After reading this chapter, you should be able to : Contrast the expectations of guests and staff.

1. CHAPTER 3 • Problem Solving for Guest Service After reading this chapter, you should be able to: • Contrast the expectations of guests and staff. • Explain and apply the concept of Red Flags. • Identify and assess the contradictions behind the premise “the guest is always right.” • Identify and apply the five steps to resolve guest issues utilizing the G.U.E.S.T. method. • Identify the different types of problem guests and outline strategies for handling these problems. • Explain the science of anger and apply specific strategies for dealing with angry guests. • Provide an overview of psychological theories and relate them to customer communications.

2. What do People Really Want? • At the root of it all, people need to be: • Heard, understood, and appreciated. • This is applicable to nearly every relationship and interaction. • People need: • To be listened to. • To be made to feel special. • People expect their host to: • Have their best interest at heart. • Be confident and competent. • Be believable in their statements and promises. • Give them what they ask for. • Surprise them, or at least the customers appreciate being surprised.

3. Dealing with Customers • Popular Advice: • Don’t punish employees with negative feedback from the customers. • Eliminate the complaint department because complaints should be part of everyone’s job. • Everyone should be able to, and be responsible for, handling customer complaints. • There should be a system in place to train employees on how to deal with customer issues.

4. Good Service Often Goes Unremembered • It is an exceptional experience that is remembered: • Exceptionally good, or • Exceptionally bad. • We forget mediocrity. • This leaves us with two options: • Wow the guest. • Seize the opportunity to fix it and make it right and allow the customer to leave feeling special.

5. Service RecoveryG.U.E.S.T • G.U.E.S.T. • An acronym used to remember how to handle customer complaints or issues. G—Greet U—Understand; Listen, Repeat E—Empathize; Apologize S—Suggest/Solve T—Track; Record/Document/Write up

6. Types of Customers • Each customer is a bit different. • You will need to adjust to each: • Identify the type of customer you are dealing with. This may be done by recognizing familiar catchphrases. • Understand where the customer is coming from because you will need to understand the premise or motivation behind their type. • Use your strategy to find a resolution.

7. Types of Customers (cont’d) • Level I: Requires Least Work • The tactics are relatively harmless traits of humanity, but can detract from the customer service experience. • Be ready because these softballs can turn into strikes if you aren’t prepared.  • Level II—Requires Moderate Work • Their tactics tend to be more coercive, with a goal of achieving more out of the situation. • Boundaries are key to dealing with this group. Realize what you can give and what you cannot. • Level III—Requires Substantial Work • Watch for changing of tactics and escalations of anger. • Separate these customers from others if they begin to cause a scene. • Stay focused, respond to the tactic, maintaining professionalism, and successfully complete the transaction at hand.

8. Handling Angry Customers • Difficult to immediately diffuse and resolve • No longer hearing, comprehending, or thinking with great rationality. • Anger often has three phases: 1. Building 2. Exploding 3. Cooling • It will take some time once they explode. • Don’t take it personally. • Mentally remove yourself from the situation.

9. Handling Angry Customers(cont’d) • What Is the Primary Goal behind the Anger? • Fun: • They have power and actually enjoy anger as a hobby. • Wear you down: • They achieve success through repetition. • Bullies: • They desire power and often get their way by getting angry. • Unexplained: • Something else bad happened in their life. • Blame: • They don’t care who’s to blame.

10. Handling Angry Customers(cont’d) When Dealing with Angry People: • Increase continuous eye contact. • Focus on the options, not the limitations. • Involve them if appropriate: How can we solve this? • Don’t take negative customer comments personally. • Mentally remove yourself from the situation. • Let them know when you are thinking or looking or calling. Don’t just leave to “surprise them.” Instead, let them know that you are working on the situation. • Pause to think and pause for emphasis.

11. Handling Angry Customers(cont’d) • Try to keep your voice low and quiet. • Deal with the emotions first. Otherwise, logic won’t be appreciated. • Get them out of view if possible. • Realize that they need to vent. • Use phrases like: What can I do to help you? • Think of ways to neutralize the situation?

12. Handling Personal Stress • Psychological demands of customer service can be overwhelming. • There are three categories: • Pre-stress • Occurrence • Post-stress • By breaking stress into these categories, it can be evaluated and monitored more effectively.

13. Dealing with Other Cultures • Technology and travel are increasing. • Majority of new customers come internationally. • Top priorities: • Safety • New experience • Comprehension of all that is occurring • Then, consider these tips for delivering proper guest service to foreign travelers: • Communicate • Understand their cultures • Survey your clients • Get educated

14. Staff Expectations • Make staff expectations clear. • As a manager, it is important to tell workers during: • Orientation • At reviews • Whenever else reinforcement is needed • Personal care and attitude are also very important attributes.

15. Is the Guest Always Right? • Should your answer always be yes? • Always saying yes does not have to imply total compromise. • Your answer should be yes, but in a way in which you can accommodate the customer’s needs. • Are there limits to what you can do? • Of course. • There are budget and legal restrictions. • Look for alternative win–wins, where you can say yes while remaining within your limits.

16. Moments of Truth • Moments of Truth • Approach to think about all the little things that go into quality guest service. • Jan Carlzon popularized the phrase from his best-selling book, • How the service encounter is made up of many individual moments of truth. • Within one encounter, there are many points at which quality guest service can be made or lost.

17. Watching for Red Flags • Red Flags = small problems. • When just a few pop up, most customers are tolerant because they are resistant to changing their behavior. • They don’t want to find another place to do business or stop the transaction midstream. • Question to ask when evaluating service: • “Are they getting what they need and expect?” • Look for the signs. • Place yourself in their shoes, or try to see it from their perspective.

18. Remembering Names • Listenintently to the pronunciation. • Repeat it immediately and then at least a few more times in the conversation. • Memorizetheir appearance—anything unique? • Relateit to something or someone that you know.

19. Psychological Theories • Transactional Analysis • Psychiatrist Dr. Eric Berne first captured the idea. • Released a book in 1964 entitled Games People Play. • Devised levels of the closeness that encounters can experience: withdrawn, ritual, pastimes, games, activities, and intimacy. • Its application to the service industry revolutionized how we deal with customers. • As a result, the field of customer service adapted many derivations of this science. • Referred to anger as a racket, and may be self-righteous, adversarial, or even fun.

20. Psychological Theories(cont’d) Transactional Analysis (cont’d) • There are three types of ego states: • Parent: People mimic their parents. Some shout, while others nurture. • Adult: People are rational, informed, and free from overwhelming emotion. • Child: People think, feel, and behave as they did when they were children. • He theorized that people interact three different ways: • Reciprocal: Parent to Parent, Adult to Adult, Child to Child • Crossed: Parent to Child, Child to Adult • Covert: When messages have Parent and Child responses combined.

21. Psychological Theories(cont’d) • Temperaments • Meyers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) • Developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Meyers • Based on the theory of psychological types originally outlined by Dr. Jung. • Used to: • Explain personalities and temperaments. • Explain why we do something or may react in a certain way. • Understand and relate to others.

22. Psychological Theories(cont’d) • Temperaments (cont’d) • It includes four dimensions, producing 16 personality types. • How they view the outer world: Extroversion versus Introversion • How they take in information: Sensing versus Intuition • How they make decisions: Thinking versus Feeling • How they structure things: Judging versus Perceiving

23. Psychological Theories(cont’d) Temperaments (cont’d) • Keirsey Temperament Sorter (TSI) • Produced by David Keirsey, • Correlates with the MBTI. • Four different temperament types are produced. • Serves as quick labels for understanding, communicating, and relating to personalities. These are: • Artisans: • Observant troubleshooters who want to make an impact. • Guardians: • Responsible and dutiful organizers. • Idealists: • Seek inner meaning, mediate, and use diplomacy. • Rationals: • Use self-control and strategy.

24. Psychological Theories(cont’d) Temperaments (cont’d) • Emotional Intelligence (EI) • Popularized by Daniel Goleman • Developed in the past 20 years. • Claims that IQ does not tell the whole picture in relating to others and being successful. • Uses four dimensions to assess an emotional quotient (EQ). • Self-awareness: Knowing your emotions • Self-management: Controlling your emotions • Social awareness: Knowing others’ emotions • Relationship management: The ability to manage interactions with others • Goleman claims that none of these skills are independently best. • Instead, a person should be proficient in all to be successful.

25. Discussion Questions • In every service situation, a customer has certain expectations. List and briefly describe these expectations. • Is the guest always right? Explain your argument and provide support for your answer. • Recall a service encounter in which you became angry. Apply it to the phases of anger and provide five tips for the service provider in dealing with the situation. • What is a red flag? How does it relate to a moment of truth? • How does G.U.E.S.T. help a business to train for customer service? • Customers have reasons for acting the way they do. Recall four of the “types” listed in the chapter that apply to you and your personality. • Explain the purpose of an anchor when remembering names. • List three reasons why you would have to politely tell a guest, “No.” • What should you do after a stressful guest-contact situation? List ways to effectively handle the situation. • Explain why mediocre service often goes unremembered.