MARCH 24, 2008. Kennedy Training Network (KTN) announced today the launch of a new type of reservations mystery shopping service. 'Reservations mystery shopping has been stuck in the 1990's for way too long while just about everything else in hotel transient sales & marketing has changed completely, so the timing couldn't be better for our launch,' said KTN President Doug Kennedy.
'Traditional reservations test call services score agents against a checklist criteria that has little to do with what today's over-informed, multi-tasking callers with too many choices want and need to be hearing,' explained Kennedy, 'so we've reinvented the whole process to ensure that the quest for a perfect shop score doesn't turn agents into robots who have to spew-out a scripted list of the same features for every caller regardless of their needs.'
In addition to providing a traditional 'quantitative' score based on a customized checklist criteria that has been updated to measure conversational selling, reports also include a 'qualitative' or 'letter-graded' score reflecting how well the agents applied the criteria based on the call scenario. Additionally, services include a narrative coaching report that trains agents on how to better handle future calls of a similar nature.
'ResSTAR stands for reservations sales assessment and training reports,' said Kennedy, 'and this service goes beyond just testing to help train agents have a more conversational and less transactional approach to engaging their callers and inviting them to become guests.'
ResSTAR Reports are available in several formats that are tailored for hotels of all sizes and market segments, from mid-scale through ultra-luxury. Call checklists can incorporate KTN's baseline criteria for conversational selling, and can also include any customized criteria that is appropriate and necessary for any individual hotel or company. Reports are delivered via e-mail, including a link to the audio recordings, and results can be viewed online at any time. For information on formats and fees, contact Colleen Tuttle at: (866) 860-8955 or via e-mail at: Colleen@KennedyTrainingNetwork.com.
