News for the Hospitality Executive |
Service
Excellence: Inspect What You Expect
November 30, 2010 If we truly want to serve in an exceptional
manner, then we
must regularly look at service from our customer’s perspective. It can
become
quite easy to get so caught up in the day-to-day operation of our jobs,
that we
unintentionally overlook simple service errors. We, as service
providers, can
become very focused on giving service, and forget that it’s all about
how our
customers receive that service. As I’ve stated before, service is not
about what we want to give…it’s about what the other person wants to
receive. On a recent hotel stay, I decided to order
dinner through room
service. I wasn’t that hungry, so I only ordered a bowl of chicken noodle soup. The chicken noodle
soup came as planned. The utensils were wrapped in a cloth
napkin (as I’ve seen before in many other food & beverage
operations). When
I unfolded the napkin, however, I noticed there was a fork, knife, and
teaspoon. Given that I ordered soup, the only utensil that I could
actually use
was the teaspoon, which was not an ideal choice. A soup spoon or, at
least, a
dessert spoon would have been more appropriate. When I placed the oatmeal order, there was
an option for 2%
or skim milk to accompany the oatmeal. What do you think the milk is
supposed
to be used for? You guessed it…to pour into the oatmeal. The oatmeal
came with
a glass of milk…not a mini-pitcher or some other tool to effectively
pour, but
a full-fledged wine-glass with milk in it. Of course, when I tried
pouring the
milk into the full bowl of oatmeal, the milk spilled all over the
place.
Inspect what you expect. Make it a scheduled activity to audit the customer experience. The same way you have budget meetings and manager meetings on your calendar, please put the service audits on your calendar as well. It is that important. When inspecting ask yourself, “What are my guests seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling? In addition to personally inspecting what you expect, another great way to capture the customer’s experience is to intimately solicit feedback from your customers. Be sure to get a nice cross-section of long-time customers (ambassadors), not quite long-time customers and new customers. This is to get multiple perspectives. On a quarterly or even a semi-annual basis, schedule an informal meeting or conference call to thank them for their patronage and to simultaneously solicit ways to better serve them. Some customers are more likely to open up and be thoroughly honest via these types of methods than the traditional comment card system. Regardless of the setting, service always
boils down to
someone being the recipient of someone else’s products and/or services.
Your
guests deserve the best you have to offer every time. Tell your team
that
serving others is a beautiful thing. Having the opportunity and
privilege to
positively impact someone else’s day is a gift they should be proud of
giving.
An anonymous author wrote it best, “No one is more cherished in this
world than
someone who lightens the burden of another”. B.Williams
“Your presentation was absolutely the best ever! It was the highlight of my trip to ISPA (International Spa Association 2010 Convention)! Your series on service superstars should be a prerequisite for any job in the hospitality industry.” --Denise Haddaway, The Inn at Perry Cabin “I was one of the attendants to the 5-star Leadership class in Milan, Italy on November 11th 2010 at the Grand Hotel et de Milan. I'd like to thank you very much for your wonderful job regarding the interesting classes you gave us. They are and will be certainly so helpful in better leading a successful team.” --Vera Mazzoni, Villa d’Este “It's great to see that, a few days after your training sessions for our team, people are very positive about the things they learned. In several ways, we're trying to implement your tips and tricks and looking forward to increase our service to the world class-level.” --Mr. Michiel Roelfsema, Hotel Okura
Amsterdam
About the Author Dr. Bryan K. Williams is the Chief Service Officer of B.Williams Enterprise, and the author of Engaging Service: 22 Ways to Become a Service Superstar. Bryan’s passion is world-class customer service, and has facilitated workshops and delivered keynotes all over the world for various companies. He speaks on a variety of topics related to service excellence, employee engagement, and organizational improvement. As a consultant, Bryan works closely with companies to design, develop, and implement sustainable service strategies. His company’s online store includes a growing collection of customer service products that are well-suited for your training library. |
Order at the B.Williams Enterprise Online Store Find more resources relating to service excellence at www.bwenterprise.net. Also on the website, you can subscribe to the official B.Williams Enterprise emailing list. You will receive announcements, newsletters and other excellent resources. -We exist to serve others so they may better serve the world ®.- |
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