Customer Service

Customer Service

What is customer service and why is it important?

• The total customer experience with a hospitality or tourism related business
• Includes the performance of the staff, cleanliness of the property, and the way customers are treated during their visit.
• If there were no customers there would be no business and no profits. The success of a business depends on repeat customers!

What are customers looking for?

• A place they feel welcome
• A place where their needs are met
• To be treated with respect
• To feel safe and taken care of
• Customer Satisfaction – the positive feeling customers have about a business that meets their needs

Types of Service

• Consistent Quality Service – providing the same good service to customers each and every time they come to visit your business.
• Cleanliness of facilities and grounds
• Employees who respond quickly
• Employees who anticipate customers needs

How do people find out about good customer service?

• Word of mouth publicity – informal conversation people have about their experiences with a business
• Can be good or bad
• 100 people visit a restaurant
• 90 have a bad experience
• They each tell approximately 9 people about the bad service
• Results in 810 people hearing about bad service!

Customer Focused Employees

• Make good eye contact
• Have good posture
• Smile warmly
• Respond quickly to requests.
• Use the customer’s name.
• Are clean and well groomed.

Eleven Critical Moments

• First phone call to a business
• First view of the building entrance
• Interaction with the greeter
• Wait for a table or room
• First moments at the table or in the hotel room
• First encounter with servers or bussers
• Encounter with the manager
• Arrival of good
• Visit the restroom
• Presentation of the bill or check
• Last interaction with server or front office staff

Handling Customer Complaints

• Listen with empathy (Try to understand what the customer is feeling)
• Give an apology…Start with “I am so sorry.”
• Allow the customer to vent
• Don’t take it personally
• Be supportive
• Express your concern or support for the customer
• Do not blame some one else
• If it is your fault admit the mistake and aplogize
• Discuss what can be done about the situation instead

Handling Customer Complaints

• Have a positive attitude
• Don’t be negative, rude, or disrespectful
• Offer solutions
• Offer more than one solution
• If none of your solutions are considered acceptable to the customer ask what would be acceptable to the customer or refer them to your manager
• Follow through
• Personally make sure the solution is carried out quickly and correctly