Service Recovery Guessing Game

By Nathan Gawlik
Nathan Gawlik's experience includes being a General Manager of a Hampton Inn and other front line roles such as a Banquet Captain, Front Desk Agent, Housekeeper, Catering Event Manager, and Director of Sales.

Service Recovery Guessing Game

By Nathan Gawlik

According to InterContinental Hotel Group, for every unhappy guest that complains directly to the hotel, there are 25 unhappy guests who did not bother to complain, each of those unhappy guests tell an average of 10 people about their experience (260 people in total,) which in turn tell 5 more people what they heard. That is 1300 people in total – and that is without the use of Social Media!

I recall an instance of a guest complaining that their room was dim shortly after check-in. After visiting with the guest a moment, I came to realize that their check-in was fine and there were no housekeeping issues to speak of. I apologized for the lighting in her room before I offered to bring them a lamp or move them to a different room. No matter what reasonable suggestion I made, the woman had a "no" response waiting. She couldn't be pleased. It turned into a guessing game and I was losing.

I finally gave in and said the following; "Mrs. Wright, given that you indicated there were no issues during check in, no cleanliness concerns, an additional lamp won't solve the problem, and you would rather not move rooms - what do you suggest I might be able to do to rectify this situation for you?"

She thought for a moment, "well I don't know," she said.

I reassured her, "I understand that on this occasion we weren't able to meet your expectations, and for that, again, I apologize. I'm sure it must be frustrating to picture a beautiful well-lit room overlooking the golf course - and on this stay we didn't deliver that. Why don't we do this, I've got a line forming behind you that I need to tend to, and I assure you that I'm happy to continue the conversation and do what is within my power to see to it your next few days with us are as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. Give some thought to how I can further be of service and let me know. I work today until 11pm and I'll be back tomorrow after 3pm. Myself or any of the other agents here are happy to assist you."

She nodded her head and continued on for a moment about her disappointment, took a breath and left the desk. I didn't hear from her again until she went to check out.

Vending Machine

It's like a vending machine. Sometimes guests put money in and they don't get what they want for one reason or another, so what do they do? They kick the vending machine. Initially this guest was extremely upset, but after I empathized with her a moment, she felt better and just wanted to vent.

Upon check out, I owned her initial concern. I would rather she yell at me again then to go online and vent her frustrations. I did what I could to take the air out of the situation.

After asking her how her stay was, I said, "Did that room end up working out for you?" as she went to hand me her credit card.

"It ended up being fine but after thinking about it, a discount on the reservation is appropriate" she said softly as she leaned in so no one could hear as if she was confiding in me with a little secret.

I smiled and drew her attention to some of the favorable comments she had made about the stay and reminded her of my commitment I made in our previous conversation. Finally I asked her what she thought was appropriate. By this point I knew better than to get my hand bitten if I offered too little.

She requested a 20% discount on one of her four nights, which I was happy to provide. She felt she won. I gave her exactly what she wanted. I didn't haggle. I met her right where she was. A satisfied customer, an enjoyable experience for both of us, and best of all - a repeat guest. It's well known that it is between five and six times more expensive to acquire new customers than it is to win back or retain old ones.

I certainly wouldn't offer $200 because that might have been far too much given her issue, but I couldn't offer $10 because she would have scoffed at me. We simply don't know what will mean the world to one person and be of little importance to another.

There are some pros and cons to this approach:

Con: If I toss up a discount, the guest only has to simply say yes or no - an easier decision rather than creating their own.
Pro: Allowing them to choose their own amount gives them the power.
Con: But it's a dangerous game. The individual could ask for the world.
Pro: Allowing them to start the negotiations really gives you the power. Don't simply have a "yes, the customer is always right" answer sitting on the tip of your tongue. If their offer is unreasonable for your liking, don't counter offer. Put it back on them again. Try something like, "While I understand [detail their issue so they know you hear them] but I don't know that I'll be able to discount things that much, would you consider a slightly lower offer?"
-then stay silent.

Finally, get creative. If they want their entire stay comp'd, suggest a 50% discount with an additional 50% discount on their next stay, stating, "give us the chance to make it up to you. We failed to provide the best service possible on this occasion but I'm confident if you give us another try, you will be glad you did."

Three more benefits come into play with this strategy:

The guest still gets their intended discount but they may not take advantage of the second part of the offer. While this might seem like a benefit on the surface, this means you likely lost that guest.
Be sure to track these discounts so you can market to these guests during your need dates. You have the power to promote your business to them when it will be the most advantageous to you.
You will have the opportunity to win them back and make loyal customers for years to come. When they return shower them with hospitality and commit to making it the best stay possible.

Taking all this into consideration, be sure not to pigeon hole guests into a one size fits all solution. If you have a way that you like service recovery to go, don't expect it will always work out that way. Accept that some people may not return or that a Starbucks gift isn't right for them.

Receptionist gives keys to hotel guest at front des

Meet People Where They Are

The following week we had a young couple check-in with their infant child. A few moments later I received a call at the desk. The guest indicated very gently that they had blood on their sheets.
Blood!

I was mortified at such a service error. I couldn't believe that I had checked them into a soiled room and immediately apologized profusely, both personally embarrassed and embarrassed for our team.

I professed my commitment to make it right with the young woman and explained that I would be down right away to change out her bedding. I further rushed to exclaim that I would be extending a discount on her reservation for the horrible inconvenience.

The guest had to cut me off from my excretory remarks that seemed to shoot from my mouth without control. I spoke with such force in the absence of thought as to the severity of the situation much less regard for how she felt about it.

"It's quite alright. We don't need a discount. There is a small stain that was overlooked but it was clearly washed. We just put our little one down for a nap, so if you could just please leave fresh linens outside our door, we can go ahead and change the sheets ourselves." The guest said softly.

I took a breath as I realized just how overexcited I became. I realized just how I would have felt about walking into a blood stained room. I realized that I envisioned something far more gruesome than what she was actually experiencing. And in my assumption, I made the situation worse - not better.

I was able to fulfill her request and placed a small discount on her room anyway as a good faith gesture. Unexpected delight goes a long way with the right guest.

Consider the Tools at Your Disposal

List out your tools in your service recovery tool belt. Doing so is a good practice so there is uniformity across staff. Providing a process to guest facing staff helps to better manage and mitigate service recovery. A good place to keep these is in your Survival Guide. Below are a few examples that might be on your list. Organize them in order of severity of the situation and apply them in a way that works best for your organization.

1. Gift card to Starbucks, gas station, restaurant, movie theater, etc.
2. Credit to your onsite store
3. Offer discounted or free meal
4. Offer a discount on a spa treatment, golf cart rental or other onsite amenity
5. Gift certificate or discount on a future stay
6. 10% Discount
7. 25% Discount
8. 50% Discount
9. Comp them a night
10. Comp their whole stay

Clearly, not all of these will apply to your property. I would suggest, however, implementing a percentage discount over a straight monetary dollar amount. I find that if you start with the percent discount, guests can relate with that and measure it against how much their stay was inconvenienced by the service failing.

Likewise, be sure that other departments know that any service recovery should only come through the Front Desk or the Manager. Strictly forbid your rooms division staff from providing discounts or even alluding to providing any form of recovery. This can lead to overpromising and under delivering.

Finally, document everything. Your Front Desk staff should be writing notes in the reservation or wherever you keep documentation of your recovery efforts. If you are a large property, some guests will try to shop different front desk agents to see if they can get multiple discounts from different people.

Summary

1. Whenever possible let the decision rest with the guest. Appoint the guest as an advocate for their happiness and get buy in. It's okay to say, "I'll get back to you," or "please follow up with us in the morning" if immediate resolution isn't available and the situation doesn't pose an exorbitant risk to the guest or require immediate attention.

2. There is always an initial reaction to want to avoid negative or uncomfortable situations. Don't hide from an angry or upset guest. Your mission is to do everything in your power to satisfy that customer before they leave. If you don't - it will only be worse and could bubble up to your superiors. It's not personal. Create a dialog, validate and address their concerns.

3. Seek opportunities to correct situations before they become a larger concern. I used to hate it when guests would tell me they had trouble sleeping because of a noisy guest in another room. If only they had let us know at night, we could have corrected the situation - then and there. In this example, I might suggest that welcome text or front desk check in dialog includes the phrase, "If you need anything there is someone here 24/7". The point is, be proactive.

4. Don't over promise and under deliver. Manage guest expectations appropriately to avoid service recovery. At one point, we had a small fire on property that was threatening homes and rental units in the neighborhood. We explained to guests that we might not be able to check them in at all given the fluid situation. We actively encouraged guests to seek other accommodations as we were unsure if the structures would be damaged. You can imagine their elation when they were actually able to check-in to their undamaged units once the fire was put out by 7pm that evening. Likewise, if one of your amenities is going to be closed - explain that when they make the reservation. Properly managing expectations can call for diminishing expectations.

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