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Addressing customer complaints
- 1. Addressing Customer Complaints inthe Hospitality Industry Kefalas Soteris, Ph.D Hospitality and Tourism Consultant
- 2. COMPONENTS OF STUDY Introduction WhoIs the Guest? Identifying the Guest? Guest’s Needs Factors Influencing Guest Expectations Guest Expectations and Service Complaint Situations Diversity of Modes Guests use to Register their Complaints Managing Cimplaint Situations Conclusion 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 2
- 3. Introduction Services in thehospitality industry are centered on the guest. Hence, being able to identify different kinds of guests and anticipate their needs is important to the management of efficient services related to hospitality. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 3
- 4. The Guest In thehospitality sector, the guest is the person for whom all the facilities and activities have been designed and carried out. The guest is the recipient of hospitality services and he/she also acts as the judge with respect to quality of service. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 4
- 5. Identifying the Guest Externalguests are outside the organization and consume the final benefit of the organization. – In any industry, there are a number of intermediate external guests, like distributors or the representatives of a producer. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 5
- 6. Identifying the Guest(Cont.) Internal guests are those who are inside the organization itself. They are the staff when they use certain services in other departments or sections within the same organization. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 6
- 7. Guest’s Needs According toJuran, there are three level of needs: – First level needs are those that drive the customers to buy a product or service. – Second level needs are those that realize the general motives into practical requirements. This stage converts the conceptual and theoretical needs to practical requirements. – Third level needs are those that are in the form of measurable services. At this stage, the needs of the guest are materialized into effective services or products that satisfy the guest’s motivations. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 7
- 8. Factors that InfluenceGuest Expectations Parasuraman et al. have identified four main factors that influence guest expectations: Word of mouth is the first factor that determines the expectations of the customer. This can be defined as what a guest hears from other guests. The second factor is the personal needs of the guest. These expectations arise as a result of situations and specific requirements. These requirements may vary according to the moral, physical or mental states of the guest. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 8
- 9. Factors that InfluenceGuest Expectations Previous experiences may also influence the expectations of the guest. The expectations of the guest function as external communication - like advertising. This factor provides a direct message from the organization to the guest. These messages could be related to the service or product quality, mode of service, service cost and others. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 9
- 10. Guest Expectations andService According to Lewison, guest expectations can be categorized into essential, expected and optional. Essential services are such services that are central to a hospitality business. Such services are the bare minimum that is required to sustain a hospitality business. Expected services have a direct correlation with guest expectations. These are services that guests expect a hospitality facility to render or provide and are in addition to the expected services furnished by a business. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 10
- 11. Guest Expectations andService The services that a business offers beyond the essential and expected services qualify as optional services. Optional services make a business more competitive and endow it with a reputation for uniqueness and ingenuity. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 11
- 12. Complaint Situations Singh classifiesconsumers as passives, irates, terrorists and activists: Passive complainers are people who seldom raise any complaints. They do not care if there are flaws in the service, they may not be familiar with the complaint procedure or they may have language or culture problems. Irate guests are those who may or may not complain to the company about the service failure, but will spread the service failure to others by negative word of mouth. Such guests have more tendencies to switch to other companies. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 12
- 13. Complaint Situations (cont.) Terroristsare complainers who spread the service failure through media and tend to invite other complainers through public media. Activists are the guests who complain to the third parties. They enjoy the confrontation either concurrently or subsequently. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 13
- 14. Diversity of ModesGuests use to Register their Complaints Registering a complaint at the time the discrepancy in service is experienced or observed. Writing a letter or using available digital media like telephone or email to register their complaints. Filing a legal suit or contact a consumer rights organization. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 14
- 15. Managing Complaint Situations Managerialconcepts like Six Sigma, Total Quality Management and Zero Defect have successfully been adopted by the hospitality industry. Questionnaires and comment forms give guests the opportunity to vent their grievances and facilitates a professional redressing of such anomalies. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 15
- 16. Managing Complaint Situations Extendingcompensation packages in the form of apologies, charge reduction, complementary services, etc. proportionate to the magnitude and gravity of the complaint submitted by a guest is an effective way of conveying a sense of commitment to an aggrieved guest. A courteous and decorous attitude of the guest care or front staff responsible for handling complaints further streamlines the overall process of service recovery. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 16
- 17. CONCLUSION In this modernera of consumer activism and media crusades, no service failure, especially in the hospitality industry, can be taken lightly. Barring major system failures, the resources lying at the disposal of a professionally managed service organization are usually ample to compensate for and take care of guest grievances. 02/08/2019 ASSESSING CUSTOMER COMPALINTS 17
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