Unit 27 Managing Front OfficeOperationsCUSTOMER JOURNEY Learning outcome number 3 : Analyse the guest experience journey withinFront Office operationsCustomer Journey Customer Journey describes the interactions people have with a companyover time via all available channels (telephone, digital, in-branch, mail,broadcast media, face to face and so on). Customer Journey concernsitself with what people do, what they experience, what they expect andhow they feel about those interactions… Customer journeyThe customer experience journey the customer experience can be based on the fundamentals of discovery,engagement, usage and persuasion. Though not always linear in theirapplication, we can easily deconstruct and possibly reform our customerexperience based on this proposed analysis.USTOMER EXPERIENCE JOURNEYCustomer Discovery A customer’s contact with a product or service has varying levels ofinteraction, the first of these articulates around the principle of discovery. In retail, we can insist that the discovery process is essential to the customerservice experience on the level of service. However we can also apply thisprinciple of discovery to brand recognition.CUSTOMER DISCOVERY Creating a sense of awareness of the business is essential to attracting andcreating loyalty amongst your customers. It’s not enough today to just beopen for business, you have to be an attractive business. Being appealingto your customers visually, emotionally, and financially is key in developingthe customer experience.DISCOVER CONT. If we use hotel for example, discovery is a factor in customer servicestrategy as previously mentioned but also visibility of your brand, product orservice. One might ask: Is my hotel front appealing to customers? Am I making the customer aware of promotions, new or hot product,events customers care about? How do I represent my business within the community? Do I participate in charitable causes? Am I advertising in the locations that will attract the customer I want? Where do I appear in Google search?User Engagement in the CustomerExperience With appropriate training it will make a profound difference whencustomers were asked open ended questions. “How are you today?” asopposed to “Can I help you with anything?” garnered two reactions; a) Customers will slightly taken aback by such unusual forthright inquiry intotheir feelings b) They would be prone to dialogue which was then transformed into amore personal customer interaction. With engagement, it’s possible to fall back into a discourse regardingaccessibility of services or product, which, as mentioned before, none ofthis is linear. Engagement flows naturally from awareness, but takes thisconcept of awareness a step further. This is where we meet our customer;we determine their priorities, their needs, what their perceptions andexpectations of our business happen to be. Nowadays customers alsoexpect to communicate and engage with your brand online. Industry and communication changes have now lead us to what caneither be your best friend, or your worst enemy; SOCIAL MEDIA. In a retailsetting you can’t help but try and listen to your customer, while maintainingcontrol of where the interaction is going. Social media poses a potential PRproblem for retailers because of lack of control they may have over thecontent produced.Persuasion in the Customer Experience Before we touch on usage, I would like to explore the dynamic ofpersuasion in the customer experience, quite simply because it would bebeneficial to look at this component of the experience as the concreteelement of establishing a business relationship with the customer. Persuasion is that final step leading up to the signing of a contract, anagreement or a sale of any kind. The customer has choice in almost everysector of activity, and almost every contender for their business has builttheir success on elaborate customer service strategies; however, it’s bystrategic application of persuasion that we achieve the final goal ofestablishing a relationship and creating fidelity, we solidify our bondthrough this process and we aim to achieve the almighty “YES”. Persuasion of course isn’t limited to convincing our customer that the yogapants she is trying on make her legs look fabulous, because the customerisn’t simply looking at a product. The customer wants value that goesbeyond what they see. An informed consumer of your brand will havedone their research as to the social, political, economical and various othersectors of activity of a business before they decide to adhere. Of course one could easily negate that the customer isn’t always informed(take for example the woman in yoga pants who may have quite simplyseen a cute color in the window) but let’s focus on the customer who islikely to become a brand ambassador. The customer who becomes loyalto your brand will be more interested in the relationships that we buildthroughout the other phases of the customer journey. Customer persuasionat this level is actually providing support to any size enterprise.Usage (The Impact of Your Service/Producton Customers) It was in considering the varying degrees of contact a customer will havewith a product that really got me thinking of usage in our analysis here andas the final point in the customer journey. If I stated earlier that thecustomer experience isn’t necessarily linear, I’d like to make an exceptionwhen it comes to usage. Beyond persuasion is the actual experience the customer will have usingyour product or your service, this goes beyond the sale interaction and thecustomer is now free to form their own views first hand. WARNING; you havenow lost control! This isn’t to say that having created a solid foundation onthe basis of customer engagement that all is lost if dissatisfaction arises. Anyone experienced in customer retention will tell you that by maintaininga dialog and following up with your customer, you achieve even greaterloyalty from what could be considered unpleasant. It is entirely likely thatyour customer will feel dissatisfaction with service provided or productpurchased. However if we maintain that the customer life cycle does notcome to an end simply with a purchase, we create a more well roundedcustomer experience susceptible to growth and a more forgiving customer. “Where does my customer stand?” is a questions that not only challenges abusiness operator to examine their affairs through the perception of thecustomer. Breaking down the customer journey into the stages listed aboveallows us to separate out areas that we would maybe group together andhelps us to put our customer interactions under a microscope. Being able to deliver a customer experience that includes all the specificactions along the way will result in a business more apt to attract, andkeep, the customer life cycle going for many years to come. For each stage of the journey, try to identify: What were their goals, whatdid they want to achieve. What did they expect the process would be like.The steps and touchpoints they used to complete the stage.Stages ofCustomerjourney inhotelindustry – InyourcontextPre arrivalArrivalOccupancyDeparture Guest CycleStagesActivitiesPre-ArrivalReservation, Reconfirmation, Pickuprequest, Pre Arrival LetterArrivalDoormen, Bell Desk, TravelDesk, Registration, Room Assignment,Issuing of Key, Baggage Handling,Welcome LetterOccupancySafe Deposit, TelephoneCalls, Concierge, Travel Desk, CurrencyExchange, MailsDeparture.Bill Settlement, Key Return, Bell Desk,Travel Desk, Concierge, Check-out,Thank-you Letter Pre – Arrival The Guest chooses a hotel during the pre-arrival stage of the guest cycle.Choice of the guest can be affected by many factors, including previousexperiences with the hotel, advertisement, word of mouth referral by friendsand colleagues, location, corporate, travel agent booking, hotel name,hotel loyalty program member etc. The guest’s decision of making the reservation can also be affected by theease of making the reservation and the way reservation agent interactedand described the facility of the hotel like room type, room rate,recreational facilities and other attractions near the hotels etc.Pre ArrivalIf a reservation can be accepted, the reservation agent creates a reservation onthe hotel management software. The creation of this reservation record starts thehotel guest cycle. This reservation contains details of the guest specific requestwhich will help the hotel to provide the guest with personalized service during hisstay.We can certainly call the reservation area as the sales office for non-corporate orgroup bookings. Its employees should be sales orientated and present positive,strong image of the hotel. The details which are collected during the reservation also helps the hotelto complete pre-registration activities like assign room according to guestrequest, room rate to be charged to the guest folio during the course ofstay etc. Although the reservation details help in providing guests with anticipatoryservice the primary objective of making the reservation is to make sure thatroom will be available when he arrives at the hotel.ArrivalThe arrival stage of the guest cycleincludes registration and roomassignment process. After the guestarrives, he or she establishes abusiness relationship with the hotelthrough the front office. It is the frontoffice staff responsibility to clarify anyquery of the guest especially thedetails of room rateof packages he/she is booked on.Front office staff should determinethe guest’s reservation status beforebeginning the check-in/registrationprocess. Guest with reservation andguest without reservation commonlyknown as walk-ins also provides anopportunity for business for frontdesk staff. A Registration card or Reg. card is printed and completed at the time ofcheck-in, which will help the front desk to collect essential information. Thereg. card should contain details like billing instructions, reservation details,number of adults and children occupying, address, passport and visa forforeign nationals, full address, personal details and credit carddetails. Because the guest and hotel gain certain legal benefits it ismandatory to get guest signature on the registration card. The registration process is complete once a method of payment and theguest’s departure date have been confirmed and duly signed by the guest.The guest may be given a room key and direction to the room or escortedby the guest service associate or guest service manager. When the guest checks-in to the room the occupancy stage of the guestcycle begins.Occupancy The manner in which the front office staff represents the hotel is importantduring the occupancy stage. As the main contact centre for hotel activity, the front office is responsible forcoordinating guest requests. Among those providing information and suppliesto the guests. Front desk should take extra care to respond to the guest in a timely andaccurate manner. The main focus of the front desk staff is to provideanticipatory service and to meet or exceed the guest’s expectations. This willencourage the guest to repeat to the hotel. Security is also a main important concern during occupancy of the guest.Issues like protection of funds and valuables are among those. The frontdesk should also follow the hotel standard operating procedure forhandling the hotel and guest keys, property surveillance, safe depositboxes, guests personal property, and emergencies are also important. A variety of charges restaurant charges, telephone, internet, travel desketc. during the occupancy stage affect guest and hotel account. Most ofthese charges will be posted to the guest account according to front officeposting procedures. And also in most cases, the Room charges arethe single largest charge on the guest folio. Other front office financial tasks during the occupancy stage are to verifythe charges posted to the guest account and checking guest accountsagainst the credit limit.Departure Guest services and guest accounting aspects of the guest cycle arecompleted during the cycle’s fourth and final phase ie departure. At Departure, the guest vacates the room, receives the accuratestatement of the settled accounts, returns the room keys and leaves thehotel. Once the guest has checked out, front office updates the roomsavailability status and notifies the housekeeping department. ( For hotelsusing Property management software the status of the room is updatedautomatically ). At this stage front office also collect the feedback of the guest experiencein the hotels by handing over the guest feedback form.Customer pain points A pain point is a specific problem that prospective customers of yourbusiness are experiencing. In other words, you can think of pain points asproblems, plain and simple. Like any problem, customer pain points are asdiverse and varied as your prospective customers themselvesWays to find your customer pain points Start With What You Know. If you’ve been working in an industry for a while,pain points aren’t a complete mystery. … Ask Your Customers (Yes, Ask!) Ask Your Sales Team. … Check Out Social Media and Groups. … Attend Industry Conferences.Benefits of customer journey mapping Increased ROI though better targeting and more personalised messaging Quicker sales cycles Unified customer data Continuous engagement with customersWays to manage sales and retaincustomers ? Consider Revenue Management Consider Yield Management Consider having a PMS Use digital technology Add in room featuresRM Selling the right product, to the right client, at the right moment, for the rightprice, through the right distribution channel, with the best cost efficiencyYield Management YM Yield management is a strategy based on selling to the right customer, atthe right time, for the right price. Within the hotel industry, this typicallymeans selling the right room, to the right guest(s), at the best possible time,for the highest amount, in order to maximise the revenue earned.Upsell rooms techniques Upselling to hotel guests while they arrive at the hotel to check-in oftenholds the best opportunity to create more revenue for the hotel. A good incentive program for reservations and front office team offered bythe hotel management helps to successfully motivate staff in upsellingguest rooms. Always greet each guest with a smile in your voice as well as your face. Always Establish and maintain eye contact with the guest. Ask open-ended questions to understand the guest needs andrequirements, and make timely suggestions and offering alternatives withan upsell. Understand the guest profile from the reservation details and identify thoseguests who are most likely to take a higher category room. Bookings generated via corporates or negotiated rates or by in-house salesteam are not likely to take higher category rooms and as their bills arenormally paid by their company. Guests who are in honeymoon, family leisure trip, long stay, online travelagents (OTA’s), direct bookings, walk-in’s etc. are most most likely to opt forthe upsell offer. This is because in most of the cases the guest who comes tostay at the hotel is not aware of the different room offering by the hotel Be pleasant and business-like, as you are selling yourself as much as you areselling the hotel facilities and services. Find out the guests name immediately and use it at least three times duringthe conversation. Always use appropriate titles like Mr., Miss when addressing the guest andnever call the guest by his first name, always use the surname with anappropriate title. Attempt to identify the need of the guest since these needs may not have beenidentified during the reservation process. Match the guests needs to the rooms furnishing or amenities or view (sea view,pool view, mountain view) etc. If the guest stays for many nights then he/she would be interested in a larger orspacious room. If the guest is on a honeymoon then offer them with a room with a view like asea facing, pool facing, mountain facing room etc. If the guest has a reservation on a lower category then mention the maindifference and extra features he gets when compared with higher categoryrooms. Inform about the additional charge or difference in tariff with encouragingstatements like with a difference of X amount you can get a sea viewroom. Upsell rooms by pointing out its features and benefits first, then mention thedifference in price. If there are two different room type available then mention the benefits ofboth rooms so that guest can choose the best which fits his requirement For walk-in always provide details of a lower category and higher categoryto avoid the risk of losing the revenue while trying to up sell to the guest. Always thanks the guest after a successful upsell.Etiquettes and Manners for Hotel Staff / FrontOffice Staff Always greet guest and colleagues with a smile and maintain a friendly andpleasant expression. Stand upright, do not fold your arms in front of the guest. Keep your hands out of your pockets. Do not lean on the counter at any time and especially when dealing with theguest. Do not play with your hair and jewellery when you are at the front of thehouse area. Ensure a positive body language at all times. Always be tactful and courteous, never argue with guests. Be humoured and even-tempered, do not become over friendly with guests. Always be attentive when speaking to guest and look at a guest whenaddressing him/ her. Always look and act professionally, do understand that there are otherguests watching your behaviour. Always appear confident and be positive. Always listen carefully to the guest when talking to him/ her. Try to use the guest’s name at least twice once known. Try to ask the right questions to identify the needs of the guests. Talk clearly and maintain a good tone of voice at all times. Do not criticize one guest to another. Do not refer guest as “He/She to They“ in their presence. Never weary the guest with your troubles. Never discuss religion or politics with guests. Be specific in your explanations, in-case of any doubt then consult yourcolleagues and promptly get back to the guest. Always give the guest a warm and friendly welcome, “Goodmorning Mr Bond, how may I help you today”. Make the guest feel comfortable and safe. Refer to the guest twice by the correct title and name once known. Identify the guest’s needs and try to provide anticipatory service. Always observe what is happening around you and be ready to assist the guestwhen needed. Show guests a sympathetic interest. Take your time for the guest and do not rush with them. Always recommend in-house hotels services to the guest and provide with abrochure or additional details if required. Appear neat and tidy but never severe or harsh or strict to the guests. Always try to maintain eye contact with the guests. Should have a good product knowledge and keep updating about newproducts and services offered. Know the different facilities and services available in the hotel and beready to describe the details to the guest when asked. Know who is who in the hotel organization. Know about VIP, VVIP and repeating guests. Have a clear understanding of the layout of the hotel. Should know the location, timings, promotions and theme nights of theoutlets. Know which function is taking place and where. Have a good knowledge of the place and surroundings where the hotel issituated, eg: nearby places of interest, distance to the airport etc. Be aware of any special promotions or food festivals going on in the hotel. Front desk team should possess a thorough knowledge of all different roomstypes and their rack rates. Food and beverage staff should have a good knowledge of the menu.Stages ofreservation processThis Photo by Unknown Author is licensed underCC BY-SAStages of guestcheck inThis Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-NDReflection of the day Reflect on what you have leant today and criticially analyse yourunderstanding on the topic What did I learn ? What did I already know? What new things I have learnt ? What I did not understand ? How can I improve myself ?Class Activity What is the check in process in your hotel ?
