Quality service is a management tool that provides companies with a means of monitoring service from the customers perspective. Quality Assurance refers to any planned and systematic activity directed towards providing consumers with goods and services of appropriate quality, along with the confidence that they meet consumers’ requirements. Quality assurance depend on excellence of two focal points in business the design of goods and services and to control quality during execution of service delivery which is aided by some form of measure and inspection (Evans and Lindsay, 2010). A quality services management system is a result oriented approach. It deals with the service characteristics that really matter to end-users(consumers); it addresses service providers who have tangible results to expose to consumers; it guarantees the customers the high quality of service they can receive during their stay in a lodging and it provides staff with metadology to show commitment to quality services (Reyad, 2005).
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The concept of quality is widely discussed in hospitality management. In the hospitality industry is defined as “the consistent delivery of products and guest services according to standards.” Increasingly, Guests are willing to pay more when they visit hospitality properties offering services that meets or exceeds their service expectations. The level of quality service is an important factor in the experience that guests receive during their visits to lodging operations (Hayes, 2011).
By creating value for the guests the lodging establishment can manage successfully to retain its guests. Managers must recognize the importance of client retention, since the attraction of a new customer is regarded to be more expensive and time consuming (Reyad, 2005).In an increasingly competitive market, the issue of quality has grown in significance for hotel businesses. This has been influenced by a number of factors, such as the expansion of consumer rights and the alleged emergence of new quality conscious tourists. In addition greater competitiveness has caused hotel companies to be increasingly aware of the importance of quality as a source of competitive advantage (Varvaresos, 2006). The components of quality in the hospitality industry that can be used to develop and implement a quality service system are the following:
Consider the guests being served.
Determine what the guest desire.
Develop procedures to deliver what guests wants.
Train and empower staff.
Implement revised systems.
Evaluate and identify service delivery systems.
(Pearson, 2011).
Quality self evaluation by the hotel industry (usually through comment cards in the guest rooms or online questionnaires) is very important so that the hoteliers can identify and solve problems.
Regular and systematic analysis of evaluation results may lead to a wide range of advantages, amongst them:
Measuring the matching degree of customers’ needs and expectations and comparing the results with perceived quality.
Acting as a basis for the strategic process, identifying improvement activities; and
Controlling competitiveness in quality with the help of benchmarking (Varvaresos, 2006).
Hospitality and tourism services, among others, can be differentiated on the basis of variety offered and the volume of customers processed. This can vary from a high volume operation offering a very restricted range of products and services to a lower volume operation where every customer receives a unique or highly customized service. Another key variable in any key variable in any service operation is the nature of the service contact. High contact has an extra level of social interaction associated with staff, while a low contact service requires the staff to perform largely technical skills. Each requires a different approach with a high level of contact requiring sophisticated social skills training, together with a good level of product knowledge, whereas low level of contact requires simpler customers care and technical training. A low contact service may also be suitable for substitution by information technology or self service. (Laura, 2011)
Customer Service (McIntyre-Pike, 1978)
Customer service is the essence of the hospitality industry. The importance of customer service in the hospitality industry is stressed in professional courses as well as on the job training modules since aspiring hoteliers, restauranteurs and others in the industry need to be well aware of its significance and implication for successful business operations.
Benefits of customer service
Under-promise and over-delivery should be the mantra for success.
Should be attentive and passionate about customer needs.
Build a relationship based on trust and loyalty.
This will result in customer loyalty and retention.
Feedback of customer service
Stay open to suggestions.
Understand what is your customer’s expectations.
Place a suggestion box in your hotel reception, café, air, travel or tourism office.
Act upon suggestions to show care.
It is essential to understand the importance of customer service in hospitality to make a positive difference to the business by listening and learning.
Prompt Service
Provide the best service.
Ensure customer satisfaction.
If customers aren’t satisfied they will seek satisfaction elsewhere.
Convenience
The hospitality industry thrives on convenience. If your customer service is missing this essential ingredient, your business won’t last long unless you bring about changes that demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction. Remember that the service and hospitality industries were built to offer the basics of convenience to customers. Today, as the industry is expanding and the competition is growing, hotel conglomerates are getting innovative and thinking of means to achieve the highest standards in convenience offerings.
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Value
The importance of customer service in hospitality emanates from the principle that the customer needs to be treated with priority, and he should see value in what he gets. If a customer strongly believes he is getting value for the money he is paying, he will keep coming back. On the contrary, dissatisfaction with your customer service will make him turn back an The importance of customer service in hospitality emanates from the principle that the customer needs to be treated with priority, and he should see value in what he gets. If a customer strongly believes he is getting value for the money he is paying, he will keep coming back. On the contrary, dissatisfaction with your customer service will make him turn back and look for value offerings from your competition.
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