Customer Care Policies: Effectiveness

The changes taking place in the world are taking place at a very rapid pace, and inorder to survive and remain fit in the competition it is required by hotel industry to have a good policy that gives quality service and satisfy the needs of the customers. The hotel must identify its commitment to meet the service and satisfying needs of every customer making him feel important and respected. According to Cardiff University (2010) noted that there would be assistance for all the customers in case of any queries against the services provided or services used and the staff employed by the division. Therefore the obligations to meet these are made into different procedures and policies.

The main aim of customer care policy in any industry is to handle the grievances of mainly the direct users of service in a timely, reasonable and positive manner. The main aim of this report is to analyse the customer care policy of a particular hotel (RITZ) and its effectiveness. The primary information presented in this report is from the personal visit by the author to the hotel and the secondary resource is taken from various articles and the net source.

The RITZ hotel in London established in 1906 by a Swiss hotelier Caesar Ritz. It is a 133 room hotel located in Piccadilly in London. It is a 5 star hotel with many big hoteliers acknowledging it as the world’s greatest hotel .The Ritz hotel was managed by the hotel managed for many years and has been transferred to many hands later on, the latest is David and Fredrick Barclay in 1995 from Trafalgar house for 80 million. The greatest accomplishment by Ritz is being considered as a benchmark through which other hotels were measured (Theritzlondon, 2010). The details of this hotel will be presented at various stages in this report.

TYPES OF CUSTOMERS

In my personal visit to the Hotel these are the various customers identified frequently visiting the hotel.

(1) TOURISTS

The tourism industry in U.K is considered to be one of the biggest sectors in U.K.According to Euromonitor (2008) London seems to be major place of tourist attraction and millions of people visiting it round the year. The tourists are those people who move out of their dwelling place to a different location for a more than one or certain number of days but less than a year .The main reason behind this is to do some leisure and recreation activities(Social, cultural etc).

RESAON FOR VISIT

Hotel Ritz is located on Piccadilly, over the green park and it is in central London. It is evident that central London has much tourist attraction (London eye, Buckingham palace, Big Ben, etc) (Moment of truth).The other reason is the existence of coach and train station nearby (London Victoria) and frequent trains to Gatwick and Heathrow airport. This is the reason to be more preferred by tourists.

(2)CORPORATES

The term corporate is derived from the word business person referring some in a ‘white collar’ job. The corporate individuals are particularly top in the rank in hierarchy and work towards the profit maximization in the organization. At certain times it is required by them or the company to conduct certain meetings or a get together with people from different companies and promoting their business. They are needed to be given due importance because they make huge businesses.

REASON FOR VISIT

Hotel Ritz renders various facilities conference halls, private meeting rooms with high speed broadband (100mb) wireless network, which helps in conducting and executing meetings. The existence of lavish Private and big dining rooms can be suitable for the get together ,in regards to meeting different dignitaries from different countries(Theritzlondon,2010).

ARCHITECTURAL VISITORS

Architects are those people who play an important role in making a place very attractive and beautiful. These kinds of visitors are always interested in different, unique and rare designs.

REASON TO VISIT

Hotel Ritz has unique French chateau architecture and Louis XVI furnishings and themes, with the presence of Parisian architectural traditions on the outside. The other reason is the works of great architects like Charles Mewes and Arthur Davis.

BIOGRAPHERS

These are the people who write on the real life stories of great people in different parts of the world.

REASON FOR VISIT

Hotel Ritz had housed many famous people like Chalie chaplin,Winston chruchill,King Edward VIII and various other Hollywood actors and celebrities etc(London-traveltrips,2010).This will help biographers to know about certain personal interest of celebrities(For ex. food).

TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER CARE POLICIES AND ITS IMPORTANCE

” The purpose to commence any business to create and attract a customer”

(Drucker, 1998)

The formulation of the customer care policies in most of the industries is done by the management in order to suit the current situation and satisfy the needs of the customers. In the hotel industry it is customer’s acceptance and like for the policies that leads to gaining more customers and making profits. Therefore the policies made must be focused on retaining the old customers as well as attracting new customers. Given below are certain policies followed in the RITZ hotel to attract customers.

Creation of positive business environment:-

The creation of this positive environment is possible by making the customer feel good about themselves and the company and this finally leads to spending by the customer. The staffs play an important role in this creation, so they must be trained properly to know the required tools and know-how techniques to make the customers stay a memorable one. (For ex)

Provision of Cab facilities at cheap rates for new tourists.

The existence of a guide to educate customers about various architecture and antiques.

Proper handling of grievance or provide a solution:-

In situation like the customer coming out with any problem, in that case the staffs are trained to take the role of a parent and make the customers to reduce their temper and then give solutions that satisfy the customer. Even in the cases of no solution is identified, it is the staff’s duty to hear them and respect their point of views. It is also the staff’s duty to educate and make aware the limitation to the customers.

In general, offering free coffee & snacks to customers when they wait in the reception for check in or out.

Regular checks on the cleanliness and the working of appliances. (Especially for corporate meetings & get together).

Measuring customer satisfaction and feedback:-

The best ways to measure whether the customers are satisfied or no is by getting feedbacks from them on using the service. The implementation of various systems like informal face to face polls, feedbacks, surveys and questionnaires that will help in giving a chance for training the employees, handling the grievances and problems an adapting to current situations. It is also important to be flexible with the staff as they are key role players in delivering good customer service. (For ex)

Getting feedback for every staff response on handling the customer calls and service from customers.

This part of the chapter deals with the effectiveness involved in the establishment of the customer care policies in the hospitality industry.

EFFECTIVENESS OF CUSTOMER CARE POLICY.

“The battle for repeat business is critical for long-term success in today’s intensely competitive marketplace. Customer service is not just a competitive advantage, but it is a competitive advantage in many industries .Service is the new standards by which the customers judge the performance”

BAND (2002) CEO Coopers and Lybrand Consulting, Toronto

The main reason for every organization in the hospitality industry to structure a customer service policy is to satisfy the customers and to reveal the value given to customer from this industry. These customer service policies are similar to Bundling process as explained by Greneir & Kini (1991) providing value added advantage around the satisfaction and service the hotel renders. It is natural that the customers come back to the hotel where they are given a bundle of extra services at considerable cost. Certain explanations reveal that the customer service policy plays a major role in giving suggestions or solutions for the various question rose by customers. But Patsula (2004) articulation in his book of “successful business planning” stating that the customer service policies also helps in other ways such as developing the company’s image, creating a positive business environment and building customer loyalty.

But according Tschlol & Stavig (2002) most of the businesses don’t understand the fact that customer service and its policies are really selling, as it is attracting the customer to make many visits. The main reason behind this is that the managers are reluctant to look at it as a marketing strategy, but as an after sales service. Therefore it is necessary by every staff working in the hotel industry to be aware of the customer policies and consider it as a marketing strategy, as it helps in improving the business and realize the benefits from good customer service. Similar explanation by Bill Gates to Business Journal (2010) that every unhappy customer for the business is a great source of learning for the business.

The company will be at risk, when the hotel doesn’t focus on the quality and consistency of customer experience they offer. But as per Seybold & Marshak (2001)articulations the customer have taken control of the companies destinies and are transforming the hotel industry. Therefore it is the duty of staff to render proper service and different ways presented by Patsula (2004) are:-

The staff should reveal their interest in serving people

Giving the team pride and confidence to do a go job.

Building customer loyalty

Make the presence of management felt in case of criticism

Handling complaints properly.

BIBILIOGRAPHY

CARDIFFUNIVERISTY.2010.Customer care policy. [WWW]http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/resid/resources/Customer%20Care%20Policy.pdf(2010)(Accessed on 28th April 2010)

THERITZLONDON.2010.About company.[WWW]http://www.theritzlondon.com/about/index.asp(Accessed on 29th April 2010)

LONDON-TRAVELTIPS.2010. Celebrities interest in RITZ. [WWW]http://www.london-traveltips.com/the-ritz-hotel.htm(Accessed on 30 th April 2010)

EUROMONITOR.2008.Londin visitors.[WWW]http://www.euromonitor.com/top_150_city_destinations_london_leads_the_way(Accessed on 29th April 2010)

DRUCKER, P.1998. Customer quotes cited in the book of ZEMKE, R &WOODS, J.A. 1998. Best practices in customer service, HRD press, Pg 24

GREINER, D & KINNI, T.B. 1999.1001 ways to keep customer keep coming back, Prima publishing, Pg 1

TSCHOHL, J & STAVIG, V.2002.Acheveing excellence through customer service, Best sellers publishing, Minnesota, Pg 1-10.

PATSULA, P.J.2004. Successful business planning ,A step by step guide for writing a business plan and starting your own business,3rd edition, No 51,Patsula media publishers

Bill Gates.2010. Bill Gates on applying the ‘best minds to the biggest problems’, Puget sound Business journal, Business review, April 19 2010.

SEYBOLD, P.B & MARSHAK, R.T . 2001. The Customer revolution, Crown business; 1st edition, Pg 2-10.