After reading this chapter, you should be able to : Contrast the expectations of guests and staff.

Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:• Contrast the expectations of guests and staff.• Explain and apply the concept of Red Flags.• Identify and assess the contradictions behind the premise “the

guest is always right.”• Identify and apply the five steps to resolve guest issues

utilizing the G.U.E.S.T. method.• Identify the different types of problem guests and outline

strategies for handling these problems.• Explain the science of anger and apply specific strategies for

dealing with angry guests.• Provide an overview of psychological theories and relate them

to customer communications.

CHAPTER 3Problem Solving for Guest Service


What do People Really Want?

• At the root of it all, people need to be:– Heard, understood, and appreciated. – This is applicable to nearly every relationship and interaction.

• People need:– To be listened to.– To be made to feel special.

• People expect their host to:– Have their best interest at heart.– Be confident and competent.– Be believable in their statements and promises.– Give them what they ask for.– Surprise them, or at least the customers appreciate being

surprised.


Dealing with Customers

• Popular Advice:– Don’t punish employees with negative feedback from

the customers.– Eliminate the complaint department because

complaints should be part of everyone’s job.– Everyone should be able to, and be responsible for,

handling customer complaints. – There should be a system in place to train employees

on how to deal with customer issues.


Good Service Often Goes Unremembered

• It is an exceptional experience that is remembered: – Exceptionally good, or – Exceptionally bad.

• We forget mediocrity. • This leaves us with two options:– Wow the guest.– Seize the opportunity to fix it and make it right and

allow the customer to leave feeling special.


Service RecoveryG.U.E.S.T

• G.U.E.S.T. – An acronym used to remember how to handle

customer complaints or issues. G—GreetU—Understand; Listen, RepeatE—Empathize; ApologizeS—Suggest/SolveT—Track; Record/Document/Write up


Types of Customers

• Each customer is a bit different. • You will need to adjust to each:

1. Identify the type of customer you are dealing with. This may be done by recognizing familiar catchphrases.

2. Understand where the customer is coming from because you will need to understand the premise or motivation behind their type.

3. Use your strategy to find a resolution.


Types of Customers (cont’d)

• Level I: Requires Least Work– The tactics are relatively harmless traits of humanity, but can detract from

the customer service experience. – Be ready because these softballs can turn into strikes if you aren’t

prepared. • Level II—Requires Moderate Work

– Their tactics tend to be more coercive, with a goal of achieving more out of the situation.

– Boundaries are key to dealing with this group. Realize what you can give and what you cannot.

• Level III—Requires Substantial Work– Watch for changing of tactics and escalations of anger. – Separate these customers from others if they begin to cause a scene. – Stay focused, respond to the tactic, maintaining professionalism, and

successfully complete the transaction at hand.


Handling Angry Customers

• Difficult to immediately diffuse and resolve – No longer hearing, comprehending, or thinking with

great rationality. – Anger often has three phases:

1. Building2. Exploding3. Cooling

• It will take some time once they explode. • Don’t take it personally.• Mentally remove yourself from the situation.


Handling Angry Customers(cont’d)

• What Is the Primary Goal behind the Anger?– Fun: • They have power and actually enjoy anger as a hobby.

– Wear you down: • They achieve success through repetition.

– Bullies: • They desire power and often get their way by getting

angry.– Unexplained: • Something else bad happened in their life.

– Blame: • They don’t care who’s to blame.



When Dealing with Angry People:• Increase continuous eye contact.• Focus on the options, not the limitations.• Involve them if appropriate: How can we solve this?• Don’t take negative customer comments personally.• Mentally remove yourself from the situation.• Let them know when you are thinking or looking or

calling. Don’t just leave to “surprise them.” Instead, let them know that you are working on the situation.

• Pause to think and pause for emphasis.



• Try to keep your voice low and quiet.• Deal with the emotions first. Otherwise, logic won’t be

appreciated.• Get them out of view if possible.• Realize that they need to vent. • Use phrases like: What can I do to help you?• Think of ways to neutralize the situation?


Handling Personal Stress

• Psychological demands of customer service can be overwhelming.

• There are three categories: – Pre-stress– Occurrence– Post-stress

• By breaking stress into these categories, it can be evaluated and monitored more effectively.


Dealing with Other Cultures

• Technology and travel are increasing. • Majority of new customers come internationally. • Top priorities:– Safety– New experience– Comprehension of all that is occurring

• Then, consider these tips for delivering proper guest service to foreign travelers:– Communicate – Understand their cultures – Survey your clients – Get educated


Staff Expectations

• Make staff expectations clear.• As a manager, it is important to tell workers during:– Orientation – At reviews– Whenever else reinforcement is needed

• Personal care and attitude are also very important attributes.


Is the Guest Always Right?

• Should your answer always be yes? – Always saying yes does not have to imply total

compromise. – Your answer should be yes, but in a way in which you

can accommodate the customer’s needs. • Are there limits to what you can do? – Of course. • There are budget and legal restrictions. • Look for alternative win–wins, where you can say

yes while remaining within your limits.


Moments of Truth

• Moments of Truth – Approach to think about all the little things that go into

quality guest service.– Jan Carlzon popularized the phrase from his best-

selling book, – How the service encounter is made up of many

individual moments of truth. – Within one encounter, there are many points at which

quality guest service can be made or lost.


Watching for Red Flags

• Red Flags = small problems.• When just a few pop up, most customers are tolerant

because they are resistant to changing their behavior. • They don’t want to find another place to do business or

stop the transaction midstream. • Question to ask when evaluating service:– “Are they getting what they need and expect?” – Look for the signs. – Place yourself in their shoes, or try to see it from their

perspective.


Remembering Names

• Listen intently to the pronunciation.• Repeat it immediately and then at least a few more times

in the conversation.• Memorize their appearance—anything unique?• Relate it to something or someone that you know.


Psychological Theories

• Transactional Analysis– Psychiatrist Dr. Eric Berne first captured the idea. – Released a book in 1964 entitled Games People Play. – Devised levels of the closeness that encounters can

experience: withdrawn, ritual, pastimes, games, activities, and intimacy.

– Its application to the service industry revolutionized how we deal with customers.

– As a result, the field of customer service adapted many derivations of this science.

– Referred to anger as a racket, and may be self-righteous, adversarial, or even fun.


Psychological Theories(cont’d)

Transactional Analysis (cont’d)• There are three types of ego states:– Parent: People mimic their parents. Some shout, while others

nurture.– Adult: People are rational, informed, and free from

overwhelming emotion.– Child: People think, feel, and behave as they did when they were

children.• He theorized that people interact three different ways:– Reciprocal: Parent to Parent, Adult to Adult, Child to Child– Crossed: Parent to Child, Child to Adult– Covert: When messages have Parent and Child responses

combined.



• Temperaments – Meyers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) • Developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter

Isabel Briggs Meyers • Based on the theory of psychological types originally

outlined by Dr. Jung.• Used to: –Explain personalities and temperaments. –Explain why we do something or may react in a

certain way. –Understand and relate to others.



• Temperaments (cont’d) – It includes four dimensions, producing 16 personality

types.• How they view the outer world: Extroversion versus

Introversion• How they take in information: Sensing versus Intuition• How they make decisions: Thinking versus Feeling• How they structure things: Judging versus Perceiving



Temperaments (cont’d)– Keirsey Temperament Sorter (TSI)

• Produced by David Keirsey, • Correlates with the MBTI. • Four different temperament types are produced. • Serves as quick labels for understanding, communicating, and relating

to personalities. These are:– Artisans:

» Observant troubleshooters who want to make an impact.– Guardians:

» Responsible and dutiful organizers.– Idealists:

» Seek inner meaning, mediate, and use diplomacy.– Rationals:

» Use self-control and strategy.



Temperaments (cont’d)– Emotional Intelligence (EI)

• Popularized by Daniel Goleman • Developed in the past 20 years. • Claims that IQ does not tell the whole picture in relating to others

and being successful. • Uses four dimensions to assess an emotional quotient (EQ).

– Self-awareness: Knowing your emotions– Self-management: Controlling your emotions– Social awareness: Knowing others’ emotions– Relationship management: The ability to manage

interactions with others• Goleman claims that none of these skills are independently best. • Instead, a person should be proficient in all to be successful.


Discussion Questions

1. In every service situation, a customer has certain expectations. List and briefly describe these expectations.

2. Is the guest always right? Explain your argument and provide support for your answer.

3. Recall a service encounter in which you became angry. Apply it to the phases of anger and provide five tips for the service provider in dealing with the situation.

4. What is a red flag? How does it relate to a moment of truth?5. How does G.U.E.S.T. help a business to train for customer service?6. Customers have reasons for acting the way they do. Recall four of the

“types” listed in the chapter that apply to you and your personality.7. Explain the purpose of an anchor when remembering names.8. List three reasons why you would have to politely tell a guest, “No.”9. What should you do after a stressful guest-contact situation? List ways to

effectively handle the situation.10. Explain why mediocre service often goes unremembered.

After reading this chapter, you should be able to : Contrast the expectations of guests and staff.

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