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Unfortunately, hospitality workers comprise only a small percentage of any businesses’ total guest volume. It is unlikely that other guests will be quite so forgiving when their needs, wants or expectations are not been met. It is also possible that a guest’s first experience with a business entity, if negative, will be their last experience with the entity if their concerns are not addressed and remedied effectively and in a timely manner. There is no guarantee of a second chance. One of a guest’s expectations is that we as service providers will do everything we can to get it right the first time and every time. This is not an unreasonable expectation. The hospitality industry is one of the largest industries in Lee County and most of the employees in this field are dedicated career professionals. Based on the representation or reputation of our products and services, guests are willing to share their hard-earned money with us for the opportunity to enjoy those products and services. Because dissatisfaction may result in an outpouring of emotions, a significant challenge that we face is how the guest’s feelings affect us personally and professionally when things do not go as planned. It’s not uncommon for the guest to express dissatisfaction through sadness or anger. There is also an expectation that we will do what is necessary to right a wrong to provide the guest with quality and value that is equitable to the purchase price. By developing a strategy to deal with dissatisfaction should it occur, we stand a much better chance of experiencing a favorable resolution and having that guest return on another occasion, rather than turn away from our business entity for good. Should a guest express dissatisfaction with a product or service, it is important to allow the guest to express him or herself fully and freely. The service provider should make a sincere effort to focus their full attention on the guest. This will enable them to listen carefully to the guest and gain a full and accurate understanding of the cause of the dissatisfaction. We can demonstrate our attention to the guest by establishing eye contact, by affirming guest comments with a nod of the head and a periodic statement of agreement, and by allowing them to fully communicate their concerns and feelings. Once the service provider understands what is wrong, reasonable solutions can be developed that will satisfy the guest without placing undue hardship on the organization. The agreed upon remedy should be implemented to provide timely resolution. If there is an opportunity for a follow-up inquiry to ensure that satisfaction has been achieved, the service provider should make that effort. A follow-up inquiry also provides an opportunity to strengthen the guest/provider relationship for the future. By drawing on our knowledge and experience as managers and supervisors, we can also develop policies and operating practices in advance to enable our employees to address incidences of guest dissatisfaction with confidence and success. For additional information on the Guests First customer service training program and the E Awards hospitality recognition program, please visit www.leevisitorservices.com. Industry partners are also encouraged to participate in the VCB’s Team Tourism education program. Additional information on upcoming Team Tourism events is available at www.LeeVCB.com.
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Any
hospitality organization’s most forgiving customer is likely to be a
customer who also works within the hospitality industry. As fellow
service providers, we are more empathetic towards an organization
when there is a breakdown in the service process, perhaps because we
may have been involved in a similar experience at some point in our
own professional career. Because of this, we are less likely to
condemn the product, service, server or organization based on one
negative experience.