Customer Loyalty at Ritz Carlton Hotel - Essay Example

Loyalty at Ritz Carlton Hotel Generally, loyalty is the act of attracting the right s tobuy products in high quantities frequently and bringing of more customers to your premises as he feels being part of the industry. This is done by showing them that you care, keeping in touch and giving them better services than they can get elsewhere and even rewarding them for choosing your business.What does it mean to be a loyal customer at Ritz Carlton Hotel? According to Ritz Carlton, a loyal customer is one who shows an intention of coming back to the hotel and the customer`s willingness to behave in a manner as to suggest he is part of the hotel.

In his study, customer loyalty is associated will the kind of treated and services they receive. Customer loyalty is therefore seen with respect to how a customer responds to the products and services presented by the company (Lawfer 11).In Ritz Carlton Hotel, how is customer loyalty defined by the firm?In Ritz Carlton industry, customer loyalty means the creation of customer satisfaction through creation of culture where customer needs is given priority through provision of high quality of products and services and good personal services by the employees of the company.

He does this by making sure that the customer is made to feel valued by the company. However, as Andreassen and Lindestad state, customer loyalty is dependent on corporate image and the disconfirmation of expectations. Therefore, a company with good corporate image which puts the interests of its customers first is likely to win customer loyalty.What is the lifetime value ($ estimate) of a loyal customer in this industry?In Ritz Carlton, a loyal customer has a lifetime worth of $ 1 million.

According to Carflton, a loyal customer will try to sell a company to other customers luring them to it and that is why they are priced highly as opposed to a disloyal customer who will try to paint your company in a negative way.Whatever is done to encourage customer loyalty In Ritz Carlton`s hotel, customer satisfaction if given priority as the employees are empowered to use huge amounts of money as long as their motive is to satisfy their customers and make them happy. When a customer realizes that all her needs have been catered for in the hotel, their desire to come back for more service is boosted.

The management also hires only those employees who are able and knowledgeable in meeting customer demand. Customer needs are given priority through customer orientation as they are made to feel valued. The company retains its customers through provision of high quality products and services.What is currently done to build customer relationships in this industry?Ritz Carlton hotel builds customer relationships by ensuring that well trained and reputable employees are hired. The employees are trained to be customer focused and are required to understand customer needs through proper handling.

The employees are also given time to access and to engage in discussions on how to improve customer satisfaction. They are expected to provide warm welcome to guests, and giving them good services. When employees interact positively to assist the customers, they build cordial relationships with them and when they (customers) receive good services, they will remember these and tell others of how good the company is. What could have been done to build customer relationships in this industry?The industry should ensure that customer contact details are recorded for future correspondence.

This may help in retaining customer loyalty as the customer will tend to feel appreciated if they are personally contacted long after their last visit. The management of the hotel should also encourage employees to get to understand customers’ challenges as this will assist the hotel in solving the customer problem which is vital in ensuring that they remain loyal to the industry. This is so because the relationship between customer loyalty, satisfaction, profitability and customer retention is depended on customer relationship.

Work CitedAndreassen, Wallin and Lindestad, Bodil. “The Effect of Corporate Image in the Formation of Customer loyalty”. Journal of Service Research. 1998. Lawfer, Manzie. Why Customers Come Back: How to Create Lasting Customer Loyalty. 2004.McIlroy, Andrea and Barnett, Shirley. "Building customer relationships: do discount cards work?". Managing Service Quality. Vol. 10 Issue 6: pp.347 – 355. 2000.