Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

FRONT OFFICE AND THE GUESTS: PLANNING FOR QUALITY SERVICE
The FOM in Action: The Challenge
Candida has just begun her new position as
the FOM in a 125-room, extended-stay property.
She supervises a staff of approximately 10 full- and
part-time front desk agents. Before accepting the
position, Candida knew that two of her initial chal-
lenges would be to address the relatively low rat-
ings guests gave the front office over the past sev-
eral months and the increasing rate of employee
turnover.
Her predecessor, who had been with the prop-
erty for about six years, had worked his way up
from an entry-level position as a front desk agent.
When he became FOM, he quickly alienated several
staff members who had been his peers until the
promotion. His attitude appeared to be basically, “I
worked my way to the top; I am now the boss; you
must do what I tell you to do.”
During Candida’s employment interview, the
general manager expressed great concern about
guests’ ratings and about the problem of low
morale and high turnover. He summed it up by say-
ing, “I guess it’s hard to be nice to your guests
when your own boss is not nice to you.”
What should Candida do to improve employee
morale and to more consistently please the
guests?