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Factors That Create a Good Impression for Guest Service:


LESSON 7: CUSTOMER SERVICES DURING YOUR STAY


Lesson Objectives: After completing this lesson, students will be able to


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- Identify processes related to customer service during the stay including handling guest mail, guest messages, guest complaints, safekeeping of guest valuables, exchanging money and changing rooms for guests, handling lost guest property and guest requests

- Applying skills to receive and handle customer services and requests related to customer wake-up calls, reconfirming airline tickets for customers, notifying customers who are in the hotel but not in the room, requesting to reserve a table for customers at the restaurant (hotel or outside), requesting valuable property services, handling customer complaints (equipment, noise, late wake-up calls), handling lost property, requesting to rent a small meeting room, requesting to change rooms, requesting to exchange foreign currency cash into domestic cash, requesting to exchange traveler's checks into domestic cash, requesting to book and organize tours for customers, requesting to book taxis and transportation services from the hotel to the airport and vice versa, selling upgrades to corporate customers or customers who are entitled to compensation policies (late wake-up calls, noisy rooms...)

Factors That Create a Good Impression for Guest Service:


1. Letters, messages and requests

1.1 Letters and letter processing procedures:

- It is important that both incoming and outgoing mail are handled efficiently and promptly. This is a good customer relations exercise. Promptness, accuracy and professionalism are key to ensuring the job is done to a high standard.

1.1.1. Types of letters:

- The types of mail that receptionists handle include:

+ Incoming mail – can be postal mail, fax or email.

+ Outgoing mail – letter, fax, email

- It is essential to have a process for receiving, recording and distributing all types of mail for both guests and the hotel to ensure that the right person, the right mail and there are no delays.


1.1.2. Mail processing process:

- A standard procedure for receiving, recording and distributing all guest and hotel mail is:

+ Stamp the time and date on the entry

+ Write in diary, book

+ Sort mail (customer or hotel mail)

+ Distribute / Forward mail

* Mail to:

- Incoming mail to customers falls into many different categories and it is necessary to know the processing procedures for each category. There is mail for:

Guests staying

Check for in-house guest list Date and time stamp of incoming mail

Journalize

Send mail to customer immediately

Guest has checked out

Checked-out guest list

If the guest requests and leaves an address, the receptionist will send a letter to the guest at the address.

If there is no request, the receptionist may keep it for a while (depending on the hotel). If there is no information from the guest, the receptionist may return it to the post office to return it to the sender.

Write in the diary

Guests booking:

Expected arrival list Attached to the guest registration file

Record in the HFA (hold for arrival) mail book Record in the arrivals list

No guests found

Stay for a while to get information from customers.

+ Guests have not booked in advance

+ Guest has canceled or changed the stay program Return to post office return to sender

Journalize


Letters from hotel departments: after delivering letters, parcels or faxes, the receptionist must ask the staff of that department to sign for receipt.

- Hotels with computer systems can check guest names and leave a message on the computer for guests to pay attention to upon check-in.

* Outgoing letter:

- There is a significant level of responsibility involved in handling outgoing mail, which is when a guest has asked a hotel to deliver their mail. It could be a travel postcard or an important business document. Whatever the content, once the hotel has accepted the mail, it is responsible for delivering it promptly.

- The steps to send mail are as follows:

+ Ask where to send, how to send

+ Fare notice

+ Send emails to customers quickly

- Sending fax to customers is similar as follows:

+ Fax fee notification to customers

+ Perform fax sending

+ Place the paper face down on the fax machine.

+ Dial fax

+ Sending a fax abroad: Type 00 + country code + area code + fax number (for example, sending a fax to Japan: 00 81 3 (Tokyo) 3456789)

+ Send domestic fax: Type 0 + area code + fax number (Example: send fax to Hanoi: 0 4 8456789)

- If sending multiple pages to the same number, we must remember to stack the pages together to send them at once, reducing shipping costs for the customer.

+ Create payment voucher for fax service

+ Ask the customer to sign and give it to the cashier

+ Record in fax book

* Special distribution:

- Delivery services can be express mail (EMS) or newspaper mail. The recipient must sign when receiving them and in return when the customer receives the delivery letter, they must sign the book to confirm.


1.2 Message processing

- As is the case with letters, all messages should be delivered promptly and efficiently.

- During your stay, guests will often receive messages from outside.

+ Messages are received via phone

+ Direct messages from guests to hotels

+ Message recorded via voice recorder

- Special care should be taken to ensure that messages are recorded accurately and distributed promptly. Failure to do so is a source of complaints. Message handling is an exercise in good customer relations, reducing the likelihood of customer complaints.

1.2.1. Message processing stages:

- In receiving and sending messages, we must clearly understand the implementation stages to be able to perform them in the best way.

+ Contact and grasp the caller's request

+ Take responsibility for delivering the message

* Not accepted for guests who have left the hotel

* Do not inform guests of room number

- Record message content

- Press the button on the recorder in the Message Recording room

Check the message content again, promise to forward the message immediately and say goodbye

o Always be careful to check the content of messages with customers.

o Perform greetings according to telephone procedures

Forward messages to customers immediately

o If the guest does not leave the key at the reception desk, ask the bellman to bring it to the guest's room.

o If the guest leaves the key at the reception desk, you can put it in the key compartment and give it back to the guest when they pick up the key.

o Set up text message notifications on the phone system to notify customers


1.2. 2. Process of writing the message:

- Hotels often use a pre-printed message form to record telephone messages. A standard procedure is as follows:

Record the date the message was received

Write the name of the message recipient

Record caller name/message recipient

Record phone numbers and contact addresses

Record message content

Repeat the message content to the caller, if necessary verbally, to ensure the message is accurate.

Record the time the message was received

Record the name of the employee receiving the message Note:

Make sure your writing is clear and accurate.

Messages are routed to the appropriate person immediately

- Most hotels have their own procedures for implementing the SMS receiving process.

1.3 Handling customer requests:

- Because the front desk is the focal point of the hotel, staff are often asked all kinds of questions by guests and visitors to the hotel. Front desk staff will be expected to answer all requests or direct guests appropriately. Handling requests is key to good customer service.

- We should build a knowledge of the hotel, the local area to get answers to the most frequently asked questions. You can't know or remember everything, it's important to know where the information is kept.

- To do this quickly and accurately, the receptionist should have access to multiple sources of information. Some basic reference sources available might be:

+ A list of all services in the hotel with details such as opening and closing hours

+ List of daily activities or functional categories

+ Hotel / staff phone list with extension numbers

+ Local information such as post office, church… from available records


- It is important that you know how to use and read these resources. The front desk staff's every effort is to help guests and meet their needs. Many requests or questions do not include providing information. Often guests have some simple questions, such as alarm clock, extra towels, etc. It is important to communicate quickly and effectively with the appropriate person/department to ensure that guests' requests are met promptly.

2. Customer services during stay

2.1 Diversify service types:

- The receptionist is the source of information, serves guests and provides many services to guests.

- Some additional services may be free to guests to enhance the quality of the guests. Other services create upselling opportunities to increase hotel revenue. The front desk is the center for providing services to guests in terms of both information and services:

Mail services – providing stamps, envelopes or mail delivery services.

Transportation – arrange hotel or local transportation.

Sightseeing – book local sightseeing tickets.

Personal shopping – assisting guests with shopping requests as well as handicrafts in the hotel or local shops

Air or other means – confirm air tickets, make reservations with airlines, trains, buses.

Translation and secretarial services

Leisure activities – booking cultural and sports activities such as water puppetry, golf

Massage – arrange massage in room or in massage area

Babysitting - organize childcare services for guests with young children

Alarm

Replenish bedroom amenities (towels, toothbrushes)

Safekeeping of valuables and luggage

Change room

Currency exchange

Restaurant reservations

Lost property

Book in advance


2.2 Factors that create a good impression for guests:

- Each hotel will have a list of services to meet the needs of guests.

guest

+ Exceeding guest expectations: in the hotel industry,

Good service is about meeting the needs of the guest and especially exceeding the guest’s expectations. Exceeding expectations is possible when the hotel goes the extra mile to accommodate the guest’s special requests. This means that if a guest has a special request for information, every effort should be made to help the guest, providing extra service even if the guest’s request is not within the receptive function of the front desk.

+ Be ready to help guests: there may be some cases where these services are provided by the business center or the baggage staff, the receptionist should guide the guest to the appropriate department or staff responsible for that issue. However, the issue of attentive customer care should be given great attention so that the guest does not have the impression that "it is not my job". If the staff does not know about a certain issue, they should introduce someone better than themselves to handle the guest's request.

+ Directions to the destination: if time and conditions permit, the receptionist should accompany the guest to request the relevant staff (luggage staff/ shopping mall staff), explain their requests and ensure that the guest's request is carefully carried out. In this way, the guest will receive the best service and will not feel that his request is passed from one person to another.

3. Safeguard valuable property of customers

3.1 Forms of notification

* One or all of the following means may be used to notify guests:

- Printed on the registration form, for example: the hotel has a safe deposit box for your convenience. Please ask the receptionist to help you.

- Verbal announcement when guests check in

- Place the notice in a visible location at the reception desk.

- Place a notice in a prominent location in the guest bedroom

- Print the notice in the hotel guide and place it in each guest room.


3.2 Asset preservation methods:

* Currently, most hotels have a system to protect valuable assets.

guest.

* The three most commonly used systems are:

3.2.1. Safe deposit box at the reception desk:

* Safe box:

+ Hotels often have personal safes for guests to use.

+ The safe has many compartments, each large enough to hold personal belongings such as jewelry, passports, money and important documents.

+ Safe is located at the reception desk where both guests and staff can access.

* Usage process:

- Assets are placed in individual safes and each safe is secured with 2 locks.

lock

- The first lock is opened by a master key. This key is the key

common to all safes. The holder of this master key is usually the Director or person responsible for this service of the hotel.

- The second lock has a separate key, and it is given to the guest to keep.

- When a customer needs to use a safe deposit box, the customer must fill out a deposit agreement form. The customer must sign the agreement form and accept responsibility for the key he/she holds. If the customer's key is lost, the entire locking system of the safe must be replaced and the cost is very expensive.

- The safe can only be opened when both keys are inserted into the two locks, meaning both the guest and the hotel's master key holder must be present.

- Customers are required to sign the back of the deposit agreement form each time they want to open the safe. The responsible staff will check and compare the two signatures of the customer. If the two signatures completely match, the safe can be opened.

- When guests check out, the receptionist must politely ask the guest to remove all belongings from the safe, sign to confirm that the safe is completely empty and return the safe key to the hotel.

3.2.2. In-room safe:

- This security system is equipped in every hotel room and only appears in newly built hotels.

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