Hospitality Operations Analysis Ch 05: Service Management Assessment Dr. Edward A. Merritt The Collins Endowed Chair of Management California State University (Cal Poly Pomona)

Review The following slides provide a review of what is due in Part I

The Procedural Dimensions The technical systems involved Timeliness Incremental flow Anticipation Communication Customer feedback Accommodation Organization & supervision

The Personal Dimensions Relating to customers as people Attitude: Body language Attitude: Voice tone Tact Naming names Attentiveness Guidance Selling skills Gracious Problem Solving

Ranking Service Priorities Not all components are equal Use the 15 components listed on the previous two slides as a guide Emphasis will depend on operation Do not ignore any components Rank from 1-15 (with 1 most important element)

Moving to Part II The following slides explain the Service Management Assessment (SMAS) critical analysis The following definitions and benchmarks can be found in the syllabus (about page 7) and in the text beginning on page 192

Service Management Assessment 10 Elements Quality Customer Service Org Climate Service standards Jobs & hiring Training Customer feedback Response to customers Provider feedback Recognition & rewards Continuous quality improvement

1. Quality Customer Service Values Definition: The goal of the organization is to give the highest quality customer service Benchmark: All employees and management are responsible for providing quality service Actual: The organization is very good at “talking the talk,” but not good at implementing those values 2 Strengths (individual instances) 2 Weaknesses (individual instances)

2. Org Climate and Leadership Definition: Leadership and relationships between management and service providers are very important. Everyone treats each other with respect Benchmark: The work environment is enjoyable, and service providers feel they have an impact on work guidelines and practices Actual: Leadership is poor at best. Servers have no impact over procedures because the upper management dictates

3. Quality Service Standards Definition: Customer-service standards are written down in a clear and concise manner, and must be strictly followed Benchmark: The standards are objective and are communicated to everyone Actual: The hotel does have clear and concise written standards. However, there are too many rules and policies

4. Jobs and Hiring Definition: The hiring and screening of potential candidates is a detailed and written process Benchmark: Candidates must be experienced in providing excellent customer service, and they will be thoroughly examined. Actual: The resort’s job descriptions are detailed, but are outdated because they come from corporate. The hiring market is tight and the resort is not able to meet the high standards (of experienced workers)

5. Training Definition: Training new employees in how to deliver excellent customer service is structured and detailed Benchmark: The training materials and program are comprehensive and organized. Employees are evaluated during training and must reach certain levels of expectations before they go live Actual: The hotel has thorough training procedures. For example, the GSA program is seven days, which includes service classes. GSAs also go through rotations with other departments

6. Customer Feedback Definition: Customer Feedback is obtained in different ways, including customer surveys, secret shoppers, Internet websites, and personal contact with guests Benchmark: Managers do frequent “table touches” during guests’ dining experiences in order to obtain feedback. Secret shoppers come out about once a month Actual: Managers do not do table touches due to being too busy. In the last two years, the company has done only one customer survey

7. Response to Customers Definition: Guest problems are dealt with in a timely and considerate manner Benchmark: Guests are able to easily locate a someone to solve their problems Actual: If a guest has a complaint about their food, the server can ask them if they would like a different item or a new item, etc. If a guest has a service complaint, the guest will often ask to see a manager

8. Service Provider Feedback Definition: Feedback is given to employees in daily affirmations and regular performance appraisals Benchmark: Management regularly lets the service providers know how they are doing in regard to production Actual: A manager is required to give written performance evaluations every six months. In pre-shift meetings, management gave the latest overall performance results of each department using charts

9. Recognition and Rewards Definition: There are systems in place to reward employees based on measured performance standards Benchmark: Service providers receive positive affirmations from management and are rewarded for delivering quality service Actual: When a GSA passes a secret shopper report, he or she is given a $100 reward. Employees who show outstanding performance are given the opportunity to move up

10. Continuous Quality Improvement Definition: The hotel tries to continually improve guest service through discussions with management and service providers Benchmark: Managers and hourly employees are part of the process to examine the strengths and weaknesses in guest service. There is an open-communication system between management and employees Actual: The hotel believes that quality improvement comes only from upper-management and rarely takes into consideration service provider comments

End of Chapter 05