By Ragsdale Hendrie, April 6,
2009
Ah, Comment Cards – the mainstay of Customer Feedback
for Hospitality and Retail! My favorite is the Card you are to
mail, if you have a stamp. Or, those cards you leave with the
Server, check-out counter or the Front Desk, which mention the
performance of that particular Server or Associate. I wonder
where they go, if the commentary is negative. Yup, I sure would
pass along to Management a less than perfect commentary. Let’s
not forget those comments which state a pressing problem – poor
service, condition of the bathrooms, meal preparation and the
like. Fortunately, we see those at some point in time, usually
way after the fact, so the unsatisfactory Experience is etched in our
Guest’s memory, although we might send a letter (a lost opportunity,
too little, too late). Comment Cards are not much better than
nothing, just like the sleeves off your vest - Lip Service for many (of
course, we care what our Guest says; just don’t make it too loud, too
frequent or too honest. I am trying to run a business here). Do
not become obsolete in your prime. You certainly can do
better.
Start with the premise of Feedback. This is the mechanism to
report upon our performance – what we did well and what we need to
improve upon. We want to keep our survey questions short (due to
the respondent’s attention span), simple (not tax the cranium) and
relevant to our operation (so we have some benchmarks). Most
importantly, we want to match our chosen Feedback mechanism to our
audience, in order to elicit the greatest response.
Here comes a major disconnect, just like the businesses which felt they
did not need a web site. Your audience is connected and wired,
and e-mail and texting are their every day communication vehicles.
Think about it. In your operations, you have moved to the
'paperless', using electronics for your Financials, your Daily Reports,
and your Payrolls. Take the next step – get your message on the right
mediums.
Gathering “Feedback” requires a blend. Every day, you take an
inventory of your business, walking the property, speaking with staff
and guests, reviewing status reports. But, probably, you are too
close to the business (the old trees and forest analogy).
Mystery or Secret Shops are a good means to get a snapshot in time of
your operation or particular aspects of your business. These are
unannounced, incognito evaluations of your SOP’s (what you want your
Customer or Guest to experience). You now have this “thumb nail
sketch”. If the Shops are done frequently enough, you start to
see trends, training opportunities, Standards which need some tweaking,
etc. Plus, it keeps your staff on their toes and wearing name tags, if
required.
For a more comprehensive evaluation of your business, you might
consider the services of a Hospitality Assessment or Quality Assurance
company. These Professionals provide an in-depth review of your
entire operation, considering Industry Norms and Standards for product,
service and condition of the facilities. Their reports provide a
map for continuous improvement.
Ultimately, the bottom line is what your Customers and Guest
think. You can ask them directly, if you have the time, and they
are prepared to respond honestly. You can await their Comment
Cards. You can scan all those internet portals for unsolicited reviews
of your business, respond where you can, but, ultimately, “suck it up”,
as your Consumer has spoken to that vast global audience of critics and
potential business.
Or, you can proactively solicit Feedback which is immediate,
actionable, and credible through technological solutions. And,
here are two key words: immediate and actionable. What we
learn months or even a week after the fact has absolutely no
credibility; hence, you want to know about their Experience right away
and share it with your Management (their Performance
report). Immediacy means you can take action right away and
address an issue, and, perhaps, save or enhance the Experience.
Technology can prompt Feedback on-line, through POS, and other
means. To survive and prosper, this is where you need to
be. Raise your game!
It is time to move to the next plateau, the next frontier, and use
“Guest Feedback” technology for the following reasons:
- Comment Cards simply do not provide a meaningful response
about the Guest Experience, because not everyone participates (usually
only the disgruntled and the gruntled) and you have a critical time
gap. Comment Cards are superficial;
- Technology reaches a broader, more representative and
diverse audience, quickly, because the majority of your Guests are
technology savvy in some fashion. The responses are timely, and they
validate your relationship with the Guest and allow you to better
manage the experience;
- With a request for an e-mail address at registration or
point-of-sale, you begin to build a significant data base, which serves
as a super marketing opportunity for your business, from Guest
preferences to special announcements and deals;
- Just because the Guest may be satisfied with one visit does
not mean they will rebook or revisit. But, now you have another
opportunity — to build loyalty. It is easier to retain an existing
Guest than recruit a new one.
There is no better time to better manage the experience, frame
the expectations, create real value, which you can then market! Get
with the program(s)!
The author believes that
Remarkable Hospitality is the portal to the Memorable Experience.
Seek solutions at: www.hospitalityperformance.com
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