Handling Guest Complaints in Front Office

Handling Guest Complaints in Front Office

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  HANDLING GUEST COMPLAINTS By ArpendraChauhan
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  What is acomplaint? “An expression of dissatisfaction made to an organization, related to its products or services, or the complaint handling process itself, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected”
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  GUEST COMPLAINT CYCLE 01 LISTEN 02 EMPATHISE 03 APOLOGISE 04 TAKE ACTION 05 FOLLOWUP
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  About this templateDO’S& DON’T WHILE HANDLING A COMPLAINT DO’S Be honest Be specific Listen carefully Always empathize with the guest Stay calm Promise & over deliver Show personal interest in the problem Take notes Set time to resolve the problem Monitor the progress Follow up Offer choices DON’T Don’t overpromise & under deliver Don’t make false promises Don’t argue with the guest Don’t try to prove a point Don’t play the blame game Don’t insult the guest Don’t exceed your authority Don’t let the other guest overhear What are the guidelines for handling guest complaints?
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  Let’s review someconcepts TIP #1 Even if your staff isn’t rude, do apologize and try to rectify the situation in a good manner. TIP #2 Keeping your guest informed about the current activities, especially when it is linked to them; will surely leave a good impact on the guest. TIP #3 When the guest isn’t satisfied with food order, ask your head chef to take the replacement order on priority, not keeping your guest waiting for the food. TIP #4 In case of foul smell, check on small things. For example, whether the room-fresheners are filled, dustbins are cleaned & many such little things. TIP #5 Staff behaviour complaints- Listen to the guest with utmost patience and ask for an apology on behalf of your hotel staff. TIP #6 Keep a note of things your competitors offer as complimentary to their guests & make sure you provide them for FREE too. FEW TIPS TO HANDLE GUEST COMPLAINTS
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  “Guest complaints aregifts from guests. Uphappy guests often do not complain but never come back to the hotel and take other 250 approx guest with them. If you get a complain, about 25 other guests had the same problem but say nothing. An unhappy guest will tell approx 10 people about the problem.
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  WHY DO GUESTCOMPLAINT ? Reason for guest complaints ◉Frustration ◉Recognition ◉Compensation ◉Genuine
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  NORMAL REACTION TOCOMPLAINTS ◉ Ignore complaints ◉ Defensiveness ◉ Anger ◉ Annoyance, time consuming, rectification costs ◉ Hindrance- wish they could just go away! ◉ Not believe some or all of what the customer was saying These reactions are as a result of “negative attribution”- blame is being attributed to us or our business. A complaint is an evidence that, in the customer’s view, we have not met their expectations.
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  CUSTOMER’S MANNER When customersare complaining they: Lack gracious social skills to communicate Nervous Harsh, one sided Emotional Lack understanding of commercial/ regulatory limitations Rude
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  TYPES OF GUESTCOMPLAINTS
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  MECHANICAL Complaints related to equipmentmalfunction. AC, lightening, electricity, room furnishing, vending machine, ice machine, door key, plumbing, TV etc. FO logbook & maintenance work orders to be used to reduce complaints. You can also split your content BEHAVIOURAL Impolite, unprofessional and indifferent behaviour of staff. Conflict starts when employee disagrees with the guest. Guest may feel insulted & less important Managers should listen & attend to the complaints & problems which helps maintain good relation with the guest. Types of Guest Complaints
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  SERVICE RELATED Long waitingtime for service, lack of assistance of luggage, dirty room, missed wake-up call, cold or ill prepared food or ignored request for additional services. These are more when hotel is operating at or near full occupancy. You can also split your content UNUSUAL No control over situation or impossible to deliver. Absence of swimming pool, lack of public transport, bad weather etc. Staff should be trained & prepared to handle these situations efficiently without spoiling the guest experience. Types of Guest Complaints
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  BENEFITS OF COMPLAINTS ◉Direct feedback from the customer- no survey cost. ◉ Readily available market research- what customers want! ◉ Opportunity to increase customer trust ◉ Opportunity to build long term relationships ◉ Guests will come again if they feel complaints are welcomed ◉ Opportunity to rectify service failure ◉ Opportunity of engaging customers ◉ Also helps improve people management skills ◉ Helps in developing situation handling skills ◉ Staff learns to handle different situations/ guests in different ways
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  AGGRESSIVE GUEST ◉Complaints readily ◉Oftenloud & detailed ◉Dont be aggresive in return ◉Guest wont respond well to excuses or reasons why the service was not satisfactory ◉Follow company policy ◉Offer solutions You can also split your content HIGH-PAYING GUEST ◉Expects the absolute best ◉Willing to pay as much ◉Complains in a reasonable manner ◉Listen respectfully & patiently ◉Ask questions for more details, if required ◉Follow company policy Types of Complaint Guests
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  RIP-OFF GUEST ◉Main motiveis to get discount & complimentary things ◉Not really interested in getting the problems resolved ◉Staff should remain objective ◉Use accurate data to back up the response ◉Adjustment should be within the range ◉Follow company policy You can also split your content CHRONIC COMPLAINER ◉Never satisfied ◉Feels there is always something wrong ◉Extreme patience is required ◉Listen carefully & never get angry ◉Sympathize, apologize & promise to resolve the problem ◉Follow company policy Types of Complaint Guests
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  THE QUIET GUEST ◉Doesnot complain generally ◉Most dangerous to business ◉Complain to others ◉Spoil brand name in market ◉Staff should be very smart to handle complaints ◉Should be able to turn around the feedback/ experience ◉Act appropriately to correct those problems You can also split your contentTypes of Complaint Guests
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  IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMERSERVICE •Guests may have been to other hotels •Maybe its their first visit & have high expectations •Gives positive impression on present & future customers •Allows repeat business •Customers feel they are the number one priority •Always be: Calm and helpful Understanding Tactful & discreet Empathetic
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  ◉ Only 4%dissatisfied guests complain. 96% leave without any communication. ◉Out of 96%, 91% will never return. ◉Unsatisfied guest will tell at least 8-10 people in his contact. ◉1 in 5 dissatisfied will tell 20 people about the issue. You can also split your content ◉7 out of 10 will come again if problem is resolved. ◉On an average, a satisfied customer will tell at least 5 people about the problem & how it was resolved. ◉Costs 6 times more to attract new customers than to retain the current ones. Benefits of Customer Recovery It takes 12 positive service incidents to make up for one negative.
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  THANK YOU!