Affect Of The Employees On Customer Service

Managers have to be careful with who they hire in their business, as the employees are the face of their company. In the hospitality industry this is a major issue, as many of the jobs in this sector involve the employees interacting with the customer. This is where managers get to promote how good their customer service is in their business.        

       A way in which managers can deal with this issue is by having a strict interviewing policy. Many businesses already do this, however due to the current recession; managers have had to be very careful in how they choose their employees. As one of the problems businesses have is whether to hire cheap and unskilled workers for example students or hire skilled staff but at a higher cost. This may be a managerial issue, as managers need to think about both looking after their customers but also their business. As if they do not cut back on aspects in their business, then they will not be able to afford to keep the standards up which could affect the reputation of the businesses. On the other hand, if they do this by hiring students at a cheaper wage limit, they could affect their reputation as students might not be skilled enough and be able to deal with customers at the standard they require.

       However research from Nottingham’s Business School Centre for Leisure Retailing shows that “85% of employers thought students were reliable employees and 90% said they were quick to learn”, this disproves the theory above, and shows that using students for employment does have benefits and could help managers out with this issue. However having said this, the research also showed that “Only 4% of students are currently employed in hotels”. This may be because of the recession and managers having to cut back.

       Customer service is the one thing that can affect a whole business. A person’s view on something can easily be spread and affect other people judgment. This is an issue managers need to think about in the hospitality industry, as many of the sectors e.g. hotels, get their reputation from customer’s reviews and people commenting on their business.

Referencing

Bernadette McAndrew. (2010). Research reveals region's hospitality industry is failing to capitalise on student workforce. Available: http://www.eastmidlandstourism.com/?p=311. Last accessed 17th 

How technology influences customer service in the Hospitality Industry

Technology can be seen as an important aspect in improving customer service in the hospitality industry. This may be because technology and the hospitality industry are both growing and improving overtime, so this may make it easier for the hospitality industry to apply it to their businesses. However since the recession, the hospitality industry has taken a standstill, whereas technology is still improving. An issue managers may have with this is, is that if they can not afford to buy the new technology to improve their business than they need to find a way to keep their business going at an appropriate level. However technology could be seen as taking over the whole purpose of customer service. As in the hospitality industry you expect to be taken care of, however with new technology coming out such as self service equipment, are customers getting the same satisfaction as before?

       Technology improves customer service as it makes it easier from the employer to do their jobs. For example in pubs etc. just from having touch screen tills has made it easier for them to communicate and take orders from customers. Also it helps keeps records of all documents, for example some touch screen tills in restaurants allow you to print off receipt that tells you what the customers have ordered. These are issues that managers need to take into account, as by getting the appropriate technology can depend on how well your employees deal and serve the customers. For example if they had slow machines than this would affect the way the customers are being treated. As in with fast food restaurants, when they have a drive through, depending on how good their communication equipment is, depends on how quickly they can get the food out to them. However with services like this, the customer could end up being un-satisfied as Bob Sandelman, president of foodservice research firm Sandelman & Associates said “It can be very disconcerting to the consumer if there is a problem with the order, they either have to turn around and go back or be satisfied with what they got.”

       This is an issue that managers have to look into, as society is growing quickly and will be expecting more services out of the hospitality industry and technology will be one of the first things they look at, when seeing how well the customer service is.

Improving Customer Service In The Hospitality Industry

I recently read an article by Sara Hickman called “The Importance of Customer Service in Hospitality & Tourism” and in this article she stated 5 main points in which all businesses across the globe should have, to have good customer service, these are Growth, Loyalty, Rating, Reputation and Sales. These should be the same for any hospitality business, so why is everywhere different across countries. It could be because different places are brought up and taught differently, but in any industry everything should be run the same. This is why it’s important that managers are trained correctly and know how to make their business the best it can be. Managers can do this by looking at different places, one of the big aspects that people forget about are other businesses and looking to see what they have done to succeed in that department. However U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006-07 Career Guide to Industries) said that “Employers have difficulty finding workers who possess basic "soft skills," which are often a prerequisite for success in a customer service-oriented field” for example just the language many of their workers have, and finding training for them all. As a managerial issue that managers have to look at in the hospitality industry is providing a service for people from many different countries but this can be hard as with recent circumstances with the recession, they may not be able to afford to train their staff to the highest standard, and this is a big issue for managers as if they let their customer service slip because they can not afford to help their staff, it could be difficult to get their business back to where it was before. A way managers could sort out these managerial issues is by turning to technology to help; many businesses now use a system called IQware Global Property Management System. From looking at a news report by Island Inn Beach Resort on how they have many happy customers returning to their resort I saw how IQware has made their business much simpler. IQware delivers a full list of reports, which can be used to filter day-to-day operations to the hotel, making it easier for managers to manage their guests. This however can only support the hotel sector in the industry, which can be a negative for other sectors, as while this sector is moving up and improving their technology to help with their customer service, they are staying on the same level.

Referencing

http://www.doleta.gov/brg/indprof/Hospitality_profile.cfm

http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article49935Many_Happy_Returns.html

Sara Hickman. (2010). Importance of Customer Service in Hospitality & Tourism . Available: http://www.ehow.com/about_6623332_importance-customer-service-hospitality-tourism.html. Last accessed 1st November.

Customer Service in the Hospitality Industry

Customer service is an important aspect of the hospitality industry which managers have to learn the issues with it. As depending on how the customers are treated would depend on whether they come back, and managers need to look into the issues in how they can look after their customers. This could be a difficult aspect of the industry for managers to learn about and train their staff on because everyone has different expectations. Also a reputation can be broken very easily just by one bad review and this could harm a business, and managers would need to know how to deal with this. Another part of customer service managers need to look at is the people they hire as they are the ones who represent their business, and managers need to do a series of training courses with their staff so they are up to date with the customer service. However many businesses in the hospitality industry have started hiring students as they think it will be easier & cheaper to hire a number of students, but depending on what type of business you have should depend on whether it is ok to hire students. For example many hotels hire students to work in the functions side but when a customer goes to have a wedding or party, they might not want students serving them and students are not long term staff so might not learn about customer service strategies properly and this could also ruin the reputation of the business. One way in which managers could make sure their customers are treated right is by looking at their customers and using their initiative to see who is the main person in the group who would decided on where they eat, for instance if it was a family it would most likely be the mother who decided where they eat but the employees would also have to look after the main male of the group as they would be paying for the meal. They would also need to understand what type of business they are trying to promote, for instant a fine dining restaurant wouldn’t have the same customer service as a McDonalds.