Customer Service Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1
THE BASICS OF GUEST SERVICE

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
Identify and describe the history, ages of change, and
current status of guest service in the U.S.
Identify the uses of various reasons why guests may not
outwardly complain.
Identify and explain the reasoning behind why guests share
their poor experiences with others.
Describe the expectations of guests as they relate to
hospitality.
Explain and apply the concept of using quality service as a
competitive advantage.
Describe details regarding the legends of guest service.
Copyright 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Guest Service is a
Science and an Art
Both a science and an art
It is much more than just being nice to people.
Businesses fail at it all of the time.
It doesnt just happen by itself.
It requires a special blend of:
Procedure
Technique
Skill
The human element
Guest Service is Integrated

Integrated into the overall business model
It is part of the companys identity, or brand and must
be tailored to the individual operation
Customized, planned, and executed
Including systems that support it
Employees must be knowledgeable about:
Brand
Products
Operations
Customers must be properly gauged or assessed to
ensure proper alignment with the brand image.
Guest Service is Integrated

(contd)
It is:
Part of the core of the business.
Integrated into nearly every decision.
Calculated and planned.
Evident in all of the operations, the people, and the
plan.
Guest Service is
Meeting Expectations
Definition
Guest Service: Meeting guests expectations
There are a variety of similar definitions.
Anytime patrons, or even prospective patrons,
interact with a facet of the organization; customer
service is rendered.
Quality customer service is meeting and exceeding
the individual customers expectations.
If service meets or surpasses customers
expectations, in any situation, it is said to be quality
customer service.
Examples of Bad Service

Staffing:
They are understaffed.
They arent paid enough.
They arent properly trained.
They are just having a bad day.
No person or system is present to monitor.
They are in training.
They are overworked and tired.
It isnt their responsibility.
The boss isnt present or doesnt care.

(contd)
Systems:
The computer is slow.
The kitchen is slow.
The _______ is broken.
We just got a new _______.
Setting:
Everything in this neighborhood stinks.
This place is all about low cost.
We are renovating.

(contd)
Capacity/Customers:
There are too many customers.
They didnt expect this many customers.
The customer is rude.
The customers are too demanding.
The customers dont know what they want.
The customers dont pay attention.
The customer doesnt seem to mind. No one has complained to
corporate.
The party next to us or in the other room is too loud.
None of them are truly acceptable.
In the Guests Minds

When they receive poor service:
I dont think its worth it.

I tried before and no one listened.
I am in a hurry.
I dont want to make a scene.
I feel bad for the staff.

It isnt the staffs fault.
I dont want to get anyone in
trouble.
There seems to be no solution in

sight.
Im afraid that theyll mess with
the food.
I dont think that it will make a
difference.
I dont think anyone cares.
I just hate this place and I want to
leave.
You may not always know the reason why a customer doesnt
complain.
While they wont tell you, they will be sure to tell many of their
friends.
Good Service
A common phrase is:
Good service can make up for a bad food, but good
food cannot make up for poor service.
Competitive Advantage
of Service
Everyone (essentially) offers a generic product:
Food
Bed
Same setting
Ritz Carlton
We are Ladies and Gentleman serving Ladies and
Gentleman.
Fulfill even the unexpressed wishes of our guests.
Three Steps of Service:
A warm and sincere greeting. Use the guests name.
Anticipation and fulfillment of the guests needs.
Fond farewell. Give a warm good-bye and use the guests
name.
Bad News Travels Fast
The customer still needed to vent.

Customers need to be afforded the chance to express themselves.
Venting is a normal part of the customer service process.
Customers may seek revenge.
If customers believe they have been wronged, they want to get even.
Customers remember unusual events.
Customers continually take in information and filter all but the most
unusual, emotional, or important of information.
People love to repeat extreme events.
Really great and really bad events are more interesting to share.
People can relate to these incidences.
Everyone has been wronged at some time.
Service organizations and employees appear impersonal.
Value of
Returning Customers
Loyal, return customers are highly sought-after prizes.
Businesses spend infinite amounts of money attracting
customers and then undervalue them as they arrive and
experience the product.
They are often treated as if it is the first and last time they
will ever be seen.
It costs far less to keep a return customer than to obtain a
new one.
Businesses should spend less money attracting customers
and more effort retaining the ones they have.
Ages of Service in U.S.

Age of Service:
The current age in the United States. As the United States lost its
manufacturing jobs, they were replaced with service-related jobs.
Age of manufacturing:
Originally, the United States was largely an agricultural nation. It
evolved into a thriving manufacturing nation but then quickly lost.
Age of communication:
While service continues to dominate the economy and employment of
the United States, the advances and proliferation of technology spurred
a new phenomenon of communication. Never before could so much
information be so readily available so cheaply and easily. Suppliers,
businesses, and customers can now all communicate in real-time and
have the ability to access each others records.
Ages of Service in U.S.

(contd)
Age of technology:
Coupled with service, the United States also saw a boom in
analog, then digital technology in the 1980s and 1990s.
This heavily influenced the way that businesses operate.
Business functions were expedited by computerization.
As the United States lost many of its manufacturing jobs to
other countries, it began replacing them with service-related
jobs.
Background of Service
Until recently:
A majority of people lived in relatively small neighborhoods
where everyone knew each other.
Workers had a craft or trade.
As more people began working for an hourly wage for bigbusinesses, craftsman began to lose their sense of neighborhood
and craft.
This forever changed the idea and tradition of service.
Management also changed to reflect the progression.
Rewards, motivations, standard operating procedures, and
punishments reduced craftsman to a subhuman standards.
Since the end of World War II, Americans developed a need for
speed. Customers grew to be impulsive, and expectations
increased.
Self-Service
Advantages:
Decreased labor
Increased speed of
service
Increased processing
Shorter lines
Increased access
Disadvantages:
Loss of human interaction
Subject to input error
Difficulty fixing errors
Unfamiliar with technology
Unfamiliar with process
Uncertainty of transaction
Quality customer service
remains the cornerstone of
the hospitality industry.
Legends in Service
Management
W. Edwards Deming:
Statistician and management consultant considered to
be a leader in the customer service movement
Total quality management (TQM) movement
After WWII, approached the Japanese with idea of
applying statistics to automotive manufacturing and
helped to implement continuous process
improvement.
As a result, the 1980s saw Japanese cars dominate the
car market.
Legends in Service
Management (contd)
W. Edwards Deming (contd):
Deming Cycle, most commonly
referred to as the PlanDo
Act
CheckAct (PDCA) Cycle.
Four-step process for
implementing change, or,
continuous improvement.
Useful for incremental or
breakthrough improvement. Check
Promotes the idea that a
business can always improve.
Plan
Do
Legends in Service
Management (contd)
Joseph Juran:
Credited as being the Father of Quality Service.
Friend and colleague of W. Edwards Deming
Dr. Juran also helped to introduce quality to the
Japanese.
He was a lecturer and business consultant in more than
40 countries.
Legends in Service
Management (contd)
Philip Crosby:
Published a well-known book, Quality is Free.
Able to show that quality programs would save much
more money than they cost.
DRIFT (do it right the first time) and Zero Defects.
It is an idea that promoted processes and procedures
that ran smoothly and efficiently, thus, doing it right
the first time.
Legends in Service
Management (contd)
Tom Peters:
Popularized Management by Walking Around (MBWA)
The idea that managers should get in touch with the
employees and customers
To learn what is really occurring.
Authored In Search of Excellence
Dr. Peters was one of the first and most influential gurus
of contemporary management.
Has advocated for service excellence through practical
means.
Legends in Service
Management (contd)
Peter Drucker:
Commonly known as the Father of Modern
Management
Advocated for the human side as opposed to the
numbers.
He was popular for ideas such as management by
objectives and the knowledge worker.
Was very interested in the concept of permitting
workers to think for themselves.
He made many predictions, some of which came true.
Paradigms
A belief that is commonly accepted as being the proper
way or method that something is to be done.
This promoted thinking outside the box, in which a
paradigm was considered to be the box.
The idea of a paradigm shift became very popular with
the quality movement.
Moment of Truth
A point of service at which customer service is either
made or lost.
The concept of the moment of truth was first popularized
by Jan Carlson of SAS Airlines.
The service experience is made up of many moments of
truth.
Each can be analyzed.
Each should be valued.
Chapter Review
Questions
What is the definition of quality guest service?

Why do some customers choose not to complain?
What Age of Change are we currently in?
List five examples of self-service that you have used in the
past week.
How did Deming help the Japanese?
Why do we tend to forget certain events while remembering
others?
When did the need for speed become popular in the United
States?
Why does bad service still exist?
Who is the Father of Quality Service?
Who is the Father of Modern Management?

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CHAPTER 1

THE BASICS OF GUEST SERVICE

Guest Service is Integrated

Guest Service is Integrated

Examples of Bad Service

Examples of Bad Service

Examples of Bad Service

In the Guests Minds

I dont think its worth it.

I feel bad for the staff.

I dont want to get anyone in

There seems to be no solution in

Bad News Travels Fast

The customer still needed to vent.

Ages of Service in U.S.

Ages of Service in U.S.

What is the definition of quality guest service?

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