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

• 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.

CHAPTER 1THE BASICS OF GUEST SERVICE


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 doesn’t 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 company’s 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 (cont’d)

• 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 customer’s expectations. • If service meets or surpasses customer’s

expectations, in any situation, it is said to be quality customer service.


Examples of Bad Service

• Staffing: – They are understaffed. – They aren’t paid enough. – They aren’t 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 isn’t their responsibility.– The boss isn’t present or doesn’t care.


Examples of Bad Service (cont’d)

• 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.


Examples of Bad Service (cont’d)

• Capacity/Customers: – There are too many customers. – They didn’t expect this many customers. – The customer is rude. – The customers are too demanding. – The customers don’t know what they want. – The customers don’t pay attention. – The customer doesn’t 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.

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

In the Guests’ Minds

• When they receive poor service:

– I don’t think it’s worth it. – I tried before and no one listened. – I am in a hurry. – I don’t want to make a scene. – I feel bad for the staff. – It isn’t the staff’s fault. – I don’t want to get anyone in

trouble.

– There seems to be no solution in sight.

– I’m afraid that they’ll mess with the food.

– I don’t think that it will make a difference.

– I don’t think anyone cares. – I just hate this place and I want to

leave.• You may not always know the reason why a customer doesn’t

complain.• While they won’t 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 guest’s name.– Anticipation and fulfillment of the guest’s needs. – Fond farewell. Give a warm good-bye and use the guest’s

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 other’s records.


Ages of Service in U.S. (cont’d)

• 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 big-

businesses, 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.

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

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 (cont’d)

• W. Edwards Deming (cont’d): – Deming Cycle, most commonly

referred to as the Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA) Cycle. • Four-step process for

implementing change, or, continuous improvement. • Useful for incremental or

breakthrough improvement. • Promotes the idea that a

business can always improve.

Plan

DoCheck

Act



• 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.



• 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.



• 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.



• 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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