2 pages double space summary for each PPT. 3 total.

profilechofperchmo
HRT476Ch.4CustomerSatisfaction.ppt
Home>Education homework help>2 pages double space summary for each PPT. 3 total.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

HRT476

Ch. 4

*

Chapter 4 Discussion Points:

  • What is the difference or similarity between service quality and customer satisfaction?
  • Find out best hotel brans in terms of customer satisfaction.
  • How to satisfy internal customers (employees)?

Ch. 4 is relatively short and simple because the core concept of customer satisfaction is overlapped with that of service quality. Ch. 4 is the last chapter before the mid-term exam.

Agenda

  • What is Customer Satisfaction (CS)?
  • CS vs SQ
  • How do we measure customer satisfaction?
  • Best Hotel Brands in customer satisfaction
  • How to satisfy internal customers?

*

Customer Satisfaction

  • “Need fulfillment”
  • “Pleasure/Displeasure”
  • Expectation-performance interactions
  • Evaluation of the purchase & consumption experience
  • Comparison of actual with ideal outcomes
  • Deficit/surplus attribute obtained from the purchase

*

The definitions of customer satisfaction are similar with those of service quality. When customers’ needs or expectations are met or exceeded, they are satisfied.

Customer Satisfaction vs
Service Quality

  • Are they same?
  • Practitioners: Use both terms interchangeably
  • They have certain things in common
  • Correlations between two concepts are very strong
  • Researchers: Two concepts are different
  • How different?
  • Satisfaction: Broader concept
  • Service Quality: focus specifically on dimensions of service (Five Dimensions of SQ)
  • Service Quality is a key component (antecedent) of customer satisfaction

Yes, definitions are similar between service quality and customer satisfaction. Then, the question is “Are they same?”

  • You can choose a stance between practitioners who believe they are same and researchers who insist they are different?
  • Once you choose a stance, you have to provide your justification. Why they are same or How different they are?

*

Customer Satisfaction vs
Service Quality

Tangibles

Reliability

Responsiveness

Assurance

Empathy

Product

Quality

Service

Quality

Customer

Satisfaction

Price

Situational

Factors

Personal

Factors

Researchers tend to believe that there is a causal relationship exited between service quality and custom satisfaction. In other words, one causes the other. In this context, service quality results in customer satisfaction.

Yes, customers are satisfied when they receive quality service. Is that good enough for customer satisfaction?

Customers are satisfied when they receive the best customer VALUE.

*

Customer Satisfaction vs
Service Quality

  • Service Quality: More Specific
  • Focused evaluation that reflects the customer’s perceptions of specific dimensions of service: Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy, & Tangibles
  • Customer Satisfaction: More Inclusive
  • Influenced by perceptions of 1) service quality, 2) product quality, and 3) price
  • Influenced by uncontrollable situational factors (weather conditions etc.) and personal factors (emotional state, health, family etc.)

Difference?

Service quality is more specific like 5 dimensions of service quality that we discussed in Ch. 2. Thus, when we measure service quality, we have to measure it very specifically using numerous measurement items in five dimensions: Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy, & Tangibles.

On the other hand, customer satisfaction is more inclusive and overall feeling. It can be simply measured by asking customers’ overall feeling after consumption of service or product.

Yes, service quality affect customer satisfaction: customers are satisfied when they receive quality service. Then, the question is…Is service quality alone good enough for customer satisfaction? Are you always satisfied and happy when you receive quality service?

Customers are satisfied when they receive the best customer VALUE.

*

Customer Value & Satisfaction

  • Customers choose the service provider that give them the most value (service quality, product quality & price)
  • Customer value: “The consumer’s assessment of the hotel’s/restaurant’s overall capacity to satisfy his/her needs”
  • Customers form expectations of value and then compare the actual value they receive to the value expected => This affects their satisfaction
  • Hotel managers should create expectations of value and strive to equal and surpass guest expectations of value

*

Customer satisfaction can be best explained with customer value, which include not only service quality, but also product quality and price. Customers build expectations of value and evaluate their consumption experiences based on that. If they assess their expectations of value are met or exceeded, they are happy and satisfied.

Guest Satisfaction (Practitioners)

  • Guest satisfaction depends on the service provider’s performance relative to a guest’s expectations
  • Customer Satisfaction = Service Quality
  • A guest might experience various degrees of satisfaction:
  • Performance falls short – Dissatisfied (Poor service)
  • Performance matches expectations – Satisfied (Quality service)
  • Performance exceeds expectations - Highly satisfied (Excellent service)

*

Practitioners want to believe service quality and customer satisfaction are almost same and thus use both terms interchangeably. Simply, whenever customers receive quality service, they are happy and satisfied always. In other words, they believe that customer satisfaction can be controlled by service providers. How do you think?

There is no one correct answer to the question “Are they same?” You choose one stance and provide your rationale or justification based on your experiences, philosophy, and lecture materials.

Guest Satisfaction

  • Marketers must be careful to set the right level of expectations
  • If too low:
  • If too high:
  • Holiday Inn’s “No Surprises”
  • Successful hospitality forms are raising expectations and delivering performance to match
  • Ritz Carlton’s “Baldrige Award”
  • Hampton Inn’s “100% Satisfaction Guarantee”
  • For hospitality forms, guest satisfaction is a

the goal and major factor in success

  • Less price sensitive
  • Remain guests for a longer period
  • Repeat visitation
  • Talk favorably to others

Fails to attract enough customers’ attentions

Disappointed when their expectations are not met

*

It is very important for hospitality marketers to set the right level of customer (value) expectations. Not too low, Not too high.

No-surprise: promised consistently trouble-free accommodations and service. However, Holiday Inn guests still encountered a host of problems, and the expectations created by the campaign only made customers more dissatisfied. HI had to withdraw the campaign.

Customer satisfaction is very important because it ultimately affects customer loyalty that we will discuss in Ch. 5.

Tracking Guest Satisfaction

  • Complaint & suggestion systems
  • Comments cards, customer interview etc.
  • Hotels should make it easy for customers to make suggestions or complaints
  • It helps service providers to move quickly to resolve problems
  • It provides them with many good ideas for improved service
  • Guest satisfaction survey
  • Questionnaires or telephone calls to find out how guests feel about various aspects of the hotel’s service performance (IPA)
  • Include satisfaction questions: “Satisfied/Dissatisfied” “Happy/Unhappy” “Pleased/Displeased”

How to track customer satisfaction?

Same with service quality…comment cards, customer interview, survey etc.

*

J.D. Power and Associates 2017 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction

  • Sample size: 63,000 hotel guests who stayed in a hotel in north America between June 2016 and May 2017
  • Best hotel brands in six market segments
  • Luxury
  • Upper Upscale
  • Upscale
  • Upper mid-scale
  • Mid-Scale
  • Economy
  • Upper Extended Stay
  • Extended Stay
  • Seven key measures:
  • Reservations
  • Check-in/Check-out
  • Guest Room
  • Food & Beverage
  • Hotel Services
  • Hotel Facilities
  • Cost & Fees

Find out best hotel brands in terms of customer satisfaction using the J.D. Power and Associates 2017 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, which is the most well-known hotel customer satisfaction index. Remember that customer/guest satisfaction is affected by customer value: service, product, and price. JD Power used seven key attributes for measuring guest satisfaction: Reservations, Check-in/Check-out, Guest Room, Food & Beverage, Hotel Services, Hotel Facilities, and Cost & Fees. All of them can be categorized into three value aspects.

*

Internal Customer Satisfaction

In order to satisfy external customers, you have to satisfy your internal customers (employees) first. As shown in the Service Profit Chain, internal satisfaction eventually affects customer satisfaction and loyalty. Satisfied and well-motivated service providers can deliver quality service.

*

Employee Turnover

  • Turnover is very costly to a property
  • Estimates on how much each turnover costs a property:
  • They range from $1,500 to $50,000 per employee
  • A reduction in turnover => Thousands of dollars in savings
  • Separation costs: maintaining files, conducting exit interviews, separation pay, unemployment taxes, termination of benefits, etc.
  • Replacement costs: searches, interviews, background checks, new uniform purchases, waste due to productivity loss, etc.
  • Training costs: orientation, printed materials, trainer wages, reduced productivity of trainee, etc.
  • Low turnover has been related to high Customer satisfaction and Customer returns

In today labor market, high employee turnover is the main issue for almost every hotel property.

One of main duties of hotel manager is to retain effective staff.

Staff Motivation

  • Training
  • One of the most effective ways to motivate employees
  • Clear message that the management cares enough
  • Cross-Training
  • Opportunity to acquire additional work skills - Employees
  • Increase the flexibility in scheduling - Managers
  • Recognition
  • Guest, managerial, and peer recognition
  • “Employee-of-the month”, certificate, plaque etc.
  • Communication
  • Keeping employees informed about hotel operations (newsletter, bulletin)
  • Greater sense of belonging & value

Managers can motivate employees in a number of ways

Staff Motivation (Cont.)

  • Incentive Program
  • Acknowledge (reward) staff members who excel in their work

  • Performance Appraisal
  • Identifies strengths and weaknesses & provides actions for improvement

  • Internal Recruiting
  • Filling the job opening within the organization
  • A job opening can result in an employee’s promotion =>Boost employee morale

  • Compensation & Benefits
  • It must be externally competitive
  • It must be internally equitable or fair - Employees need to believe they are being treated fairly in comparison with other employees (pay scale and pay range)

Case: Club Hotel by Doubletree:
“Employee Care Committee”

  • Doubletree Hotels
  • Doubletree Guest Suites
  • Doubletree Resorts
  • Doubletree Club Hotels
  • Value conscious travelers who need a comfortable guestroom and a core set of services and amenities
  • Features the Club Room - a uniquely designed lobby and public area setting that includes equal parts of an office, a den and a café.

Case study: Look at the handout about internal customer satisfaction and its impact on customer satisfaction and profitability

*

Club Hotel by Doubletree:
“Employee Care Committee”

  • Established “CARE Committee”
  • Caring, Attentive, Responsive, & Empowered
  • To ensure employee morale
  • To ensure excellent guest service
  • Based on “Employee oriented & friendly philosophy”
  • Concept:
  • Involve everyone on all levels of the hotel operation
  • Employees have greater pride
  • Management is not only listening to them, but also willing to implement their valid suggestions and ideas

Club Hotel by Doubletree:
“Employee Care Committee”

  • Approach to Implementation:
  • Every department is to be represented on the committee
  • The Committee meets once a month for 30-60 minutes
  • Care Committee has two divisions
  • Sub-committee for guest relations
  • Sub-committee for employee relations

Club Hotel by Doubletree:
“Employee Care Committee”

  • Employee Relations Subcommittee
  • In charge of audit service standards – to ensure each department is taking care of employees
  • Operates the employee-of-the-month program
  • All employees votes for the EOTM
  • Everyone who received nominations are recognized
  • The winner receives certain amount of money, a plaque to take home, being featured on a plaque hung in the hotel lobby
  • Monitors the employee-of-the-year
  • Throws quarterly employee parties
  • Gets BB cards signed by as many hotel employees as possible and send them out to the employee’s home with a bag of candy with a balloon attached

Club Hotel by Doubletree:
“Employee Care Committee”

  • Outcomes
  • Improved employee morale (satisfaction)
  • Employees are empowered to weigh the degree of the guest’s concern
  • Make decision on the spot to compensate the guest
  • Do what it takes to satisfy the guest
  • Substantial drop of employee turnover
  • Increased guest satisfaction

Service quality affects customer satisfaction, which, in turn, results in customer loyalty.

In this chapter, we discussed how to satisfy our customers.

  • Focus on customer value: service, product and price
  • Take care of your internal customers first, and then they will take care of your customers.

We will discuss customer loyalty in Ch. 5.

*