Proactive Hospitality Is Like Overdraft Protection | By Doug Kennedy

As a lodging industry training provider, we receive an extraordinarily high number of inquiries for guest service training specific to the topic areas of “handling guest complaints” and “service recovery.” While it is always great to see interest in these topics, we always prefer to deliver a more comprehensive approach to hospitality and guest services training that better serves all stakeholders.

Certainly, there are service recovery techniques to share with frontline staff and first-level supervisors who field the majority of guest complaints. Like other similar programs, our training covers the importance of listening attentively, conveying empathy and compassion, and apologizing for the situation even when we are not at fault. At KTN we also add a few new twists such as providing guests with a sense of validation for their emotional duress and of course personalized follow-up to ensure resolution. Our newest content, such as how to be a lightning rod to truly “ground” guest negativity, goes further and touches on the mental wellness of our staff.

Yet training staff solely on the topic of service recovery is a reactive approach, sort of like when a physician treats the symptom without diagnosing and treating the underlying cause. To me, “service recovery” begins at the front end of every guest “touchpoint” interaction. Your own in-house training will be much more effective if you do not treat the topic of handling complaints separately, and instead start by training your staff on hospitality communications essentials that create positive first impressions. For example, greeting the guest first with a welcoming statement, eye contact, and a warm smile. Listening attentively, therefore “reading the guest” to identify unstated needs, and then proactively offering assistance before it is requested. Before you train on “service recovery,” first cover how using the language of hospitality helps avoid triggering negative reactions. For example, saying May I suggest…? vs. You’ll have to…; Allow me to check on that for you… vs. I’ll have to check on that…; I’m not showing that request vs Let’s see what we can work out,; and This (problem) happens all the time, vs. Let’s see what we can work out for you.

When guest service staff embrace a proactive approach to initiating hospitality experiences, it creates positive first impressions for guests. Ideally, a positive first impression starts with a call to reservations, or for those who book online, with a call to the front desk to reconfirm, make a request, or ask a question. At that moment it is almost like the hotel is putting a bit of money into a reserve savings account specific to that guest. Then with each subsequent interaction, more money is funneled into that reserve account. A warm welcome at the front desk, or for those who checked-in online, a warm greeting by a lobby attendant near the front door adds more to savings. When guests call or text to receive more towels or coffee pods, additional funds are added to the account by the housekeeping attendant or runner.

When you stop to consider how many “moving parts” must work in coordination in order for a guest to have a positive stay, chances are that at some point something is going to go wrong. The longer the stay, the larger the accommodation, the more guests in the party, and the more amenities, services, dining options, or recreational facilities a hotel has, the greater the odds that guests will experience at least one “problem” at some point. Therefore, it is usually not a question of “if” but rather of “when” that delivery will fall short of expectation.

When things go wrong, all that hospitality “currency” is now stored in the guests’ overdraft protection account and you can draw on that goodwill. Most guests will be much more forgiving if they have so far had an overall positive experience. Otherwise, if guests have had negative first impressions, there will surely be a costly “insufficient funds” fee in terms of the loss of future business, and perhaps even worse, damage to your online reputation as a result of negative guest reviews and social media postings.

By reviewing the hospitality techniques covered herein, and in my previous training articles, you can prepare your staff to minimize the negative impact of gaps in service standards. Thereafter, the traditional service recovery techniques will surely be more effective when needed.