DEALING WITH GUEST COMPLAINT

SADARA Boutique Beach Resort

12 August 2019
A. DEFINITIONS
A complaint is a statement in which you express your dissatisfaction with a particular situation.
Guests' complaints in the hospitality business are almost a daily occurrence. Some of those
complaints are smaller but some of them can do a serious harm.
Esteban Kolsky's (2015), only 1 in 25 unhappy customers will share their complaint directly with
you and 13% of unhappy customers will share their bad experiences with 15 or even more people.
And as you most probably know, guests complain much more often about bad things rather than
complimenting good ones. Meaning, that if you have one unpleasant incident with a guest, it has
much higher possibility to end up online, rather than several satisfied"thank you's".

B. DIFFERENT OF COMPLAINT, QUESTION, FEEDBACK

It is important to understand the different betwen complaint, question and feedback. We found
that many hotel staff did not understand and made wrong placement in understand guest aim of
speaking and cause wrong deliver of guest message to hotel management. This missed perception
can also caused a wrong decison making.

Complaint is a guest action in the form of delivery of something because it does not achieve the
desired level of satisfaction. This means that there is a promise that is not fulfilled. Example :
1. We promised to guest that our hotel cleanliness is very high, when they arrive they found
spot on the bed.
2. We promised to guest that room facility such us aircon is cold, however when guest turn on
the aircon it is not cold.

A question is in an interrogative form, adressed to someone in order to get information in reply.

The sentence has a word element of how, when, why, or many others word element, example :
1. Excuse me, why theres no slipper in the room?
2. Excuse me, how we change a money?
3. Can we change a room?
4. The beach is dirty, is it normal?
A complaint sometimes start from the question, which doesnt have a good clear answer. So you
need to focus to understand the point of question.

A feedback is information about reactions to a product, a person's performance of a task, etc.

which is used as a basis for improvement. Example :
1. Hai, I think it would be great if the tea come with separately sugar.
 2. I would like to suggest you for check the shower, because i found the presure is slow.
3. I have been stayed in XXX Hotel and they do give late check out until 13.00, you should do
like that.
A complaint sometimes start from the feedback if the guest feel or receive defensive reaction
from us.

C. WHY GUEST COMPLAINT

In the hotel industry, as most of the customer believe this business prioritizing hospitality,
comfort, safety and guest satisfaction, all dissatisfaction can occur complaint. People who travel
often know that hotel service isn't always as seamless as they've grown to expect. Furthermore,
people who do travel a lot tend to notice some things that regular customers maybe wouldn't.
Hotels that do everything in their power to prevent common problems from occurring have a
better chance of retaining their customers and keep an undamaged reputation.

D. CHANNEL OF GUEST COMPLAINT

There a several channel for guest to raise their complaint, which is :
1. Direct to hotel staff, the mostly is through FO, then through HK staff during room cleaning,
thorugh FBS during in the restaurant. However sometimes guest also raise their complaint to
the staff on the first sight.
2. To their agent. The guest raise complaint through their agent due to a direction from their
agent, also due to limited of language or they feel that the respon from hotel is not make them
satisfied.
3. To online review. As a online booking now became the favorite channel to made reservation,
the platform provide also facility to get review. The review is use to give clearly information
to other customer from the experience of guest perspective who have been stay before.

E. KNOWING GUEST CHARACTER WHEN COMPLAINT

1. Angry
2. Confuse

F. COMPLAINT CASE IN SADARA RESORT

Below is the most complaint raise in Sadara Resort
1. Cleanliness
2. AC leaking
3. Beach dirty
 4. Service time in restaurant
5. WIFI
6. Price issue

G. HOW WE DEALING WITH THE COMPLAINT

The essential for handling complaint is :
1. Listen completely; this is have aim to get all information of guest complaint.
2. Emphatize; this is to show that we care and feel what guest feel about what happen to them
also showing that we are goint to relsolve it.
3. Tactfully; this is to build a strongth mindset that you can do something to resolve the
complaint.
4. Sincerity; guest raise a complaint as they want you to work with it. By show sincerity guest
will see that every solution is our best effort we do a we care of them.
5. Act profesianalism; This is to show that your the right person to help guest solving the
problem. Act profesionalism start with good first impression.
6. Creative; many complaint solve due with creative idea. Learn and discuss with others so you
can have many idea.
7. Thank to the guest; To show our appreciation for guest to inform us about the problens and
let us to do improvement.

Refer to main complaint on point (F) above this is example to solve the complaint :
1. Cleanliness
This complaint is one of the most happen in every hotel include in Sadara Resort. The main
problem is dusty, leftover of hair, mouldy on the wall and ceiling, bad odour, spot dirty on
linen.
a. Listen completely, focus, would be great if you can write the main problem of cleanliness.
b. Apologize to guest, tell them that your the one will make sure the problem will be make
it right and fix the problem.
c. Inform the guest, you will ask housekeeping to re clean the room and ensure it will more
better than before.
d. Excuse the guest, so you can take time to inform housekeeping and ask estimated time
needed to rectification the problem.
e. Once you get the detail information needed, inform the guest and make them understand.
f. Thank to the guest for understanding.
g. Ensure to inform designation person to reconfirm to guest if the rectification done.
2. AC Leaking
This complaint is also the main problem that happen in Sadara Resort. The problem of AC
leaking is the temperatur set in room to low and there is different temperatur with outside.
For example, guest turn on their AC, but they open the door. However you can not blame the
guest. Please refer to below for handling the complaint :
a. Listen completely, focus, would be great if you can write the problem of AC Leaking.
b. Apologize to guest, tell them that your the one will make sure the problem will right and
fix the problem.
c. Inform the guest, you will ask housekeeping and engineering to fix the aircon also clean
the floor. Ensure the guest it will more better than before.
d. Excuse the guest, so you can take time to inform engineering and housekeeping also ask
estimated time needed to rectification the problem.
e. Once you get the detail information needed, inform the guest and make them understand.
f. Thank to the guest for understanding.
g. Ensure to inform designation person to reconfirm to guest if the rectification done.
h. If you on duty to reconfirm to guest about the problem, please suggest if they turn on the
AC ensure the door always closed.

3. Beach Dirty
Beach clean is priority in Sadara Resort because it was one of hotel facility. Please
acknowledege that the beach has been clean daily start from 07.00 am-17.00pm. The beach
is not dirty it just some leftover from seaweed in certain period. June-September is period
when our beach have leftover of seaweed, however you can not explain the period to guest
as June-September is high season of people traveling. Please refer to below for handling the
complaint :
a. Listen completely and focus.
b. Apologize to guest.
c. Explain that our beach is clean, we did clean it every day. Inform that our beach is safe
to swim as long they swim inside the safety bouy.
d. If the guest insist it dirty, stay polite and said seaweed is part of natural environment, and
they are not hazzardous material.
e. Offer to swim in swimming pool and you will help them to get daybed that they can use
either on the beach or swimming pool.
f. Thank to the guest for understanding.
g. Once you notice guest already settle, approach them and offer other asisstant.
4. Service Time In The Restaurant
During full accupancy, all the section will experince busy time. This busy time will more
challenge if there short of staff as well. However guest did not want to understand about the
situation as the believe the deserve to get a high service for 5 stars hotel.
a. Listen completely and focus.
b. Apologize to guest.
c. Explain that we will notify guest as VIP in the restaurant.
d. Inform restaurant immedietly and indicate guest room number to be record by restauarant
staff.
e. Ensure to inform designation person for reconfirm guest according service they receive
in the restaurant.
f. If you are the person who receive this complaint, it would be great if you can reconfirm
again to guest in the first time you meet after receive complaint.
g. Thank to guest for the information.

5. WIFI
Internet now became important for every guest. Free internet connection now became
atraction to guest for made booking in hotel or any others place. Sadara Resort provide free
internet connection through WIFI and computer on lobby lounge. The main problem for
internet is when guest experience slow access and difficult to connect. Every hotel area have
WIFI access and swimming pool have 5 access point to cover guest need. There is two caused
when guest experience slow access or difficult to connect which is :
1. Supply connection from provider in trouble
2. Access point is full
Please refer below for handling WIFI Complaint :
a. Listen completely and focus.
b. Apologize to guest and ask the password/user following with trial to connect to their
device.
c. If it not connet, create new user and re connect again.
d. If it not connected, apologize and aks guest to wait for you to contact IT staff for further
action.
e. Once the problem resolve, Ensure to inform designation person to reconfirm guest about
WIFI connection.
f. If you are the person who receive this complaint, it would be great if you can reconfirm
again to guest in the first time you meet after receive complaint.
 g. Thank to guest for the information.

6. Price Issue
Sadara Resort have 5 booking channel. As much we can there is no parity on the price we
offer to guest. However different booking channel applied different strategy to gain the
market. It is restric to you to share information regarding :
1. Contract price betwen Sadara Resort and Agent
2. Issuing a booking confirmation for booking not originally direct to Sadara Resort.
Please refer below for handling price issue
a. Listen completely and focus.
b. Apologize to guest and explain that different booking channel applied their own term also
regulation.
c. Suggest guest to submit our news letter for get update of our promotion
d. Thank to guest for the information.

H. REPORTING
When you receive complaint, question and feedback, it is required to you for reporting to your
Departement Head and also your others team member during briefing. Please also write on you
departement log book.