intro guest relation

7/27/2019 Intro Guest Relation

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GUEST RELATIONS IN THETOURISM AND HOSPITALITY

INDUSTRY

PREPARED BY:

MS. RANGIE OMEGA


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GUEST RELATIONS IN THE TOURISM

AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

LEARNING OBJECTIVESUnderstand guest service in the tourism and

hospitality industry;

define what guest relation is;

know the nature of guest relation; and

discuss guest relation skills.


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Definition of Guest Relations

Guest relations in the perspective of thehospitality industry, can be defined as a series of

activities designed to enhance the level of

customer orguest satisfaction

-an act that result n the realization or solicitation of a positiveexperience derived from the acquisition of a product or

services, the ultimate goal is to meet if not to exceed guests'

expectations.

Customer relations is a field of specialization.

Many may claim that they are experts in this fieldbut then again, no one may claim that one

knows


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everythings about customer relations.in an everchanging of customer,based on taste,wants and

needs,one can only be assured of the fact that

there is always something new around the

corner. the trick is to know how to keep up.


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NATURE OF GUEST RELATIONS

From the guests point of view, this is what owed to them,

degrees and variations may exist specially in each

individuals guests perspective on what is of value to

them.

From the hospitality professionals' point of view, we

simply want to turn a profit without losing an arm or a

leg. Their movements are limited by the size of what they

value most.

In layman's terms, the grid below simplifies what eachside wants and solution each may or may not be willing

to take.


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YOU GUESTWIN = LOSE

LOSE = WINLOSE = LOSE

WIN = WIN


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In aYOU WIN and GUEST LOSE situation,should you end up winning an argument with a

guest, you may have delightedly shown your

point to the guest, who scurries back to a corner

defeated. Oh, sure the guest deserves it, after all, the

guest lied and wasn't truthful to you, so you

should really stick it to them, where it hurts.


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Let's make it simple, guests lose, guest get badexperience from their stay ( bad being relativelyonly to the guests point of view) which in turn theguests tell other people what you made themexperience.

these people tell other people and before youknow it, it becomes a full blown pandemic, withyour property on the receiving bad end, ofcourse this may not always be the outcome but it

could be.


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There are guests and there are GUESTS, mostare fair but some may be quite unfair, literally.

A guest for instance gets a check for itemsmissing from the mini-bar and guest disputesand refuse to pay for its entirety. This isdilemma. How can you col lect f rom aperson who does no t want to pay?

Some options come to mind such as, let's insist

that the items were in the mini-bar when guestchecked in and now they are not thereanymore when the guest checked out.


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This is rather very naive but in case you mighthave forgotten the guest just disputed theamount stating in fact that

"NO, I DID NOT TAKE ANYTHING FROM THEMINI-BAR?"

What do you do?

-Blacklist the guy or better yet, call the police toseal with him. Questions come to mind such as, isthe lodging property willing to write off the charge?

If the amount is negligible, then perhaps it ispossible, but what if you are dealing with a verylarge sum?


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If you, the hospitality professional should lose,the question is how much value did you win?

If you appear to have lost, how much value Did

you really part with in favor of the guest?

Despite the benefits, many companies are stillnot fully exercising the use of these tools and

services to align marketing, sales and service to

best serve the BIGGER PICTURE.


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If YOU like to win, you may get the upper handon the situation by convincing the guest, on the

perception of having a deal, but in most realities

this may not be the case.

Reality check on this example;Ever notice why mini-bar items are so darn right

expensive, some properties have what they call

a 300% policy, the goal of which is to

overcharge a can of soft drink which costs

around PHP 25.00 to PHP 100.00 each. Why?


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Let's do the math, guest check's out, mini-barcharge is PHP 400.00 for FOUR (04) cans of

soft drink, guest disputes the charge stating that

they only took two (02) cans and not FOUR (04).

Receptionist agrees immediately without battingan eyelash to write off PHP 200.00 or TWO ( 02)

cans of soft-drink from the guest's bill.


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Now how did that work for property?

Well, basically a can of your favourite soft drinkhere only cost PHP 25.00, with the PHP 200.00payment received from the guest basically

covered the overall cost of FOUR (04) cans ofsoft drink.In effect still you make a profit of PHP100.00.

The company did not lose anything and as a

plus gained the undying gratitude of a guestgetting what they perceived to be a fifty(50%)percent discount, at the very least everyonewalked away happy, even if it is only skin deep.


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GUEST RELATION SKILLS

In the lodging industry, it safe to say that ourguests pay for our salary; therefore we must also

anticipate their needs and provide for them.

Guest expect one or either of the ff:

1. TEAMWORKis the strength and backbone of any

organization, the seamless interaction, and

singular focus of its team member will be the

pathway to success, believe in your people and

make your people believe in themselves.


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2. Job Knowledge and Consistency

This runs on the assumption that more oftenthan people care to admit, some areas ordepartments in lodging properties often on morethan one does not know what the other is doing.

Simply placed in a perspective, the right handdoes not know what left hand is doing.

by improving methods in communication ad

policies which govern process and movementsof service.


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A person cannot claim to know everything! When posed

with a situation that solicit a response which you have no

knowledge of, the answer is just secondary, but the more

important question factor is how does one answer.

DID YOU GIVE YOUR GUEST A BRICK WALL OR A

CHOICE?

Simply saying ' Idon't know" or giving a blank stare will

not do immaculate things for your property's image. This

might come as a surprise for you but guests will

appreciate honest straight to the point answer, more so,

even if you didn't know the answer to their query, simplyreply " I do not have that information with me right now

but I can get it for you."


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Remember, a positive aspect of yourpersonality is that it is always interactive,proactive and reciprocative.

Customer look to Front line personnel for

inquiries that require answers, only to getnone. The Objective here is not to ensurethat as Front Line Personnel one mustknow everything, well, if not-everything atthe very least one must know how toacquire information for its implementation.


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The greatest sin in customer service is not focusedon the knowledge of your product only but alsothe shortsightedness in saying ' no" orI don'tknow" to your customers.

In the hospitality industry a wide array ofknowledge is needed to keep up with the needsof customers.

This knowledge will be a repository of formation oneverything that may concern customer serviceand their needs easily accessible to both.


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A singular mind-set and knowledge basewill empower staff members in doing theirjobs without losing sight of anorganizations common goal. This may not

only be limited to but include the ff:


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1. Operational policy and product knowledge,these are guidelines and mechanics on how thecompany works, usually established through acomprehensive training program. How CANFRONT LINE PERSONNEL SELL PRODUCTS

AND SERVICES WHEN THEY DO NOT EVENKNOW WHAT IT IS THEY ARE SELLING?

2. Market Segments, in as much operational policyand product knowledge go to the top of the list,knowing which product to sell and who to sell to

is equally important. One cannot sell somethingto a person who does not need it or cannotafford it.


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3. Guest expect to have their inquiries answeredpromptly & expeditiously. In fairness, it does notmean that you have to be a know-it- all. Plainlyspeaking, you simply do not know everything,however, your behavior between your interaction

and your guest can be a factor when it comes toaddressing your guest needs.

4. Customer like to be in control of things or atleast have the perception of control. A companymay establish empowerment to its customers by

creating interactive measure that allow thecompany to hear our listen to what the customerneeds through feedback.


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5.Courtesy and empathy are feather on yourpersonality cap, an example to the testament ofa positive, proactive, interactive and reciprocalpersonality.

The goal here is to capture the customer'sperceptive, concerning their needs, how doesone sell something? Find out what that customerneeds and fill in that need.

There is no way to deliver exceptional customerexperience if we do not know what ourcustomers are thinking.


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7.What happens if there is no positive ending to

this interaction?

An escalation workflow mechanism must be in

place to escalate the problem to a person in

authority which can address the problem, ratherthan disappoint that customer because of that

first contact of your inability to address their

problem. To clarify, a second interaction with a

higher authority regulates the capabilities of thefont line as escalation also translates to failure

on their part to address the issue effectively.


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8.Empowering employees is geared in improving

the customer's service.

These are just by products of what really is the

hospitality industry's main products. We are in

the business of selling experiences.


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9.Everyone wants respect; and believe it or notmost of you may demand it, but only a few ofyou ever compromise in giving it away or free.Courtesy translates to respect.

Walk for a few steps in your guest shoes, to getthat feel of things on what they may really need.

10. the approachability of your organization, theease in which your guest are able to reach youand reap the benefits which you can providethem is what sets the tone of a positive guestencounter.


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LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

- consider this scenario; a customer/guestcalls your customer hot-line and he gets apackaged voice prompt that runs him through agauntlet of questions with a lot of selections, i.epress one for english,press to for taglish,andeventually, after all that pressing and listening,provided that he did not make a mistake in whichbutton to push.

Service is a product; you cannot sell a product ifyou can't get it to your customer.


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Know How to Handle Complaints

We would like to think that hospitality

professional are like plumbers fixing leaks, and

the first rule in fixing a leak is to find out first

where the source of the leak is coming.

According to Michael L. Kasavana,Ph.D. andRichard M. Brooks,CHA, in their book, Managing

front office operations, theystated that guest

complaints can be categorically separated into

four points of origin or categories.


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Knowing where each(leak) comes from will

boost your effectiveness in dealing with such

issues.

1.Mechanical

2.Attitude

3.Service

4.Unusual


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Mechanical

Complaints that fall under this category relate tohardware equipment that either breaks downor malfunctions translating to complaints.

these may range from electricalappliances,machinery, plumbing,environmental controls and so on.

For Example;

if the air-condition in a room is failing, you would

think of changing the air-conditioning unit if itis movable(not the case in centralized air-conditioning); However,you must first considerthe convenience and inconvenience.


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Such an endeavor will bring to your guest,elements of time, Considerations on, how longwill it take to replace, when did the breakdownoccur (in the middle of the night while the guestis sleeping?) or will you just simply change the

room for the guests?

ATTITUDE

- among all complaints, attitude is one of thehardest to diffuse as this mainly deals with theperson or staff interacting with your Customer or


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Guest, nevertheless, this does not diminish yourorganizations liability in the process.

guest usually take attitudinal complaintspersonally, especially if they feel slighted orinsulted by the behavior that was shown ordirected at them.

Even if the case may be an indirect form ofcontact such as a guest overhearing staffconversations, depending on the topic the staffmembers are discussing, may constituteattitudinal complaints.


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As the case may be, it is a complaint which

cannot be replaced but only compensated

SERVICE

Service is a product but unlike for example a

beverage which does not agree with a guests'

taste, it cannot be returned.

FOR EXAMPLE: A guest goes to your lodging property, uses the

main door, but unfortunately the doorman


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forgets to open the door for him,needles to sayhe doesn't even greet the guest.

you simply cannot tell the guest to please go outagain,so that the doorman can open the doorand greet him properly.that would certainly beridiculous.

in this scenario, a failure in service can only beaddressed by making up with it by either notrepeating the incident again or making it up tothe guest by giving a form of pacifier orcompensation. Ironically lodging property moreoften generates more service related complaints


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as its occupancy goes up and the limits of itscurrent standing manpower is tested to itslimitations.

THE UNUSUAL COMPLAINT

Guest may complain about a lot of thingsand some of them may include awkward if notunusual situations that may completely surpriseor at the very least may sound new. unusualcomplaints are usually nothing fancy but aremostly characterized by the simple fact that thelodging property simply cannot do anything


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about it let alone control such a situation. Youwould often receive a complaint concerning theweather for instance, a guest is upset about therain. It is not that you have a direct line to God,that one could ask him to hold off the downpour

until the guest finishes having breakfast alfresco.

as a Front Office Manager, you have had yourfair share of complaints concerning of how a

room has been laid out or constructed, oneparticular guest even complained about thedirection of the bed.


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and television set, that it was bad Fung sui that

they were placed facing eachother,nonetheless,your guest still expects you

to react and solve these problems(needs)

expeditiously if not prudently but the very least

that you can do in resolving it is to just LISTEN. believe it or not, some guest with unusual

complaints only need to be heard, their

concerns taken seriously and not fall on deaf

ears.


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This is most effective by practicing feedbackmanagement at the point of interaction. Whatcustomer hate is having to wait for resultsespecially id it is concerning a complaint about alodging property's product service.

6. Implementation of real-time feedbackmechanism will allow your company to delivermuch needed action to your customers concern.Realization in the completion or addressing of

guest concerns must be focused at theconclusion of every significant interaction, and tohostellers. This is a defining moment of truth.

intro guest relation

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