Lessons from 2020; Delivering service excellence during COVID-19
What the past year showed us is that customer service appears to have suffered a quick, painful death. Perhaps a bit exaggerated, but when one is confronted with masked staff upon entering a hotel or restaurant, and the addition of protection barriers at customer touch-points that have been significantly shortened…that’s not far from the truth either.
Covid- 19 decimated the “Service with a smile” axiom in 2020. Some experts say “Even if guests can’t see the smile under the mask, staffs have got to smile with their eyes”. Point taken. However, that can be difficult for persons who don’t smile with their eyes. (HR people; take note when hiring frontline staff).
As far as guests concerns go, the mask overrules seeing a smile…at least for now. Because even with receptionists wearing a mask and standing behind Plexiglas barriers or where waiters keep their distance when taking your order, there’s no getting away from hospitality been service-centric. How then, can we tell our guests that we are pleased to see them, and that we are there to take care of them, when they cannot see our smile? That is one of several challenge the hospitality industry will face in 2021.
In the pre-pandemic era, customer service by and large, has always been typically reactive with guest-facing staff including customer service managers spending a good part of their time responding to a cycle of individual problems and finding solutions. Unfortunately, the critical building block that leads to cementing a lasting relationship with guests, through the proactive provision of great service, is one that very few excel in.
Lest we forget, although the old customer service playbook isn’t working after COVID-19, customers are still in control. Contactless experience embraces convenience, but it also removes long established guest interaction points that take place in an in-person physical environment as well as socially recognized communication channels. In this backdrop and in the face of digital transactions, hotels will have to rely on virtual customer touch points to deliver personalised experiences.
In today’s instantaneous world, purchasing has evolved to be one of the simplest yet diverse tasks a person can do. Think online shopping and ‘shopping cart’ pops up – with limitless options. But is there a shopping cart experience in hotels? Not that I know of. How about offering travelers some simple choices that they can drop into their cart? Like for instance, room on the low, mid, high floor, listing of sweet-savoury snacks & beverages to be stocked in the mini-bar, etc. Remember, what went before may well not be good enough. We now need to be prepared to explore the new.
Research shows that in 2019, the abandonment rate for hotel bookings was an astonishing 85%.That’s how many were curious enough to get into the booking engine before leaving. Couple that with the fact that while many consumers have cancelled their trips last year; they have not lost their hunger to travel. Here’s an opportunity to capture future bookings by engaging guests that have cancelled by creating a hugely impactful campaign.
But changes have to happen now, and quickly. Failure will result in a business that isn’t operating at all.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
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