Because of the need to serve internal as well as external customers, customer service must be everybody's job within a hospitality organization. The housekeeper cannot defer to the front desk. The kitchen cannot think that customer service only occurs tableside. Moreover, management cannot divorce themselves either. They are part and parcel of the entire quality service chain of events. In fact, how management manages customer service and how service providers deliver it are the defining factors in this entire chain of mutual influence.
- William B. Martin, Providing Quality Service: What Every Hospitality Service Provider Needs to Know
Quick reactions and timely responses should be a part of every company's core standards because these two actions help support a positive customer experience. Customer service doesn't just happen to someone else; it's a very personal and intentional action that happens to each one of us daily. We have a personal connection to the service we are providing as well as receiving.
A rose on time is far more valuable than a $1,000 gift that's too late.
It's fitting to discuss "giving thanks" since we are in the midst of celebrating the many things we are thankful for during this month of Thanksgiving. In business, the #1 thing we should be thankful for is our customers, which is rather obvious since they are the reason that we are staying in business, and they help us to afford putting a turkey feast on our tables (figuratively and literally). It's a given that we are thankful for them, but do they feel appreciated? Before I give you tips for taking your thankfulness beyond just saying "thank you," let me tell you about an experience that we are currently having with one of our vendors (crossing my fingers that they will read this and finally choose to be different)...