| Recently,
in a conversation with the General Manager of a hotel, I was told
that the property
couldn’t
possibly need Consulting Services. After all, they managed to
maintain their "star/diamond" rating despite high
turnover, problems with Room Service, inconsistent maintenance, and
an assortment of other problems. He additionally pointed out that
his managers worked hard, did everything possible to correct any
mistakes, and that he had some measurement tools to check informally
how guests were feeling about their experiences. Many problems, he
noted, went unnoticed by guests anyway.
The
same General Manager agreed that some problems could be solved, but
that it would require a concerted effort.
I posed the question: "What would be the consequences of
solving these problems?" He provided quite a list: less
frustration among his
managers, fewer apologies to guests necessary, fewer complimentary
meals and rooms, better morale among his employees, better service,
and even lower costs.
This
type of conversation has taken place innumerable times over the past
several years.
A lot of managers seem to think that, somehow, stars and diamonds
are an end unto themselves, rather than a symbol of their
achievements. It is also perceived that informal training and
informal satisfaction sampling will suffice when ratings remain the
same.
We
see today, that gap still clearly exists between maintaining a given
standard of service, and delivering a superior service experience.
Quality and Standards is complete conformance to customer
requirements and expectations.
In
order to meet customer demands, our Consulting Services
ultimately involves gaining intelligence about what the customer
wants, “managing service delivery, and evaluating that delivery.
Tomorrow’s success depends largely upon embracing a comprehensive
approach to your product today.
By
Manfred
Schoebel
|
