**Gaining and retaining dedicated guests with great customer service does not have to be rocket science.**

Here are a few easy steps to find out how.

How do you know if your customer service is working?

Ask!

You need to get honest feedback from your guests and you can do this by

being available to talk with your guests

use guest surveys or questionnaires

online reviews

feedback from your employees, to name a few.

When looking at reviews, surveys, and feedback from your guests and employees, look at any complaint or criticism as a chance to improve.

Let’s look at this a little closer

Take every opportunity to Ask Questions

During breakfast or dinner (“I hope you find everything to your satisfaction?”)

During check-out (“Did you enjoy your stay?”)

When using questionnaires offer a small reward (a small upsell during their next stay or possibly something unique like a rubber ducky with your properties name)

Basic questionnaire guidelines you should follow

The questionnaire should not be too long, only a few minutes necessary to fill it out very easy to fill out, e.g. with check marks.

Make sure your guest knows that their opinion is important. You could say, please help us, to make your break as relaxing and enjoyable as possible.

Anonymous questionnaires are more honest but if an address is given, you have the opportunity for further inquiries

Increase rate of questionnaires returned by:
- Asking early in your guest stay for them to fill it out. (it‘s too late after check-out)
- A small reward for it returned, an easy hand-over

Allow space for your guest to add more information

Ask for date and duration of stay. This could influence any source of irritation e.g. noise, not enough variety of meals

A more detailed questioning is possible with regular guests

This is an example of the type of questionnaire I would give a guest.

Dear Valued Guest,

We are delighted you choose the “Your Property Name” for your stay and trust that you enjoyed your time with us We are always looking for ways to improve our service quality so, in order to maintain the highest possible standards, we would be grateful if you could fill in the questionnaire below and return it to us.

Thank you very much!

Hotel Managers Name Signature

PS: Please drop the questionnaire at the reception for your free gift or just hand it to one of our employees.

You can also leave it on the desk in your room.

When reviewing evaluations remember

A good questionnaire can show a very authentic and realisable picture of strengths and shortcomings in service quality.

Don’t be afraid of honest and critical self-assessment

Accept complaint in a positive and professional way

Handle complaints fast, be uncomplicated and obliging

Provide employees with extensive efficiency in providing solutions.

.

“Again, look at any complaint as a chance to improve and if your guest sees you are taking them seriously!”

.

The guest‘s contentment rises

Customer loyalty is advanced; customers, who complain still want to stay at your property

Impressive complaint management is often the topic of conversations between customers, that means promotion

.Customer loyalty is always cheaper than to find new customers!

Another option to consider

Set up the occasional Mystery Check. Similar to mystery shoppers, this is when you have guests check in and assess every aspect of your services.

This hidden test can help find out about your properties service qualities.

Remember

A minimised error rate in service quality is unavoidable… Dissatisfied guest – not!

Creativity and motivation produce not only a satisfied but also an enthusiastic and loyal guest, willing to recommend you!

Other tips that can improve a guests experience.

provide music with announcements, and offers for when guests are on telephone hold

Include an automated email response “Thank you for your message; you will receive a response within…!”

a small gift as a thank you for trust in a debit or fast bank transfer

Afterwards, you could try one or more of these ideas.

(This is why building an email or address list is important).

Don’t let the guest leave empty handed – a small souvenir, favourite recipe, typical regional products (e.g.. seeds of flowers…) or pictures of stay or the regional landscape during different seasons

Postcard “Welcome back home” (send 2 days before guest‘s check out)

Call guest to inquire if he arrived safely

Extraordinary end of letter e.g. season’s greetings, Christmas greetings

Your customers return visit

Keep a file of each guest with their likes and wishes. With the proper checks and balances in place, this information can be gathered by employee questions, without the guest realising and then without the guest asking you can provide, for example, their favourite coffee, drink, newspaper etc.

It is important that your employee participation in all customer service programs you have put in place.

Introduce a system for your employees to be able to make suggestions, improve quality and possibly save you money.

If this is done properly and consistently, employees will want to participate.

Conclusion

In this podcast, we looked at how to get honest feedback, how to create a questionnaire, and ways to surprise your guests. This may sound like a lot of work to implement but with patients, working smart and effectively, you will be surprised at how quickly you will benefit from the results.

We at Keystone HDC hope these podcasts are proving to be beneficial to any hospitality property owner or manager wishing to improve their property and increase profits. We also know we are just scratching the surface of possibilities.

.With this in mind, we want to challenge you.

We want to challenge you to the 6 Day Challenge.

We at Keystone HDC have taken our years of experience as hospitality property authorities and have produced the

“6 Day Challenge“

A video series with many actionable tips & techniques that you can take and use to help improve your properties patronage and profit.

And the most exciting thing with this video series– it’s 100% Free!

This 6 Day Challenge will take you step by step through the process of operating a successful hospitality property, including:

Determining What Type of Owner/Manager You Are

How to Set Up an Organisational Structure

Secrets to Great Customer Service

How to Market Effectively

How to Benefit From Social Media

How to Make Your Guests Want to Return

Whether you are operating a one-room bed & breakfast or a 500 room luxury hotel, there is always something new you could learn.

As a famous quote says

“Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching”

It is important as a hospitality property owner or manager that you never stop learning.

So, what have you got to lose? Are you up for the challenge?

Visit

keystonehospitalitydevelopment.com/6-day-challenge-log-in-here

Good Luck!