Guest satisfaction doesn't necessarily create improved results
A restaurant that had opened a couple of months earlier, serving dinner with maximum seating for 60 people displayed tent cards on each table, claiming “90% of our guests are satisfied”. The restaurant operator considered this the key recipe for its success, and one that should be shared with its customers. What the operator failed to share was that the 90% - satisfied total was by adding 3 of the 4 available boxed rating choices on the ‘Guest Comment card. Namely, ‘Very Satisfied’, ‘Satisfied’ and ‘Somewhat Satisfied’ – leaving out ‘Unsatisfied’ which accounted for 10% of the total ratings.
In other words, whenever the restaurant was full, six diners exited after their meal, disgruntled and unhappy. The restaurant during those early months was full on an average twenty times in the month. This meant that it had over 120 unsatisfied diners during the month. No small wonder then that the restaurant, despite its claim of satisfaction was soon receiving negative reviews – far more than favorable ones, on social media. As most of us are aware, unsatisfied customers do not pause to tell the world of their experience…unlike those who are merely satisfied and see no reason to rave about it.
One of the most frequent ‘screw-ups’ is when businesses believe that customer satisfaction can continuously create improved results. Yes, it does – but only for a short while. Unless customer satisfaction leads to customer loyalty, it would be hard to sustain the business – even when it attracts new customers. Customers will come in and eventually go out – like a revolving door and pretty soon, the business sees less new customers with the old ones moving over to the competition. Before long, competitors who were behind you, when you entered the revolving door of business are stepping out of it ahead of you!
Research has shown that 80% of customers who express satisfaction will not hesitate to go elsewhere, particularly when ‘satisfaction’ is available in plenty and that is the harsh reality. Satisfaction, one must remember, has become the price of entry, not the means to win.
Having customer satisfaction as your company’s core foundation is no longer viable. Focus instead on your ‘advocacy’ count – one which is a reliable metric that correlates with increased business. Most define customer advocacy as “when a customer loves your brand so much they are willing to sing your praises to everyone who will listen”. Your advocates are invaluably important assets to your brand and members of your customer communities.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
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