. 

Gone are the days when customers were happy just receiving “please” and “thank you” or getting service with a nice smile. Although those go into the recipe for proper etiquette, it’s just not enough. Pleased customers are looking for a memorable experience and dynamic service where it counts. To be on the receiving end of customers’ satisfactory ratings in surveys and among their network, anticipate their needs and be able to have your staff deliver accordingly.

Quality customer service

As a start provide genuine and quality customer service. In today’s market environment, service has become a cliché and it seems like “everyone’s doing it.” So, if everyone is doing it, why not jump ahead of the wolf pack by providing even more creative, personalized service to your customers than your competitors can? One size shoe does not fit all feet. Nor is one type of customer service suitable for all your customers.

Quality customer service is to meet the customer’s expectations for the material product that we sell as well as the fulfillment of expectations for subjective benefits they expect to derive from the transaction with us. The quality of customer service therefore depends solely on subjective expectations. The expectation is that we can manage, that we can serve them. If you meet their expectations, then you have managed to really serve them. If we manage to overcome their expectations with an element of surprise (e.g.: a gift, a companion service, a warm sincere smile of understanding, etc.), then and only then will we have managed to satisfy them.

Expectations vary

Expectations of course vary from person to person depending on the personality of each client. A disgruntled customer behaves in many different ways; therefore you should behave individually to each client. So, be creative. Get to personally know your customers and recognize their individual needs. Above all, make certain that what you are offering really is something that your customer can value; that’s the key to good customer service.

Customer loyalty is fundamental

Happy customers are loyal customers. Repeat customers are vital for hotels. Not only is it important for you to provide stellar service, but awesome products as well. Make it a point to be on the fast track for keeping up with trends that your customers may follow such as building personal assistance services for traveling customers or making special concessions for passionate repeat consumers.  Keep customers loyal by focusing on them at all times!

Let customers vent

Give your customers an outlet for telling you about poor experiences. When you have customers who have had a negative experience, make it easy and clear for them to not only tell you about it but get it off their chest to you and not someone else. Don’t patronize them when they are disgruntled. Try hard to fix the problem – communication is key – and remember keep calm and try to resolve the situation so the customer ultimately goes away happy.

In conclusion, the key word in quality customer service is ‘expectations’. So we need to provide special attention to the expectations we create and the way we manage them. The aim for customer satisfaction is to exceed their expectations. Understanding customer expectations is the key step to satisfaction. Take out of your mind and your vocabulary the sign of the “difficult and strange customer”. See all your customers as positive, investigate their expectations and positively manage their aspirations to satisfy them!

A final bit of advice about customer service: “If you aren’t taking care of your customers, your competition will.”