Love the consumer

Customers Service in the Hospitality Industry

When we decide to go on vacation, the last thing we want to be doing is stressing. All we want is to just relax without dealing with any difficulties. If you are in the hotel and hospitality business, you need to be extra careful about your customers comfort and ensure you provide them with excellent hospitability during their stay to promote customer retention and thus loyalty.

Remember your best marketing tool is word of mouth. Good customer service will keep people coming back no matter what your business/product or service is. Don’t forget that first impressions are very important. It not very easy to change a first impression and even if you do, it is likely to come at a high cost to you.  Make the effort to get a good impression from the outset instead of trying to improve it afterwards. Your service needs to meet and even excel all the requirements and expectations of your customers.

The growing usage of the internet to book a hotel or vacation has made it even more important as people are able to leave a review about the hotel or destination on booking websites. Obviously if your hotel gets good reviews from your guests, it can only help your cause enormously in increasing your number of customers. For example, I decided to go to a couples resort for my honeymoon after I had read fantastic reviews on one of the booking website. However, there is always another scenario for the unhappy customers. They could blame you for ruining their holiday and leave very bad reviews which can damage your business objectives. How many of us would still book a hotel after reading a review like `it was a complete waste of money and time, staff were unfriendly, service was bad, and rooms were unhygienic. Do not make the mistake of booking, it was very disappointing. ` I think none of us would.

Hiring the right staff to create customer satisfaction

In order to create customer satisfaction and ultimately customer loyalty, it is very important to make your customers as happy as possible. Once you have created a product or service that you are happy and confident with, the next element to consider is the hiring of the right staff, especially if the role requires dealing with customers directly, whether it is on the phone or face to face. Unfortunately not everyone possesses the necessary skills and abilities to appropriately and effectively engage with customers. Furthermore, different types of customer interaction require different qualities. For example, the skills required to sell to a customer are different to those need to deal with a disgruntle customer.

However, irrespective of the situation, your employees should still be friendly and helpful, maintaining a positive attitude and professional approach at all times. It is important to keep a balance too. Too friendly staff can make customers uncomfortable, whilst a totally cold approach can give the impression that the employee is uninterested in the customers needs. Both of which may result in losing their custom. Employing the right people is very important. Happy and positive employees can provide good service which contributes to the creation of customer loyalty. Outside of physical appearance, your employees are generally the first interaction a customer has with your business. Therefore, its crucial that you get that all important first impression right and provide great and positive customer service from the off.

Positive employees can put other employees in similarly positive moods and mindsets to help them work more effectively and efficiently. As an employer you should motivate your staff and make them feel valued by rewarding them for their/the company’s success and giving them development opportunities.  Everybody has bad days and problems. Give them management training and teach them how not to bring any bad moods or negative emotions to work. Private lives should be kept as far away from the workplace as possible. Although, this is not always possible.  Ensure that your employees treat your customers with the right attitude no matter what.

We all know that no business survives without customers, and we all aim to increase the number of customers we have. However, sometimes it is not very easy to deal with customers. First of all, you need to remember that customers tend to consider themselves right in any situation. At the end of the day they are giving you their hard earned money, not your competitors.  If they complain about something, do not take it personally because they often aren’t directing their complain specifically at you. More often than not they are unhappy with the products or service your company has provided.

It is essential to listen to them carefully to understand their problem. Having the correct attitude always helps. Be patient and not uninterested and try to be as helpful as possible and not dismissive. Do not forget, no customers means no business or no job to pay the bills. Generally speaking, your business is there to make money and the best way to achieve this is by keeping your customers happy even if you know that they are not always right.

While it is difficult in certain situations, try to be understanding. Just think, they might have had a bad day or some other problems and are simply looking for someone to vent to. Not fair I know, but that the way it goes at times. I’m sure we have all done it at one time or another. If it is necessary, write down the problem and all the details to show your interest. If it is a very difficult situation, ask your supervisor to join the conversation. Show your customers that you are thinking about them. Customers appreciate people taking time to value their feelings and concerns – we all do. When you get negative feedback from them, do not ignore, make sure you improved your internal system for the future. If you manage to create a good image to your customers, they will come back.  Remember that the best recommendation for any business is word of mouth. Therefore, even if a customer has complained you can still come out with a positive by displaying and providing superior customer service. When I go on holiday I often return to the same resort as I can see that they value what I think.

When the problem customer leaves, you need to get rid of any negative energy or emotions you may have. Take five minutes to have a  talk with someone to relax. After you have dealt with the customer think about your performance and what you could do better for next time, because you can be sure there will be a next time.

You can’t keep everyone happy all of the time!