Hotel Customer Service Policies

 Hotel Customer Service Policies

Introduction

The contemporary world is riddled with constant changes on methodologies for operation and management of businesses in a bid to drive profits, sales, revenues, and customer traffic. The latter is the core factor for the success of any business since regardless of a business’ capacity to provide unique and quality products, customer traffic will determine the business overall success. Consequently, companies have changed their modus operandi and strategies to integrate customer service as one of the prime drivers and pillars for the success of the business. According to a research carried out, it was identified that if a person was given quality customer service they would in effect tell an average of 9 or 10 people, but for poor customer service, this person would tell an average of at least 20 people (Yang, 2010, 33).

In the hotel industry, the integration of customer service policies has become an integral aspect in determining the modus operandi and direct care by employees. These policies are crafted to deal with all aspects of a customer’s needs such as accommodation, bookings, foods and beverages, as well as other amenities and facilities being offered by the hotel. In retrospect, major hotels have instigated strict policies that define code of conduct for employees when dealing with customers, and where performance outcomes are lacking, the hotels have provided intensive education and training programs for the employees. Feedback from customers is one strategies being used by the hotels to assess their quality of service and customer experience and make the necessary changes. For instance, the Britannia group of hotels in the UK has been ranked as one of the worst hotels in the UK for years running. Based on this feedback from hotel experts and customers, the hotel group has instigated measures aimed at changing their modus operandi and customer service policies to improve brand image and customer loyalty.

Reasons for Using Customer Service Policies

In the assessment of this issue, focus will be placed on the Marriott group of hotels. Their customer service polices are ingrained into the company’s core functionality. It focuses on issues related to quality service, fair user policy, affordability, legal representation, reservations, and privacy protection. This analogy is also represented by the Intercontinental Group of Hotels that employ almost similar policies, but with varying methodologies of their application. The assessment of customer service polices for the Marriott Group of hotels is important since it has a global presence and hence its service has to be aligned across all its branches globally in a manner that promotes a good brand equity, loyalty, and experience.

Cost Effectiveness
Poor customer service always results in increased complaints, refunds, and in some instances can result in lawsuits. Further, it could result in some employees being terminated, and the hotel having to begin the hiring and recruitment process that are expensive and time consuming (Steurer, Langer, Konrad, and Martinuzzi, 2005, 272). Therefore, by integrating a sound and effective customer service policy, the hotel can evade these extraneous costs and increase their revenue base.

Revenue and Profit Generation
Research shows that as long as a customer is given quality service, they are likely to pay at least 10% more. Further, it provides good customer reviews, experience, and loyalty. All these are paramount to ensuring that customers return to the same hotels every time and this maintains a constant stream of customers, revenues, and profits. During instances of economic recessions or off peak tourism, these hotels with quality customer service policies always have a constant stream of customers. The Marriott group of hotels has created global brand equity due to a constant provision of quality customer service over a long time span. This has ensured that the hotels have maintained a constant revenue and profit over the years.

Brand Equity and Loyalty
A good customer service policy is structured to ensure that customers are treated equitably, fairly, and with care. A constant delivery of such a system of quality products and service is important for creating strong brand equity (Garvare and Johansson, 2010, 738). This strategy has been used by Apple for creating high sales and profits for the company. According to global estimates, Apple is considered to have the strongest brand equity valued at $79 billion in 2013. Apple, like Marriott, have invested in market segmentation and creating customer service policies based on the needs of their select target customers. This creates loyalty and brand experience in the right target market.

Quality Work Environment

A quality work environment is essential in creating a happy and productive work force. This translates to better work output when dealing with customers since the employees are st