guest service
Pick Up Your Calls to Pick Up More Bookings!
Doug Kennedy | July 23, 2024
The more important the trip, the more likely they are to pick up the phone. Despite the pundits’ predictions, the phones continue to ring with incoming reservations leads even now in the mid-2020s, and yes, even at branded hotels across all segments. I’m sure some readers are thinking “Well not us. The majority of our rooms are booked online.” Yet if you listen to real phone calls from real callers, as KTN’s QA team does daily through our remote call scoring process, you realize that many people call with questions before booking online, whether at an OTA or the hotel’s direct website. Other guests book first and then call wit...
Don’t Throw Fellow Employees Under the Bus
Shep Hyken | July 18, 2024
By Shep Hyken I couldn’t hold back. I told an employee to stop complaining about her fellow employees in front of us, her customers. Here’s the story. My wife and I were at a restaurant. The server seemed pleasant and professional, but as our food was delivered, we saw a different side of her. There was a mistake in the order. The side dishes we received were not the ones we chose. I didn’t think it would be a big deal. She could either take our meals back to the kitchen or let us keep our meals and bring out the side dishes we ordered. But to the server, it was a big deal. She started to complain about how this happens “...
How To Train Your Guest Service Staff To Turn Every Conversation Into a Sales & Marketing Opportunity – Complimentary Registration Now Open
Doug Kennedy | July 8, 2024
Sponsored By Travel Outlook, Better Talent, and Track Hospitality Software Register your team and participate live, or view the recording, of Doug Kennedy’s next 40-minute training webcast scheduled for Monday, July 22, from Noon – 12:45pm EST. REGISTER HERE As tech solutions continue to replace “touch points” in the guest’s “cycle of service,” each remaining “conversation” becomes ever more important, especially since guests are more likely to reach out to our humans either when things go wrong, or when they have a special request or need. “With so many guests booking online, often through third parties, with an ev...
Some Customers Aren’t Worth Doing Business With
Shep Hyken | June 28, 2024
In some of my customer service speeches, I joke that some customers aren’t worth doing business with. The way I position it in the speech is funny, but in reality, it’s pretty serious. Sometimes, a customer isn’t worth doing business with because they are truly a bad customer. The result could be choosing to say, “Goodbye,” and sending them to the competition. While there are many reasons you might end your relationship with a customer, I came up with six obvious ones to get you thinking: Customers who repeatedly return products. This is often the result of a liberal return policy that some customers abuse. Repeat...
Change Requires Choice (and Work)
Shep Hyken | June 27, 2024
At the end of the CEO’s speech to his employees, he said, “And one other thing, we want to deliver better customer service.” Then he walked off stage. Delivering better customer service is a good idea, but just saying you want to do so will not make it happen. Most likely, it will remain just a good idea, because, without the right implementation, the idea will never come to anything. Nothing will change. A big part of my business is serving as a keynote speaker on customer service and CX for all kinds of companies and organizations. I always ask, “Why is this topic important to you and this audience?” Most of the time, ...
HCN To Debut Its ‘AI Concierge’ on In-Room Tablets at HITEC Charlotte
The Hotel Communication Network (HCN) | June 24, 2024
AiMe (pronounced Amy) uses natural language processing and translation capabilities to respond to guests’ unstructured requests and create actionable tasks that can be relayed from the HCN Navigator 2.0 tablet to staff; See AiMe in action June 25 to 27 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Convention Center in Booth 3836 CHARLOTTE, N.C. — June 24, 2024 — Tomorrow at HITEC, Hotel Communication Network (HCN) will reveal a new AI-powered in-room tablet that will radically change the way hotel guests request services, communicate their needs, place F&B orders from local restaurants and more via voice commands in multiple languages. AiMe, an AI Conci...
Start With YES … Even If It Doesn’t End That Way
Shep Hyken | June 13, 2024
By Shep Hyken It’s time to revisit the idea of avoiding the word “no,” but this time, I want to approach it from a different angle. First, let me tell you about my friend Dr. Nido Qubein, a devoted husband and father, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, president of High Point University, and mentor to many, who came to this country when he was 17 with little more than $50 to his name. Almost 50 years ago, he attended High Point University, never dreaming that one day he would be president of the institution, a position he accepted in 2005. Since that time, there has been incredible growth at HPU. In his first year, the universi...
Simplify the Complicated (Part Three)
Shep Hyken | June 6, 2024
By Shep Hyken This is the third article this year about the concept of simplicity. Why? It apparently resonates with our subscribers, as there have been many comments and emails. Consider these quotes: It was either Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, Pascal, Cicero, or some other famous smart person who said, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” Einstein said, “Genius is making complex ideas simple, not making simple ideas complex.” What else can I add to this concept? The same day the last article came out in The Shepard Letter, I was asked to complete some “paperwork.” Once again, I ha...