Mr. Hanks

Guest Service / Customer Experience Mgmt

How Hotel Chains Can Utilize Comparison Data

By Richard D. Hanks, Chairman and President, Mindshare Technologies

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) reported this year that customer satisfaction within the hotel industry declined over five percent from last year. The industry's final score? A not so impressive 71 out of 100.

That would also be known as a "C minus," if we were still school. Sure, it's a passing grade, but below average, and far below what the industry is capable of.

In other words, there is a lot to learn out there - about lodging customers and how to serve them. What if the industry as a whole could earn at least a 90? What if a single chain could score that high? Vacancies would be scarce, revenues would soar, and that chain would gain the reputation as the place to stay.

The truth is, it doesn't really take a great deal of effort. In fact, your customers are saying it all the time. The trick is how to hear them. This article discusses how best to go about obtaining actionable feedback from your guests, how it can help you adn what the potential benefits could be.

Getting to Know Your Customers

The secret to not just getting a passing grade, but jumping to an "A+" is in listening to your customers. Like teachers, they have all the information you need to succeed, but you need to listen closely, take notes, and take action on what you've learned.

If your customer feedback-gathering process consists solely of asking a guest during checkout, "How was your stay?" you might deserve that "C-." Ninety-five percent of irate customers are so conflict averse that they will never tell you to your face.

If you're relying on "mystery guests," you're probably not getting feedback on a typical, day-to-day experience. Nor are mystery shoppers typical day-to-day guests. You might also be spending a lot of money as they gorge themselves on the gratis contents of the mini-bar.

Questionnaires? Comment cards? These are slow, 2-D solutions in a world where only 3-D tells the complete story. The questions aren't tailored to each individual's experience, they require too much action on behalf of the guest (yes, sometimes lifting a pen or pencil is too much effort for a lot of people) and they just don't cover enough ground to be of much use.

All of the aforementioned options serve valuable roles, and each can be revealing. But they can all be combined and improved upon with a simple, affordable technology solution.

Without using hardware or even software, the technology exists to automate the entire feedback process, by using simple phone and web surveys that will help uncover a guest's true feelings, in real time.

All that's needed is a commitment to continuously listen to feedback and constantly implement needed improvement.

These surveys go beyond simple "yes" or "no" questions, or ranking questions. New technology dives down into customer opinion, finding out the "why." Customers can leave verbal comments that are incredibly revealing. Receiving integrated qualitative and quantitative feedback immediately after the service experience means that you can understand the complete customer experience just after they've had it.

Once the data is collected, these systems let users set thresholds that will trigger immediate alerts for specific critical responses. You can track patterns over time and receive frequent updates to spotlight short-term trends (some problems will reveal themselves immediately, while others will only show up over time.)

You'll also have useful, positive guest feedback to reward and celebrate employees. This is one of the best ways to reduce turnover and solidify employee loyalty.

Using the Information

Sometimes feedback will lead to an immediate meeting with an employee to correct a glaring problem. Maybe it'll be the catalyst for new training programs implemented for the entire staff. Regardless, you need to be prepared to act on your customer feedback.

Many hotels have trouble meeting customers' needs in food and beverage outlets, whether it's service or quality challenges. By finding out what your customers are truly experiencing (in their eyes), you can improve your F&B service, therefore helping maximize F&B revenue potential. This is an area frequently overlooked on comment cards.

It's always difficult to ensure your staff is consistently friendly and warm. Most customers are fairly timid and don't take issue with an ill-mannered service provider in person, but they'll think twice before engaging your staff again. By giving them a private, anonymous forum in which to vent their frustrations, you'll receive honest, valuable comments.

Similarly, in-depth questioning provides a forum for positive, affirming comments. Maybe you know that your customers say they are comfortable and generally pleased with your facilities. Why? Is it the beds, the air conditioner, the bathroom towels or the staff? Find out what it is that they love, and make sure it's emphasized throughout your chain. This will ensure they'll look to your hotel first, which is the best way to maximize revenue.

Customer Feelings Turned Into Metrics

The biggest hurdle a lot of industries, not just hotels, face is how to translate feedback into actions that directly improve customer satisfaction. It's hard to tell from a simple 1-5 satisfaction rating which next steps to take.

Using automated customer feedback can give you specific examples to work on, and you'll have metrics to show whether or not it's improving. Comments and ratings can automatically be turned into revealing charts and graphs, showing how things have or haven't changed over any period of time.

Say, for instance, you need to justify an expenditure that your customers have consistently requested. Results from comment cards or a couple of mystery guests won't have much impact, but a chart identifying hundreds of customer opinions speaks directly to a ROI-minded manager's core.

This is also where the verbal comments that customers have the option of leaving can be of real value. The answers they previously gave can come to life through their actual voices, where you'll discover that not only did they love the beds, but the 700 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets made the biggest difference.

Reap the Benefits

For every customer who complains to management, there will be ten to twenty who don't. They'll simply take their business elsewhere. There's also a good chance each one of those people will tell several others.

That's hundreds of potential guests who will never walk through your front door, because you had no way of gleaning their true opinion of your property. Maybe this is why the industry as a whole received a so-so grade from the ACSI.

Your best bet is to get them to talk, and let them know that you're aware of their issues.

If you can take their feedback, improve on deficiencies, and emphasize your strengths, you'll increase revenue by creating repeat customers. Now imagine if those happy clients each tell ten friends, and it's easy to see how great customer service can accelerate revenue.

C-? That's just not trying at all. It won't take much to get up to an A+, as affordable technology solutions make information-gathering simple. Combined with a commitment to implementing improvements, pleasing your customers should be a walk in the park.

Richard D. Hanks is President of Mindshare Technologies. Mr. Hanks has been a senior executive of several Fortune 500 companies and several start-up ventures. He is on boards of corporations, universities, and foundations. His experience spans multiple industries and disciplines, including as an adjunct professor at Cornell. He is a teacher/speaker at trade, academic, and professional gatherings. He is also the author of "Delivering and Measuring Customer Service". He obtained his bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University and his MBA from Northwestern University. Mr. Hanks can be contacted at 801-263-2333 or rhanks@mshare.net Extended Bio...

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