Reducing the number of customers dissatisfied with the service or product offered is a priority of any business, but the magic is not to apologize later but to make them happy from the beginning.
by Valterina Gherardi Torres*
Should you teach how to handle complaints and claims? Based on my experience in the consulting industry, I would say no.
Hotel and restaurant managers request this course on a recurring basis. The ideal is to carry out a training to raise the quality of the service and thus minimize complaints and claims. Attacking the problem from the root: the lack of quality.
On this occasion I will narrate point by point a personal experience, not as an advisor but from the point of view of the client.
I had arranged a meeting at breakfast time with a customer unrelated in any way to the restaurant in question. A typical business breakfast.
First error
Upon arrival, we approached the hostess. His role, obviously, was to lead us to a table and possibly deliver the letter to us. He greeted us politely and said, "Come back in a little moment." He went to the kitchen, and left us standing waiting in front of his podium.
Second error
We decided to move to the lounge without a guide. The waiters passed by and did not attend to us. But we found an unoccupied table in the process of cleaning.
Third error
The waiter withdrew the dirty service, leaving the utensils that the previous diners did not use, and said "this service I do not withdraw because the previous gentlemen did not use it." My client and I looked at each other and took a seat.
Fourth error
The waiter handed us the letters. At that time I requested a soda. And the waiter's reaction was to take my letter, without giving me the option to continue reading it and place a later order.
Fifth error
No one came to take the order, nor did they bring the soda.
Sixth error
Finally, the waiter arrived. He took my client's order and repeated my request. After half an hour, he brought the order for an omelette and the soda.
Seventh error
On the omelette was a hair. My client let it go, obviously didn't consume it, and asked for an infusion of anise.
Eighth error
A young lady came with a large box because of the wide variety of infusions they offered. However, in that big box I didn't have the anise requested. The lady apologized and said: in a moment I bring the anise. My client no longer wanted to wait, thus choosing another infusion.
Ninth error
While my client and I were talking, the waiter arrived with the account without having asked for it. This action also leads to the loss of possible sales.
We just looked at each other, smiled and commented on the chain of errors that had occurred in the attention to a table.
Action taken by diners in the face of errors
Obviously a situation like this results in a claim or complaint. But realizing the number of errors in a limited time, only leads us to make the decision not to return to such an establishment, nor to recommend it.
Why did the restaurant have so many mistakes?
By evaluating the situation we can determine the following,
- The lack of a manual of processes and procedures: which indicates the step by step that the staff must perform before, during and after the stay of the diner or guest.
- The lack of standardization: which is the provision of the same level of quality of service according to the manual indicated above by all staff.
- The lack of training in the subject of quality: based on the provisions of the manual and standardization. This training must be continuous so that the quality of service becomes innate in the staff.
The lack of documentation and controls: it is not a glamorous job, but it is necessary. These documents provide us with statistics and evaluation for decision making.
Solution to avoid complaints, claims and loss of customers
- Qualify processes and procedures in addition to rating the service.
- Develop manual of processes and procedures.
- Collect and analyze information, both from the point of view of the client and the staff.
- Continuous monitoring and analysis.
- Continuous training of both administrative and operational staff.
- Increase customer satisfaction.
- Increase the profits of the restaurant.
- Analyze problems and arrive at solutions immediately before they get bigger and so they don't happen again. Since the greater the number of errors that occur, the greater the cost to correct them.
Conclusion
In this example a training in handling complaints and claims would not be useful, because we diners left without complaining and decided not to return anymore. Therefore, the training should be on processes and procedures preventing errors of this nature from occurring and, therefore, giving rise to complaints and claims.
Train your operational and administrative staff to provide quality service from the time the client arrives until they retire.
* General Manager of Hotel Solutions MVH SAC
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