Chapter 14. How to handle customer complaints. But the continued evolution of online hotel resort in and Bed and Breakfast reviews sites, social media forums and fuming customers on YouTube. A property's level of guest service is increasingly visible to the outside world. For this reason, it is vital that you have a working operations manual with the appropriate policies to handle customer complaints, as well as properly trained staff who not only welcome guest complaints, but actually encourage them. Unfortunately, many hospitality property employees believe the handling of complaints is an unlikable task, but one that comes with the job.

With proper policies in place and training from day one on how to use these policies. Employees can change their view of customer complaints. employees and especially owners of independent hotels, resorts ends bed and breakfasts should look at customer complaints as an opportunity. The worst complaints are the ones you do not hear. The majority of guests who are not happy with your property did not voice their opinion to the owner or the front desk, but instead told their friends, family and colleagues, and in more and more cases went online to express their irritation. Yes, some customers do complain that's offering you a chance to find a solution.

What about all those customers who do not say anything? This is where training should involve employees to look for unhappy customers and give them the opportunity to complain. I have an example. Not from a hospitality property, but a restaurant, a very well known restaurant on the waterfront in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Over the years, I had recommended this restaurant to many people. And one day while eating there, the owner came over to me and said, Jerry, you sent many people are Do you ever get negative feedback?

I said, No, I don't. Why do you ask? He said, I know our restaurant has a great reputation. But I also know that we cannot do everything right all the time. And if I don't know there's a problem. It's very difficult to fix.

If you ever get any complaints, please let me know. This is a restaurant. But the same applies to hotels, resorts, inns, and bed and breakfasts. Most people are not comfortable with the idea of being confrontational, and would much prefer leaving a property, not saying anything, but never returning. So how can you get a customer a guest who is not happy with something tell you? Well, there are a couple of ways I've seen work.

Have a specific email address on the bill on the evaluation form, in the rooms information packet for complaints, for example, complaints at my property.com. I've also seen the same idea with a specific telephone number. complaint hotline. The best way is to have employees who can read a guest. This is done with proper training. If the guest is in front of you, with training and practice, you can tell if that guest is unhappy by listening to their voice, watching their facial expressions or body language.

If the guest is on the phone, listen to their tone of voice. Here you have an opportunity to be proactive, and by asking the right questions, I guess might tell you their concerns. I've seen many cases where an employee might sense there's a problem, but will purposely avoid asking for any feedback so as to avert confrontation. And employee with the right training and attitude will avoid any kind of confrontation by asking the right questions. Questions you should stay away from are the ones where one word answers can be given. Like, how was your stay or did you have a good night?

Instead, you want to ask questions that require more thought. response. For example, we're very interested what you thought of our property? Or is there anything we could have done to make your visit more enjoyable? Train your employees to look into your guests sighs with sincerity and genuine interest in the response when asking questions like these employees are encouraging your guests to give more honest feedback, and to maybe tell them about any problems. Being proactive and embracing complaints instead of ignoring them.

Hospitality properties have an opportunity to solve a complaint and turn an unhappy guest into a please guest, especially if they're happy with the way the complaint was resolved. You may be thinking this might be a little easier said than done. You're right. training your employees to invite negativity might seem like an uphill battle. So let's look at a couple of ways to applaud guest complaints. Have a bell or a buzzer ring in the back office when a complaint is received.

Train everyone To feel that when that buzzer rings, there's an opportunity to turn a problem around, tracking complaints and measure monthly, how the employees document the name of the guest, their room number, the complaint, the action taken, and whether the guest was happy with the outcome. As time goes on, and problems are rectified, the number of complaints should decrease. These forms can be used as training tools, ways to handle better similar complaints in the future. Here are some tips for employees to use. The first one is a skill or trait every good employees should have the ability to listen without speaking. Let the customer explain their complaint.

Quite often this venting will take the form of a detailed story. Maintain eye contact, demonstrating concern but remaining quiet. If you're taking the complaint on the phone, don't respond until the complaint is finished. But it's okay to interject with the occasional order. Right. I see and Okay, when the guest has finished telling their story, show compassion and give an apology.

Now the apology does not mean you're wrong, or is it an admission of guilt? It just means you understand the guests displeasure. You could say, I understand how you must feel. I can imagine I might feel the same way given the circumstances. The words feel and imagine are powerful in these cases, restate their complaint in a condensed version to show you understand the situation and provide validation for the guest. Mr. Richter, I understand your frustration.

You're tired and hungry and Room Services, this law. Again, it's okay to say I'm sorry. You might be surprised to hear that more often than not. Guest service employees never offer an apology or worse and insincere apology. When guests complain, they want results. In a perfect world.

You could give them what they want, but we're in the real hospitality property world, and this is not always possible. A great way to handle guest complaints is to offer them two options. being offered two options, they are given the opportunity to make a choice, which will feel empowering. train staff who are proactive can find unhappy guests uncover a problem and help properly resolve it can reduce the odds of further complaints and online rants. By being understanding and helpful, you can turn a disgruntled guests into a loyal patron who might be happy to share the news about your great customer service. Independent hotels, resorts, inns and bed and breakfasts are in the business of customer satisfaction.

As I said in an earlier chapter, the customer is not always great, but it is your job to make them think they are. I don't feel that in the immediate future. All hospitality properties are going to be operated by robots. So for the foreseeable future There's a good chance that human error will still be the source of problems at properties. The following is a list of the most common problems hospitality properties have one room cleanliness, at a minimum rooms must meet basic hygienic standards. This can be accomplished with completed checklist followed daily to poor room service.

If you offer room service, make sure you have the staff to handle it. Three restaurant food quality. I was once told by a restaurant inspector that the first thing he looks for out a restaurant or the cleanliness of the toilet and the freshness of the lettuce. If either of these two things is a problem, there's a very good chance the food quality is substandard. For laundry, if you offer laundry services for guests and a garment is damaged, make sure you bring it to their attention immediately and provide restitution your property provides your guests with the use of washing machines and dryers, they have to be working five noisy rooms. If you have a room or rooms that are noisy due to traffic construction, or an elevator, make sure the guests are aware when you're giving them the key.

If you have this problem have earplugs in stock. Six parking. If you provide parking facilities for guests and charge them for it, make sure it's monitored. Seven pay per view television. This can be an excellent source of revenue. But whenever a guest complains about a charge, deleted without question, it's not worth the hassle.

Eight minibar This can also be a great source of revenue and a nuisance at the same time. If a customer complains about a charge, take them at their word. Of course there will be those who will take advantage but look at this as cost of doing business. Nine hidden charges. This is a company I have heard quite often, make sure all charges are clearly itemized on a bill. If a customer complaints, don't accuse them of being wrong, but instead say we'll be happy to look into this for you.

If you find there's a mistake, delete it immediately. If not, explain the charges to the guest. 10 overbooking if you are overbooked, and have to move a guest to another property. Make sure you do not charge them for anything, make the arrangements and pay for any transfer. How do you handle negative hospitality property reviews? In 2012, almost 3000 respondents were surveyed about the importance of a hospitality property responding to online reviews.

These were user review online companies such as TripAdvisor and booking.com. They showed that 85% of users agreed that an appropriate management response to a bad review improve their impression of the property 64 percent of users agreed that an aggressive or defensive management response to a bad review made them less likely to book that property. bad reviews about your property can have a major negative impact on your business, so it is imperative that you respond to them. By doing so, you can minimize the harm to your property's reputation by making potential guests think more highly of you, and it can repair your relationship with the unhappy reviewer. It also shows potential guests that you take your review seriously. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind.

Always research the complaint before you respond. Never respond angrily. To the guests complained before checkout. Is there a record of this complaint with your staff? A few more points to consider. One thank the guests by name, even if the review is nasty.

By using the guests name shows you're taking this seriously to apologize for the guests poor experience. Remember, an apology is not an admission of guilt or any wrongdoing. Compassion can go a long way. Three, tell them the changes you have made or are going to make. You can do this by inviting them to phone or email you thus taking the discussion offline. Don't ever promise any form of compensation online to avoid setting a precedent or to make it look like a payoff.

For follow up with the guest. Send them a personal email or note, again, apologizing and offering compensation if it's appropriate. We will be talking more about reviews in series number four. How do you see your property? How to handle negative reviews on social media? You hopefully understand the importance of social media for marketing purposes.

This is another topic we'll be covered in series three marketing for your hospitality property success. Social media has the ability to attract new customers while helping you retain the Lord LTV of past customers. It allows your guests to communicate with you directly praise You for an excellent experience, or to give you positive feedback. But it also can be a method for guests to share a negative experience. One bad review on Twitter or Facebook can be on 10s of thousands of other timelines within a couple of days. Social media is a powerful marketing tool, so you have to know how to handle negative feedback positively.

Here are a few tips. be responsive. If a guest leaves negative feedback, respond to it quickly to address their concerns. The owner should approach the customer directly and with compassion, and politely ask the guests to call a toll free number or email you directly. This will show that you're taking their complaint seriously and wish to try to help you're willing to take time to discuss this complaint personally out of the public forum. And if the guest is not willing to discuss the case Personally, it shows other readers that you're trying to resolve the problem.

Provide a solution. When addressing guest complaints via social media, be concise, constructive, and clear and avoid confrontation when trying to provide a solution. Even if you know the complaint is not valid, tell them you're going to check into it and you are taking their feedback seriously. You want the guests to feel confident knowing that you're working with them, rather than against them. Keep your promise. If you promise a guest, the gave you a bad review, you're going to make things better, improve your room service, clean bathrooms, friendlier service, etc.

You would better do it. The guests who complained might not come back to check. But new guests who read the reviews and responses will expect the changes have been made. This goes towards your credibility and future profits. Keeping all your guests happy all the time. Could be hard work and tiresome But having policies in place and training employees to use them will save you and your employees a lot of grief.

In fact, this could be fun and very rewarding.