Providing consistent guest service in hospitality

from Casino Life Issue 150 Volume 18

Gaming Academy guide 2022

Are we really educating our employees about the process?

e know that providing superior guest

Wservice doesn’t just happen. It requires a team of highly skilled employees to deliver a consistent service product. To achieve a great experience for the guest, the employee must be focused on keeping their own service “bar” raised, in order to offer the guest a memorable and consistent experience.

In my lectures, I have stated how a team that is developed through education-based programs in service can reach that goal. It is up to management to make sure the employees receive such an education.

Providing your employees with an on-going series of educational programs is important. It will help your organization reach that positive “moment of truth,” within your customer base.

The Dictionary of Business defines a customer moment of truth as the moment, “the customer is given the opportunity to form an impression about a company…” This means the customer has formed an opinion in reaction to the services delivered. The guest service decisive moment in the hospitality and tourism industry occurs every time a guest and employee have an exchange.

That opinion could change several times during a customer’s visit. It is based on the collective encounters each customer has with all the employees of your organization. From an employee’s face-to-face encounter to an automated product presentation, the levels of service an organization offers are the sum of that special moment of truth.

When an employee suspects that a guest may be experiencing a negative moment of truth, it is important that they recognize it. The employee must take control and turn it around to produce a positive employee/guest experience. If they suspect the customer is not satisfied, they must bring in the next level of management support, hopefully turning a negative into a positive.

Front-line employees are one-to-one with customers. That is why it is so important to prepare the employees for these interactions by defining your organization’s culture and laying out the “parameters of operation,” through facilitated learning programs.

Employees, through your organization’s strategic educational programs, can learn about the result of their action or inaction when they are faced with a customer moment. The learning experience regarding the moment of truth is important for long-term employee growth; accordingly, it must be part of your organization’s culture of employee education.

In the book Moments of Truth, by Jan Carlson (1987) strategies are explained to address a customer-driven economy. In it she states, “Get rid of the horizontal barriers to communication. Turn middle management away from the role of administrator and into leaders and facilitators for the frontlines…”

Your operation managers must be involved in the ongoing analysis about the moments of truth in order to continue to work with the front-line employees for the consistency of the operation.

And finally, understand through the “social media channels” that a customer’s moment of truth can be shared in an instant. Good or bad, it is out there for all to see. If your organization has suffered a service wound and you read about it on a social media platform, own it, and take immediate steps to face it publicly to repair the damage. Customers can be very forgiving when they know that someone is listening.

A moment of truth validates an organization in the marketplace. It’s important not to lose the opportunity to make it a positive one.

“Strategic marketing” initiatives, through niche opportunities, are about a more focused view that takes advantage of specialized opportunities of service. This could include a more definable approach to the generational differences of your customers, the messaging of non-gaming amenities offered by your property, and a sensible analysis of where technology can be applied to keep the customer momentum going during their stay.

The use of smart-phone apps or kiosk check-in for a hotel, technical management systems, and software enhancements for restaurant and bar management have all contributed to a more consistent operating

environment. It has scaled down the chance for some negative experiences. However, as reliable as technology is, have a plan in place and make sure your employees are prepared to react hands-on when it fails.

Note that the complex infrastructure of hospitality is continually tested by shifting customer interest, a variety of changing regulations, local facility integrity and unionrelated issues.

We know that an organization’s energy comes from its employees. Employees that understand hospitality, and how the “wow” factor and its relationship to the organization’s bottom line have no limits in going above and beyond for the guest. Great employees welcome guests, are cognizant of service cues and make each touch point of service truly special, leaving the customer more than satisfied.

Leadership -Team building is about education and applying the right mix of management talent to coach and lead the employees. It is about on-going training in your organization that encourages development keeping all employees at a consistent customer service level.

Remember, as a leader, it is important for you to look for ways to raise your own service level. Stay hungry for your own personal best. Do not be satisfied with the status quo. Personal humility is a virtue in hospitality. Be open with employees, solicit feedback and encourage ideas. Everyone benefits from this approach and the property moves forward.

Your efforts as a leader in team building should be focused on building strongly motivated employees through a culture that stands for honest, open discussion and leading by example. • Team building is the right mix of management talent to coach and lead the employees. • A team of consistently trained management staff will lead and coach while treating all staff with dignity and respect • Keep all employees at a consistent customer-service level. Be there for them with consistent educationaltraining programs that encourage their development and empowerment. Empowered employees will take that extra step for the guest. • Be sure employees understand the total property marketing strategy. • Members of management must listen to employee and customer feedback scenarios.

Leadership includes team building, managing people skills, and placing employees in positions where they are most challenged, most productive and complement the team. Team building relies on a mix of educated talent that coaches and leads a diverse, multi-generational group of employees reflecting the property culture. The outcome will be successful.

Case in Point: In 2008 I was a key member of a development team contracted to design and manage a casino in the U.S. Within six months of that property opening the casino was voted number one in slots by the readers of Southern Gaming Magazine 2009 and again in 2010.

It was because of the unity of employee spirit that opened that casino with a commitment by all departments to team building and educating employees.

Opening this property within a very tight deadline was a total team effort to plan and put into place all the components for operation. I will add that this property came together from start to finish in 100 days.

Today’s customers are extremely advanced in their use of new technology and have become increasingly more discerning about where they spend their entertainment dollars, making it essential for hospitality organizations to deploy equally sophisticated and differentiated offerings.

In my past articles I have written that a great guest experience requires a mix of technological hardware, software and the personal touch by staff.

Technology has given the employees the technological tools of hardware and software to perform the tasks of the job more efficiently. Once the technology is in operation, the focus must be on continued educational initiatives for employees within a coaching model, so that the best is achieved from the staff-resource mix.

As hospitality leaders, we too should always be in a state of learning in ways to better serve the customer.

Remember, as technology advances on the service side of the industry, no matter in what hospitality discipline you are employed, caution must be used that the high-tech culture does not alienate some of the (multi-generational) guests by limiting the personal touch of the employee. By using the formula of mixing the technology with a focused employee-support program, a property will provide an enhanced service experience to the guests.