Lessons from the hospitality industry (Part 2)
Proactively problem-solving
Problem-solving skills will come into play no matter what career path you choose. Some problems are easier to navigate while others are trickier to handle. Service and perception is a double-edged sword in hospitality. Get one or the other or both wrong and it will have a terrible impact on the operation. This means providing customers and fellow staff with the best outcomes, all the while maintaining a calm exterior.
You thus learn to think on your feet and it provides you life-long lessons on facing problems head-on, managing impressions, how to handle culturally sensitive issues and not least of all…develope a ‘can-do mindset.
Sometimes frontline hospitality employees need to take charge of dealing with problems. It can happen at late night – where there is no one else around to help or calling your supevisor at home is a ‘no no’. With no time to ask for backup or additional guidance, one needs to find a solution…and quickly.
Being proactive about customer issues can diminish the likelihood of a bad experience. This can include a receptionist correcting a mistake (made during the reservation process), before the guest’s arrival. In food & beverage, excellent waiters are always on the lookout for customer needs. They are ever-agile observers and check in with customers as soon as they notice a potential problem. Even the simple art of refilling water before being asked is a task that challenges the best employee. (Nothing is worse than having an empty glass and no server in sight).
Never Say "No".
Hotel staffs never say ‘no’ .That’s not entirely true. In most hotels staff does say no – because saying anything else would mean bending or breaking the rules; and in these hotels, the legitimacy of following the rules overules that of satisfying the guests. I’ve worked in hotels where it was the job of the staff to find a solution to a problem, whatever the problem was (as long as it did not break the law or was morally wrong). ‘No’ was considered as an admission of failure in executing the job.
There was this hotel that allowed any guest to extend their stay even when it was overbooked claiming that to ask a guest to leave violated the credo of 5- star hospitality. Once when a hotel guest was turned away from the restaurant for coming five minutes late for breakfast, I recall the hotel GM admonishing the staff during the morning meeting. Turning to the Chef he asked, “Could we not find a piece of cheese somewhere in this building for a guest paying three hundred dollars?” Adding, “We should not permit rules to get in the way of goodwill”... I guess the ‘Breakfast Anytime’ offering came from someone who thought alike.
It’s all about people
Seven out of ten when asked “Why do you want to join the hospitality industry?” will tell you “I like to meet people”. One of the more fascinating aspects of working in hospitality is the scope of people. Whether its meeting customers or working with staff, you are likely to encounter a diverse ranges of ethnicities, ages and personalities. Like it or not you will learn an incredible number of life lessons.
Sometimes you may not meet many people at all – for example, as a dishwasher or laundry attendant. Nevertheless, if you are genuinely involved in the hospitality business, everytime you come to work you are expected to make someone’s day that little it better. Your business is all about people…be it customers or fellow staff. It’s all about making people happy.
Influence rather than being influenced
Working in the industry provides opportunities to be an ‘influencer’ rather than being influenced. No matter where you are - be it at entry or mid-level, you get to see the big picture. Influence is a diluted form of leadership.Holding influence with your co-workers means being capable of shaping an individuals attitude. As one ascends the leadership ladder, you learn that leading by example, exhibiting precise time management and self motivation are key traits to be a manager with influence.
Importance of Personalisation
Those of us who have at some stage or another worked in the frontline – be it as a receptionist waiter or housemaid are given the first lessons in ‘personalisation’. We learn that the best approach for a personalisation that draws hotel customers into sharper focus, improves the guest relationship, enhances results and revenues in rewarding guest experiences is always a “you first” proposition – where the guest is king. Even at entry level, one is taught to acknowledge the customer – where in the better run hotels, staff learn to address guests by name rather than ‘Sir or Madam”
Unlike most other businesses, customer services are very often face-to-face interactions. People working in hospitality learn how important it is to read the guests emotional state of mind and be able to make their response more personal – all in realtime. It all comes down to ‘Knowing your guest’. The deeper level of knowledge you have about your guests and the ability to deliver a truly personalised guest experience, the more likely they are, of becoming loyal guests.
Self-confidence and belief in others
Self-confidence is something that is not given or taught, but something that you have to gain through experience.The top source for self-confidence in hospitality: experience. And there is no substitute for experience. Often the experiences encountered will involve making difficult decisions or performing challenging tasks.There will be failures too. However, learning from failure and believing ‘you can’ overcome them in future, means you are halfway there. This adds to developing one’s self-confidence. In the process you learn to trust in others – which is a huge part of self-confidence, since in this industry you simply cannot pull off great events by yourself.
In short, working in hospitality teaches you to cope and deal with real-life soft skills. Skills that will carry you through your entire life – be it this industry, another field or elsewhere.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex- Hotelier
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