A Guide to Providing Excellent Customer Service

To find success in the hospitality industry, you’ll have to hone a particular set of skills.  Being able to think quickly and keep calm under pressure are vital.  If you know how to multitask and be organized, that’s even better.  Important as these skills may be, they’re nowhere near as crucial as an ability to provide excellent customer service.

Happy customers are the cornerstone of what we do.  The efforts of our associates go a long way in shaping the experience a customer has on property.  If a customer enters a unit that isn’t up to standard or they’re greeted by cold, indifferent behavior from an associate, that customer is likely to be less than pleased.  This casts a harsh light on the property, which in turn reflects poorly on us.  We keep our clients happy by keeping their customers happy, and we do this by providing the best customer service possible through the quality of the work that we do and the way we interact with customers.

Do you ever find yourself wondering if the service you provide a customer is up to par?  If so, stop and reflect by asking yourself a few simple questions:

• Did I follow the 10 and 5 Rule?
• Did I use positive language when speaking with them?
• Was I able to empathize with their concerns?
• Was I listening more than I was speaking?
• Was I able to accurately answer any question they had regarding our services?
• Did I make sure the service I provided was up to quality standards?

If your answers were mostly in the negative, fear not – customer service skills can be easily refined with practice.  Even if you rarely ever meet customers on property, you should still ensure that you’re providing excellent customer service by making sure the service you deliver is up to par with what they’re expecting.  Always make sure to:

• Greet customers with a smile within 10 feet of approach.
• Replace “I Can’t” with “I Can”.
• Apologize promptly for any issues and assure they will be made right.
• Be attentive to a customer’s needs by listening more than you speak.
• Appear knowledgeable when answering customer questions, even if you have to research a correct answer and deliver it at a later time.
• Provide the quality of service you would expect if in a customer’s shoes.

We understand that it’s not always easy to put these things into regular everyday practice.  Everyone has a bad day.  You may not always feel like dealing with customers, and not every customer you meet will be warm and friendly.  However, if you’re committed to satisfaction, you’ll rise above negative emotion and go beyond the call of duty to get a smile.