In this day and age of supreme customer service we have our employees trained in excellent interpersonal skills, yet we still can’t guarantee positive online reviews.  The key is good customer engagement and not merely good customer service. This aids in business growth and will ensure you employees thrive in years to come.  Globally, there is a drastic shortage of trained quality hospitality professionals. With the right qualifications, you could land yourself a fantastic job opportunity either locally or abroad. The International Hotel School’s, Hospitality Studies Programs are a great place to start your journey to becoming one of these quality trained professionals.

HANDLING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

Being in a digital world, word of mouth is now more pivotal than ever before. A bad review can almost instantaneously harm years of building a good reputation with guests. Disgruntled hotel guests are more likely to leave negative online reviews than happier guests, according to many surveys. For every bad review that is posted online your hotel stands to lose substantial amounts in revenue.

So instead of being reactive hotel managers can now be proactive and ensure that if any guests experience problems, it is handled before they leave their establishment. To make sure that no negative feedback finds it way into cyber space. Just like in medicine prevention is better than a cure. That is how customer complaints need to be dealt with. It is much easier to try to understand, be compassionate and try and find a solution to the problem at hand, as opposed to waiting for the situation to spiral out of control and what was a molehill becomes a mountain that could have easily been resolved. If the situation is dealt with well, you can actually win that guest over.

THE GOLDEN QUESTIONS

When a customer comes to the reception desk and the first question they are asked is, “Are you celebrating any special occasion while you are here with us?” The customer feels as though they have hit the hospitality jackpot with their pick in hotel reservations. This simple question, gives hotel employees a plethora of very useful information.  1) How they can further engage the customer, 2) How can they create mind-blowing experiences for the customer to enjoy on their special day. 3) How they can create a better guest experience and in turn a better online review. 4) This simple question and the follow up action helps with customer retention so guests will definitely make future reservations. The most important thing at check out is to ask guests, “How was your stay with us?” Irate and dissatisfied customers just want to be appeased and made to feel as though their opinions really will be addressed.

CARE CARDS THE WAY TO GO

The invention of “Care Cards” although they might be an embarrassingly simple tool, they are extremely effective.  It’s a new take on the old hotel survey cards. Care cards are simple and straight to the point, avoiding all the hassle and fuss of numerous unneeded questions that need to be filled out when guests are rushing to check out.  More often than not hotels send customer feedback surveys days after guests have checked out via email. Where at this point, it’s a bit too late and the damage is already done, irate guests have already ranted and raved on every social media platform about the service they received.

These cards have only two simple questions on them.  1) Rate your stay from poor to excellent, 2) how can we improve.  By asking for guests suggestions shows that you value their opinions. To Guests that have scored you a poor rating, an apology should be immediately rendered. Depending on the severity of the complaint, the question should be asked to the guest, whether or not he or she would like to speak hotel management to remedy the situation. Hotel Management can ask the guest “What would you like us to do for you?“ apologize, hotel discounts, a free night stay etc. This would automatically turn what was a negative situation into a chance to harness some major positive publicity.

Here is the Care Card process and the recommended follow up actions.

For individuals focused on a career in the Hospitality Industry, the International Hotel School has just the right programme. With a balanced mix of Hospitality Operations as well as the Business Management knowledge and skills necessary in this dynamic and growing field. So unlock you potential and come take a look at what we have to offer in Hospitality Studies.

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