Service Recovery in Hotel Industry - Coursework Example

Service recovery in hotel industry Introduction Simons, J. V. s “Service recovery refers to steps that are intended to identify and correct service failures or quality problems” (p. 13). Hotel setup is cosmopolitan in nature. There are different types of customers coming from different countries, cultures and economic and social background. Understanding the status of the customers is also very important as it is related to future business with the person as well as his associates or the institution to which he or she belongs. Irrespective of the care and attention given to the level of service, failures do happen occasionally and the causes could be internal or external. Simply, the service may not be up to the level of expectation of the customers. The management needs to strive constantly to reorient their strategies and train their employees in the light of the experience gained and turn these service failures into opportunities by making the customers to understand the best intention of the management by solving the issues promptly to the customers’ satisfaction. The dependability and sincerity of the management is ensured in the process and the customers are assured of quality service implicitly. 2. Customer profile The customers are from different countries. The cultural and religious backgrounds vary from customer to customer. The languages they speak or the customs they follow may act as a barrier in providing service due to lack of effective communication. The purpose of their visit could be official, business or tourism and the duration of the stay vary accordingly. Their requirements in respect of transportation, communication and arrangements for accommodation outside the city could be effectively looked after only when the employees are confident on their understanding. When the customer is status conscious, his ego needs to be satisfied. Their patronage could be important based on the business opportunities from the companies or institutions which are under their control. Therefore, service failure could directly affect the business, if it is not rectified to the satisfaction of such customers. David, S. feels, ‘‘service climate and employee identification as vital considerations for turnaround success in the hospitality industry.’ 3. Customer dissatisfaction The normal likes, dislikes and preferences of the customers based on their customs could be perceived as peculiar under different circumstances, but it should not arouse curiosity. The dissatisfaction with the service by different types of customers varies differently. Daunt, K. K. & Harris, L. C. state that the term disaffection with service to refer to customers’ negative cognitive emotive evaluations of a service provision and it differs from perceptions of employee service in that the evaluation is reflective of the service outlet at as whole rather than an individual employee’s performance. (p.136) Satisfaction or dissatisfaction is the perception of the customers about the service, and most of the times the treatment and courtesy extended to the customers play an important role in formulating their perception which might be favourable or unfavourable to the business depending upon the fairness in treatment or level of courtesy extended in providing services. 4. Behavior of the customers Customer behavior is largely dictated by dissatisfaction with the services or service failure. “Customer dissatisfaction denotes negative disconfirmation of expectations pertaining to service received” (Oliver). Sometimes, it may result into misbehaviour as well, especially when the customers feel that the treatment meted out to them is unfair, not to their liking or not up to their status. For instance, the role that room temperature, noise levels, and cleanliness play in ‘triggering’ incidents of customer rage (Grove et al). The experienced, well trained and intelligent employees would be in a position to deal with such situations effectively. Understanding the concept of Social identity theory is important in service recovery. Social Identity Theory gives importance to the ‘sense of belonging’ of the persons to a particular social group. “SIT claims the social categories in which one belongs are an important part of ones self-concept.” (Scott, C. R.).  Affiliation of a particular group to a particular place of preference is very common. Therefore, antagonizing an influential member of a group may considerably affect the business. Satisfaction of the customers may lead to word-of-mouth recommendation to others, as the existing customers become ‘carriers of goodwill’. Therefore, it is in this backdrop, the importance and the need for service recovery should be viewed. 5. Service recovery Simons, J. V. states “Service recovery refers to steps that are intended to identify and correct service failures or quality problems” (p. 13). Service failures may occur in a hotel setup on account of failure of equipments such as air-conditioners, water heater, television or others. It may be caused due to miscommunication between the employee and the customer or between the employee and the management. The areas of service failures may be relating to room service, restaurant, gym, spa, hotel booking, quality, delay in service and attitude of the employees and failures are caused by so many other factors. Miscommunication between the employees and outside agencies such as travel agents, taxi services or tour operators may also result into incidents which are unpleasant to the customers. Patience, tact and care on the part of the employees in understanding the needs of the customers are very important, “Since the cost of attracting new customers is higher than the cost of retaining the existing ones, in order to be successful managers must concentrate on retaining existing customers implementing effective policies of customer satisfaction and loyalty. This is especially true in the hotel industry”. (Dominici, G. & Guzzo, R. p. 3) We can imagine a situation where air-conditioner does not work properly. For the customers from Nordic countries tropical climate would be very uncomfortable and may even be harmful to their health. Especially, the children and elderly people would be put into more inconvenience. If the customers in such a situation are provided with another room immediately on receipt of complaint, they will appreciate the attitude of the management and their concern for the comfort of the customers. This will result into enhanced level of satisfaction in the face of service failure. Here, the service failure is converted into an opportunity to impress the customers about the level of service through service recovery. Depending upon the social group to which they belong, it sends a strong signal to this group about the level of service that could be expected from the establishment. How the people are regarded, respected and treated in the face of abnormal situations is very important as it creates a bond between the establishment and its customers. “IMMEDIATE action is necessary to make a service recovery. Don’t make a customer wait for good service. Get whatever it is they need to them immediately. Overnight service if it’s necessary. That’s recovery. REMEMBER: Telephone Doctor’s motto: IT SHOULD NEVER TAKE 2 PEOPLE TO GIVE GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE.” (Friedman, N.) Making the frustrated customer as a friend makes an excellent business sense, and the relationship becomes enduring. The personal relationships developed in the process is useful for the development of the business, say, by way of new customers through the existing customers, use of conference halls for business purposes, use of the hotels in the same management in other cities by the existing customers. Increased customer loyalty to business is important for the long term growth of the business. If the stay in hotel enhances the identity value of the customer in his social group through courtesy extended or treatment given, it will have an impact on the group over a period of time and influence them to become the customers. The following table (Table 3, p.120) shows the service failure details under various heads, as per the research conducted in five luxury hotels around the United States. Service Failure Details Reported Problem f % Management 176 31.8 Front Office Employee 252 45.6 Food & Beverage Employee 15 2.7 Housekeeping 14 2.5 Missing 96 17.4 Type of Problem Communication 66 11.9 Quality Control 153 27.7 Service 207 37.4 Technical 70 12.7 Missing 57 10.3 Area Responsible for Problem Check-In/Check-Out 141 25.5 Grounds/Parking 48 8.7 Housekeeping 133 24.1 Personnel 114 20.6 Restaurant 53 9.6 Missing 64 11.6 (Riscinto-Kozub, K. A.) It could be observed from the table that service failure is caused due to several factors in various areas. Service level and quality of service have been the primary reasons and mostly the management and front office employees have been responsible for the failures. According to Kuenzel, S. & Katsaris, N. “service recovery is a valuable marketing tool which constitutes a second chance for the hotel to satisfy the customer.” (p.14) It is also important that service recovery is not limited to the complaints received from the customers and the actions initiated there on. There are many complaints fail to materialize on account of lack of time to the customers. The status of the customers prevent them from making complaints, because either the complaint could be trivial or making it as an issue will only damage their reputation. In many cases, the customers chose to ignore the issue, because raising a formal complaint makes the concerned employees to bear the brunt from the management, which they feel is not worth. Nevertheless, service recovery needs to extend to those cases where complaints have not been lodged by the customers. 6. Conclusion Keeping information about the likes, dislikes and preferences of the customers, at least who visits the hotel regularly is very important. The habits of the people hardly undergo any change. Retaining the existing customers through service recovery at the time of adversity enhances the management or the employees’ rapport with the customers. Accepting complete responsibility of service failure without argument lead to a congenial environment, where the process of service recovery would be faster to the satisfaction of the customers. It is very important to note that negative perceptions may cause serious damage to the business than the positive perception’s effect on business. Taking precautions anticipating service failures would sharpen the skills of the employees at the time of crisis to put the contingent plans in place without any loss of time. Also, evolving suitable strategies, continuously providing training to the employees covering various aspects of service recovery and improving communication at all levels will enhance the effectiveness of the management policies. 7. References Daunt, K. K. & Harris, L. C. “Exploring the forms of dysfunctional customer behaviour: A study of differences in services cape and customer disaffection with service”, Journal of Marketing Management, 28, (1–2), 129–153. David, S. “Hospitality industry turnarounds: An examination of service climate and employee identification in the hotel industry”, The University of Queensland. Retrieved on November, 2, 2011, from http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158065    Dominici, G. & Gusto, R. “Customer Satisfaction in the Hotel Industry: A Case Study from Sicily”, International Journal of Marketing Studies, November 2010. Vole: 2 Issue: 2. Retrieved on November, 2, 2011, from http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijms/article/view/8103/6143 Friedman, N. “Seven Steps to Service Recovery”, Telephone Doctor. Retrieved on November 3, 2011, from http://www.telephonedoctor.com/live-training/keynote-breakout-presentations/7-steps-to-service-recovery/ Grove, S.J., Fisk, R.P., & John, J. “Surviving in the age of rage”. Marketing Management, 13(2), 41–46. Kuenzel, S. & Katsaris, N. “A Critical Analysis of Service Recovery Processes in the Hotel Industry”, TMC Academic Journal, 2009, 4(1):14-24. Oliver, R.L. “A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction”. Journal of Marketing, 17, 460–469. Riscinto-Kozub, K. A. “THE EFFECTS OF SERVICE RECOVERY SATISFACTION ON CUSTOMER LOYALTY AND FUTURE BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY IN THE LUXURY HOTEL INDUSTRY.”, Auburn University, Retrieved on November 3, 2011, from http://etd.auburn.edu/etd/bitstream/handle/10415/11/Riscinto-kozub_Kristen_19.pdf Scott, C. R. “Communication and Social Identity Theory: existing and potential connections in organizational identification research”. High Beam Research, Retrieved on November, 2, 2011, from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-165575209.html Simon, J. V. “Reliability-based analysis of service recovery”. The International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 21(1), 11-31. Read More