The disconnect that remains mainly unspoken
The biggest unspoken disconnect in ‘phone trees’ is that companies design them to protect internal efficiency while treating the customer's time as a free, infinite resource.
Yesterday, I called a luxury hotel in Colombo to make an enquiry about a special dining event that was advertised by the property. First of all, I encountered that widely used automated interactive voice response (IVR) system, referred to as a ‘phone tree’, which apart from the generic and commonly scripted greeting, uses a branching menu structure used to route callers to departments, people, information or self-service options.
Let's be honest - nobody likes getting stuck in a phone tree: Press 1 for this, press 2 for that, and press 3 to blah, blah… blah, and hope that anyone will answer your call. But as much as we dislike them, phone trees are here to stay, especially as they remove much of the “call center” grunt work that has historically plagued manual calling systems. That I can appreciate.
However, keep in mind, this typically, is the first touchpoint a customer encounters when calling a business, which makes getting it right important. So, to not make your phone tree become a nightmare, keep things simple. Don't overwhelm your callers with a laundry list of options; stick to the essentials. In plain terms ‘chop down’ a few branches in your overgrown phone tree.
Getting back to my call to that particular hotel - after navigating the phone tree, I was placed on hold, then transferred between departments as the person who took my call was unable to furnish the relevant information I sought, and put me on hold once again, until my call was relayed to another department. The employee who answered told me that her colleague who could assist me was not at his seat, at which point, my interaction for some inexplicable reason was abandoned; meaning the phone went dead. I was back to square one, after fruitlessly spending several minutes on that call.
Now, I have experienced this with my bank and my telecom server where it occurs regularly. However, what I experienced with that luxury hotel was not a systems error but the failure of this hotel’s staff to deliver. Unlike a delayed email or an unanswered message, a failed phone interaction creates immediate frustration, even anger.
Why do people want to speak to a real person?
Opposite to what some believe, the voice channel remains an essential component of the hospital industry. While digital bookings are the ‘now’ thing, many guests still prefer the convenience of a quick call to ask burning questions. Instead of spending hours clicking multiple web pages, guests can simply pick up the phone and get the information they need in one conversation. Ideally, that should be the case – unlike what happened to me.
If the hotel claims to be upscale, I anticipate immediacy and clarity, whilst expect the person on the other end of the line to understand; the property, the area and the context of my request. When that expectation is not met, the breakdown is felt more acutely than in any other channel.
Hotels have modernized nearly every aspect of the guest experience, yet the most direct and personal channel continues to be given step-motherly treatment, where the focus has been on investing on guest-facing digital tools. Booking engines, mobile check-in, messaging platforms, and CRM systems have all received significant attention. Most hotel operators treat voice as a logistical challenge rather than a service opportunity. The focus is on managing calls, not training staff on staying well informed, knowledgeable as well as improving ‘voice communication’ to enhance the guest experience.
Hotels rely increasingly on technology to handle routing and script suggestions, inadvertently turning front-line staff into automated processors rather than relational communicators.
In an industry defined by service, the way a hotel answers the phone should be as intentional as every other part of the experience. Consistency through well executed agentic solutions is the key.
Shafeek Wahab- Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Mystery Guest Auditor, Ex-Hotelier
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