CUSTOMER SERVICE IN HOTELS

According to (Ward 2014), customer service refers to a practice of providing people with a positive helpful experience before, during and after buying or utilizing the services. Continued revenue and success of hospitality is based on customer satisfaction.

Customers are looking for a memorable experience and unique service where it counts. Customers feel good when treated like they are important and ongly sales or revenue generators, so hotel operators need to deliver as promised to keep their customers happy,( Moutry 2014).

Alluding to customer service, Muller (2007) identified types of service as follows;

•          Low touch customer service

A customer is not given any assistant unless when he/she returned something then the service provider just take the item and give back the money. Service is usually provided by vending machines or self-service counters.

•         High touch customer service

High touch is characterized by high level of personal contact with customers, for example meeting and greeting.

•          Transparent customer service

Customers see exactly how things are working and even welcomed to manage things at the level of their preference, foristance in restaurant trolley kind of service.

•        Clueless Customer Service

In this type service providers are not trained ongly given scripts to refer to. It is common in call centers.

•         Evil customer service

The goal for the type of service is to trick customers into paying more or convince to something. Rather than doing what customers ask for, they bully them into what the company wants.

Customer service may seem easy from the surface but it requires certain skills that no one may have.

Hotels operators need to keep up with the new current communication methods, medias to be in contact or interact with customers so they get feedback of the service and should quickly act on those areas of improvements highlighted by customers. This will be vital also on new products, and on improvement updates, (Hotel cluster 2013).

The researcher recommend hotels to train all their employees on customer service and ensure that every employee has information about the hotel in their fingertips so they are able to provide service every time.

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES

Hotel Cluster Blog (2013) 8 emerging hospitality Industry trends in 2013 http://www.hotelcluster.com/blog/8-emerging-hospitality-industry-trends-in-2013/html.

Muller T. (2007).8 Types of customer service [Online]. Available at:http://blog.gestsatisfaction.com/2007/0214/8-types-o-customer-service/html. Accessed on 14 April 2014.

Moutry L. (2014) Customer service in Hospitality Industry: Demand Media [online].Available on:http://smallbusiness.chron.com/customer-satisfaction-hospitality-industry-15722.html.Accessed date 14 April 2014.

Ward S. (2014).Customer service [Online].Available at: http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/g/custserv.html.Canada.About.com.smallbusiness. Accessed date 14/14/201

CURRENT TRENDS IN HOSPITALITY

 

TIPS

 

Tips are form of thank you for service rendered. A tip is a sign of appreciation in a form of small amount of money or anything (Lynn 2013).

There are theories and myths about history of tips. According to Azar (2010) tipping originated in 1950s at England where tourists to private homes developed the habit of tipping hosts servants in exchange for services. The word tip originated in London, where commercial establishments employees put small bowls on tables with `To Insure Prompt Service` message on them and then abbreviated it to TIPS ( Lynn 2013).

Tipping customs differs from country to country per establishments. In Japan and Russia tipping by tourists or guests is often considered an insult (Caneva 2013).

Lynn (2013) identified tips problems which are;

·         Tips create classes of clients and discrimination.

·         Waiters neglect other customers and focus on regular tippers.

·         Tips encourage selfishness rather than team work.

·         Cash tips encourage tax cheats because that is also income.

According to Bly (2008), restaurants in America replaced tipping practice and added an optional service charge on bills, which will be shared by all employees in establishments.  The trip advisor (2014) outlined advantages of service charge as follows;

·         Service fee reduces diners bias and discrimination.

·         Eliminates unreported cash tips.

·         Helps when crediting or appraising servers.

·         The tip will be shared by all employees in establishments.

The researcher criticizes service charge system because it is ripping money from customers after paying for meals to motivate servers to do their work. She recommended that servers should be paid to market level. Organizations should find ways that will force servers to declare all their tips for taxing and leave tips to be customers decisions.

 

REFERENCES

Azar O.H. (2010). The History of Tipping - From Sixteenth-Century England to United States in the1910s [Online] Available at: http://ideas.repec.org/p/wpa/wuwpeh/0309001.html. Accessed on the 05/03/2014.

Bly L. (2008). The tipping point: Will service charges replace voluntary gratuities? [Online].Available at: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-08-25-tipping_x.html. Accessed on the 11/03/2014.

Caneva A. (2013). Let’s talk about gratuities in tourism. [Online] Available at: http://www.jobintourism.it/job/articolo_print.php?id_articoli=23343.Accessed on the 09/03/2014.

Lynn W. M. (2013). Race differences in tipping: UK, Cornell University of hotel administration.[Online].Available:http://www.hotels.schools.cornell.etiquette/chr/pdf/showpdf/chr/research/tools/lyntippingtoo/find.pdf : Accessed date 11/03/2014.

Trip Advisor (2014) United States Tipping and Etiquettes [Online] Available at: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g191-s606/United-States:Tipping.And.Etiquette.html. Accessed date: 10/03/2014.