Smart Service With A Smile To Maximise Guest Satisfaction In The Hospitality Industry. By: Dr. Kaviraj Khialani- Celebrity Master Chef.
/The hospitality industry as we all know is all about offering the very best of our product and service to our valued guests and clients who wish to experience our professional offering by being different and impressive in approach with continued dedication and commitment. It is important to note that first impression is the last impression is not always true in our industry but yes a perception once made or developed in the guests mind can affect the goodwill & reputation of our business in the market.
It is imperative to follow a few principles of quality service by all our departments across all verticals and available options where the guest needs to be at the centre point of attention at all times. Revenue and finance flows are very much dependant on the satisfaction levels of our guests be it walk ins- corporate or combination of them. Humility and Simplicity coupled with service ethics and values, empathy and empowerment among the team members, constant greed to improve ourself, valuing the feedback received by the guests and working on the same in order to improve the overall image of our brands and business in the market on the whole.
What are the factors to keep in mind when we wish to offer Smart & Quality Service with a Smile!!!
BEING YOUR BEST VERSION: it is important to note that that service in hospitality industry starts from here, being the best version of yourself will only happen if you are truly interested in doing what you are doing and it should be delivered with constant quality delivery and consistency to meet up the levels of expectations.
BASIC’S TO BE CLEAR: it has been found that a few team members in various departments are somehow not very well groomed and or prepared to face the real-life situations and to be able to acknowledge the guests’ requests, needs and that can lead to a little disappointment too from guest point of view. We need to ensure that all team members are well inducted into the team and are ablet to meet the levels of SOP which have been set.
COMMUNICATE WITH CLARITY: It is important that one is able to have an open mindset when speaking with guests and especially when it comes to communication being a barrier in some cases with foreigner guests etc. at times there are terms and concept, wordings which may not be known to everyone so keeping the conversation viable and understandable will be important. Training of the staff on a regular basis on guest interactions can be beneficial.
KNOW YOUR PRODUCT: there are times when a guest has interacted with a particular staff in the hotel say for example at the reception desk and in regards to a room availability or so and the reply given is that I will divert you to my colleague and there too he gets a pass on treatment to the next person this can be kind of trouble shooting and can call for unexpected reactions from his side and can cause a commotion and create a scene at the front desk for no reason.
TEAMWORK WORKS.SO LETS DO IT: A team that works together, comes together, stays together achieves together. A number of theories and planning, training and motivation goes into getting a team to come together to achieve common organisational goals.at times there are team members who do not perform due to an introvert personality and prefer to let someone else do it. But it would be advisable to ensure that members of the team are on the same page and are guided.
COMPETE WITH COMPATIBILITY: Today’s guests and travellers are in need of a little beyond just accommodation, food, spa and the health clubs etc. they are also looking for smart and welcoming staff at all levels who can hold a good conversation and be able to guide and support with information and facts as needed especially by foreign guests. we all know that there is utmost competition in our industry and a little error here and there can lead to a loss of revenue and image.
TRY TO BE ONE STEP AHEAD: Being a little impromptu always helps to think a little ahead of time and being able to use our intuition and thought process we can mesmerise the guest service experience to level next.it has been found that people who are able to forecast and visualise affirmations and positive thoughts are able to be on a better graphs when it comes to performance level scales and appraisal formalities as every employer or boss would like to see or know how and what extra has the staff done for me and my brand.
DO NOT GET INTO POLITICAL DRAMA: Where there are people there ought to be some kind of situational goof ups and errors, clashes and or jealousy too be it any field, industry or work area. Human nature is such that it needs appreciation for all the good done or else the tape recorder in the mind starts recalling all of the past and leads to unwanted situations and emotional imbalance. It is better to keep your mind with your work and focus on the outcomes expected by the hotel and the boss. It is important not to get involved in staff issues, avoid being a leader and lead any kind of argument or situation. Being yourself is the wisest and best way to avoid conflicts.
SELF DEVELOPMENT & SELF ESTEEM: This industry having various verticals attached to it from hotels to restaurants, tourism and airlines, retail and corporate etc is always looking for smart candidates with good communication skills and pleasing personalities to be hired and added to the company’s task force in order to add value and get their expertise used in getting business and betterment of the organisation on the whole. Therefore, one needs to be little careful about the self-outlook, grooming, being dressed to impress, being able to gel well with the team.
HAVING A FUTURISTIC THINKING: the hospitality industry on the whole is a great one to be a part of. It calls for a vision and mission which can be customer friendly, open to discussion, practical to explore, accepting change, adaptation to diversities, having a passion towards service quality to name a few. At the same time the staff and team members should also look at planning your own career as time flies. It is possible to achieve goals and ambitions pretty easily as well by just controlling the mind and the karmic gestations.
Conclusion: Hospitality 2k24 is a new era of changes, new envisions as we are actively working on viksit bharat and a positive hope towards making our bharat one of the top destinations in the world for tourists to come down explore our country and read, study, visit various parts and gather information, try out the cuisines, experience the cultural heritage of our country beyond just accommodation but also spirituality.
