BATCH 2

DIPLOMA IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMANT

(DHM)

MODULE: THE ROLE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

NAME: Vennan s/o Mikir@Michael

I/C NO: 840504-05-5497

CENTRE: ORIGIN SKILLS

 INTRODUCTION

Customer service do play a crucial role in the hospitality industry, although a smile

can make a customer’s day it’s not enough, they are looking for memorable A

pleasant smile is just not enough. Customers nowadays are looking forward for a

satisfied feeling throughout their stay. The services given to the customer’s before,

after during or in the process of purchasing a resort or a hotel package. To enhance

the level of customer satisfaction one has to make sure that the product or service has

met the customer expectation.

Customers is the lifeblood of any industry, the essential need for a healthy business is

to understand the importance of good customers in creating new business. Taking care

of the loyal customer will lead to referrals and new customers. The importance may

differ by industry, product service and customer. Such interaction based on the

employee who communicates well accordingly towards the personality of the guest.

In a business premise the customer is the most important person of all, the business is

fueled by them

In all business’ customer service plays an important role of Excellency. It is the duty

of a client, staff or a business representative to grab the first opportunity given to

create a lasting impression. To have customers walking in regularly, a staff must

deliver what he or she have promised, it is good to go extra miles whenever it is

needed. A cozy comfortable and relaxing atmosphere is possible only if the staff have

the willingness to assist the guest with a friendly attitude.

 CONTENT

(A)The definition of customer service and its importance in the

hospitality industry

New ways and methods of taking good care of customers will surely help the staff to

survive and grow with their hotel’s performance together. By giving great services

and care for the customers the development of a long-term relationship will be formed

between the customer and staffs, the beneficial factor of a hotel business is the m

focus compare to advertisement Good listening skills and questioning techniques is an

added value to save time of interaction with customers. For hoteliers, constantly

thinking about fruitful ideas, and continues learning to meet high expectations and

provide good service is one of the very things that they should keep in mind all the

time. We should treat the customer in such way so that the customer keeps walk in

again and again

Celebrating positive initiatives taken by any staff in this regard, communicating and

sharing information on a consistent basis, empowering personnel, fostering wellness

and paying attention to intuition are just a few of the small but critical items necessary

for hotel staff to produce the kind of guest and customer service ethic that will

impress customers.

Initiative taken by the staffs working in the organization in communicating and

sharing information consistently to pay attention which will become a necessity for

them to impress the customers who are walking in for a stay. Whatever role we play

in our business we all know if we respond to customer’s need chances are that they

will stay with us and buy more from us is very high. It is a plus point that customer
care service helps the economy’s growth tremendously, in hospitality or be it any

other industries, it’s a fact that the hidden complementary works in wonderful ways.

(B) Marlow’s Hierarchy of need in the Hospitality Industry

What Is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?

According to Maslow proposed that human needs can be organized into a hierarchy.

The hierarchy consist of very basic needs such as water and food but if one goes

deeper about needs it’s all about fulfillment. According to Maslow, when a lower

need is met, the next need on the hierarchy becomes our focus of attention.

The 5 Categories in the hierarchy of need

Physiological

One should take their own effort to meet the body’s need for example if a person is

hungry, he or she couldn’t do anything else without eating. The most crucial things

should be fulfilled first.

Safety

Once people’s physiological requirements are met, the next need that arises is a safe

environment. Our safety needs are apparent even early in childhood, as children have

a need for safe and predictable environments and typically react with fear or anxiety

when these are not met. However, we as grown-ups is still preparing for own safety

by purchase insurance and contribute to a savings account.

Love and Belonging

The next need in the hierarchy involves feeling accepted and love towards one

another. This need includes both romantic relationships as well as ties to friends and

family members. It also includes our need to feel that we belong to a social group.

Importantly, this need involves both feeling loved and feeling love towards others.

Esteem

Our esteem needs involve the desire to feel good about ourselves. Maslow esteem

needs include two components. The first involves feeling self-confidence and feeling

good about oneself. The second component involves feeling valued by others; that is,

feeling that our achievements and contributions have been recognized by other

people. When people’s esteem needs are met, they feel confident and see their

contributions and achievements as valuable and important. However, when their

esteem needs are not met high chances of one have low self esteem

Self-Actualization

Self-actualization is all about self-fulfillments or a feeling that we are living our life

with satisfaction. One unique feature of self-actualization is that it looks different

from every individual. A person’s, self-actualization might involve helping one

another. It might involve achievements in an artistic or creative field. Essentially, self-

actualization means feeling that we are doing what we believe we are meant to do.

Achieving self-actualization is relatively rare, there are a lot of legendary icons have

done it historically
(C) Understanding the term Quality Services

Understanding the service quality depends entirely on the context and brand promise,

and service quality dimensions vary according to the industry. However, the industry

standard and most widely-used metric is SERVQUAL.

SERVQUAL

SERVQUAL is consist of a set of five dimensions which have been consistently

ranked by customers to be most important for service quality, regardless of service

industry. These dimensions defined by the SERVQUAL measurement instrument are

as follows:

Tangibles: arrangement of the physical facilities, equipment,

personnel, and communication materials.

Reliability: ability to perform the promised service dependably and

accurately.

Responsiveness: willingness to guide and support customers and

provide prompt service.

Assurance: knowledge and courtesy of employees and their strength

to convey trust and confidence.

Empathy: caring and individualized attention the firm provides its

customers.

These five SERVQUAL dimensions are used to measure the gap between customers’

expectations for excellence and their point of view of the actual service delivered. The

SERVQUAL can help you understand both customer expectations, perceptions of

specific services, and areas of needed quality improvement.

(D) The Importance of Eyes Contact & Posture in customer service

Body language provides an incredible amount of information on what other people

might be thinking or feeling, it carries out almost 60% of communication. No matter

what type of activity you are participating in, your body matters the most at any given

point in time, cues arise from apparently minor things like how quickly your

movements are, where your legs are pointed and even a slight facial expressions you

make.

Body language can heavily influence how customers feel about interacting with you,

it plays an important role in your customer service career, and affects whether your

customers’ have a positive or negative impression of you after an interaction. You can

use body language to your advantage simply by mastering tips outlined in this post

and applying it consciously to your interaction with customers.

Here are 10 Body Language Tips that will significantly improve the quality of your

interaction with customers –

1. Eye Contact

The eyes are not often noticed as a communication tool, a lot of people fail to realize

that as much as you listen with your ears, you should listen with your eyes too. Your

ability to freely yet naturally look someone in the eye is a reflection of confidence,

attentiveness & sincerity, most people avoid eye contact because they are either shy,

distracted or lying

In customer service, maintaining eye contact with customers during interaction

communicates to them that they are important, and you value whatever they have to

say. Maintaining good eye contact doesn’t mean you should stare without blinking,

such a stare would be uncomfortable and creepy. A great tip to maintain eye contact

that feels natural and comfortable is to imagine an inverted triangle on the customer’s

face, the bottom of the triangle should rest on the customer’s brow, with its top ending

at the mouth.

While the interactions are maintained well throughout the conversation you will gaze

alternately every 5 to 10 seconds from one point on to another. This will make your

eye contact feel more natural & comfortable. If you have good eye contact with

nodding whenever you understand or agree with what the customer is saying, you will

not only succeed in making the customer feel listened to, but you will also build trust.

This creates a positive impression of your service and it will be a good start to build a

healthy relationship and even more positive interactions.

2. Avoid Excessive Movement

By all means, avoid fidgeting when interacting with your customers. It will never

portray you in a positive way. Fidgeting is usually a sign of restlessness or discomfort,

and will make customers feel there are other things going on in your mind or that you

are desperately waiting for them to leave. It is also quite distracting interacting with

someone who keeps tapping their hands or legs on the table all along the

conversation.

If you’re fidgeting while interacting with customers, it’s merely a sign that you are

not fully focused on the interaction. Concentrate and staying focused in the moment

you’re currently in. Listen with your eyes, take in all the information the customer is

sharing both from their words and body language. This will take some practice but as

you keep doing it you will notice an improvement in your ability to give customers

full attention. This leads to higher quality interactions and more satisfied customers.

3. Keep an Open Body Stance

An open stance is one in which none of your limbs are not crossed, it’s also means

your body is ‘open’ & free of any barrier, your feet & arms are uncrossed and by the

side of your body, it is good that you’re not placing any object between yourself and

the customer. Maintaining an open body language when talking with your customers

it gives a welcoming and confident atmosphere, & subconsciously communicates to

them that you are honest and trust them. When interacting with your customers don’t

have any obstacles between you and the customer. Avoid crossing your arms or legs

whether you are standing or sitting this will surely will be a matter of practice. Indeed

it’s a long journey to positively improving their impression of you, as well as their

attitude towards you.

4. Smile
Smiling should be the easiest way to start a communication, but for some people, it

doesn’t come easily, the smile should have a pleasant effect on others depending on

the situation occurs. Smiling has been studied and proven to have a positive effect on

people, a genuine smile will make you instantly appear more confidence positive and

friendly.

While you interact with your customer, let your smile be genuine. A genuine smile

should create wrinkles at the corner of your eyes, don’t force a smile, the customers

will notice. Let it come naturally, if the customer says something funny, smile and

laugh. If there is nothing to smile or laugh about, then keep a friendly neutral face.

Customers will be drawn to you if they see you as being friendly, positive and

approachable. Learn how to smile genuinely with customers, you will significantly

increase the number of customers who feel happy with your service

5. Gestures

Be cautious son the use of gestures when interacting with the customers will make

you a better communicator. You will speak more fluently and articulately. This, in

turn, endorses you as a competent professional. Gesturing is natural and you do it

each time you interact with people. Gestures are more meaningful when you’re doing

it unintentionally. Use your hands to describe things or make emphasis. Don’t just

allow your hands move around in the air meaninglessly when you speak, add meaning

to what you do with them. For instance, if you are talking about something with a

shape, describe it also with your hands. Concepts like increase or decrease can be

gestured by slowing raising or lowering an arm. Using gestures when communicating

with your customers, will not only help you communicate better, it will also portray

that you are confident and passionate about what you are saying.
6. Using Your Voice

The volume pitch and tone of your voice affect the meaning of the words you say

when interacting with people. It applies not only when you are interacting with

customers’ in-person, but also when you do it on the phone or through writing.

The wrong tone of voice when speaking with customers can instantly give negative

feelings such as anger, doubt and irritation

No matter what you’re trying to say, it is your tone that reveals how you feel, when

you say them. Use your tone to express warmth, passion, humor, empathy or whatever

emotion you want your customers to perceive. Use a soft, empathetic tone when

interacting with customers who are angry or upset, it makes them feel heard, and they

would be likely to open up more to you.

Your voice is a powerful communication tool, if the customers like the voice and how

it sounds, they would form the impression that you are confident, knowledgeable and

credible.

7. Keep an Eye on Their Feet

You might not know, but the feet reveal a lot about a person’s emotional state. Weird

yet it’s the truth Try paying attention to people’s feet when they speak The chances

are that you rarely do because you are focused most of the time on the speaker’s upper

body.

When customers are bored, anxious or feeling stressed, their feet are a good pointer to

their emotional state. For instance, if you are interacting with a customer, and you

notice they orient their feet towards the exit, it might be an indication that they are
ready to leave, but when the feet are pointed towards you, it means the customer is

engaged and interested in what you have to say. Check it this informative video below

on reading feet. By arming yourself with this knowledge, you will be in a better

position to make good judgments during your interaction with your customers, simply

by looking at them

8. Confident Handshakes

People remember the person who have hand shake hands with them. People are twice

as likely to remember you if you shake hands with them. As a professional, you

should always strive to the memory of your handshake a positive one. A handshake

can reveal a lot about the personalities behind them. Having a firm handshake creates

a positive impression upon a person. It customer enables the customers to see you as a

competent & confident professional. Here are 4 steps to a proper handshake

 Look the customer in the eye

 Grip their hand firmly (don’t squeeze hard!)

 Shake in an up-and-down motion for about 2-3 seconds

 Smile & extend your hand

9. Taking the Customer’s Space Accordingly

A respectable distance between yourself and the customer to avoid invading their

personal space is a must Personal space here refers to the physical space surrounding

us, in which we feel safe (and entitled to).

Encroaching on your customer’s personal space will make them uncomfortable or

anxious. Most people would react to an invasion of their personal space by backing

away or ending the interaction if the discomfort becomes unbearable.

Whenever you are interacting with a customer, allow a distance of about 3-4 feet

between the both of you, at this distance you are not too close or too distant from the

customer. Avoid touching the customer, unless you have a good rapport with the

customer himself already. Observing the customer’s personal space is a sign that you

respect and value their comfort, this will positively affect their attitude towards you

while you interact with them.

10. Mirror the Customer’s Body Language

Mirror the customer’s body language, choice of words or tone. Mirroring is natural,

we do it every day without realizing it with those who we have close relationship

with. One can work his way towards betterment by improving the ability by building

rapport and to connect with customer.

4 Things to Be Followed Exactly for Mirroring: -

 Match & Mirror the customer’s body language (gestures, facial

expressions, posture etc.) as naturally as you can. Avoid forcing it or you

would come off as being mechanical, also the customer might notice what

you’re doing and it mind end up as a mockery.

 Mirror the customer’s choice of words. This only can be done if you notice

the words carefully. Customer tends to use certain words in his interaction.

You can use those same words in your response in your conversation with

them

 Customers will feel very happy and comfortable towards you if they feel

you have a lot in common. This will make way for future positive

interactions with them.

  Deliberately work on practicing these tips, at any opportunity you have

with your next customer. They will be of value not just in your customer

service career, but in the social and personal aspects of your life.

(E) The Term Respond Quickly

 The most important attribute of good customer service, according to

customers' themselves is quick response

 Research says the average response time to respond to customer service

requests is 12 hours and 10 minutes only

 We share 5 of the most effective and easy-to-implement techniques which

helped us reduce our own response time from more than 5 hours per reply

to now less than 1 hour.

Your customers are the source of your revenue Without them, you

don’t have much a business so it’s important happy. Yet, in

our annual customer service study, we found that 62% of companies

do not respond to customer emails. It’s clear that you have an

opportunity to stand out against the competition by simply

responding to your customers. For companies that do respond, the

average response time is 12 hours with the slowest response taking

longer than 8 days!

Average first response time (FRT) is one of the most important customer service

reports used to understand how you are performing. It looks at not just the one-off

response for a single customer, but the average response time for your entire

department.

Reducing response times and responding to your customers with helpful and relevant

information is the key to customer service success!

Therefore, if you want to improve the experience for your customers, then you need to

make reducing your average FRT a priority for your business.

Understanding average FRT

Understand your average FRT, there are two key pieces of data you need to collect

from your customer service team

1. The total time it took to respond to emails during a selected time period.

2. The total number of responses sent in that selected time period.

Make sure the time period for both system of measurement matches. One may get a

clearer picture by looking at this over a day, a week, or even a month.

Then, simply divide the top figure (total time to send responses) by the bottom figure

(total number of responses). This will give you a single number of hours, which is

your average FRT.

If there are 3 customer service emails per day.The first email takes 2 hours, the

second takes 4 hours, and the third takes 6 hours. Collectively, it takes you 12 hours

to respond to all 3 emails. Now, divide 12 hours by the 3 emails you sent and you end

up with an average response time of 4 hours.

If the calculation says that your average response time is 4 hours one is calculating

correctly However, if it takes your team longer than the average to respond, then it

might be time to examine how to come together and work as a team and find new

ideas to improve your processes, so you can reduce response times and keep your

customers happy.

There are two very important things when it comes to fast response

 A fast response makes your customers feel important.

  Speed really matters in customer service because your

The most important attribute of a good customer experience, according to the

customers’ themselves, is a fast response time.

Therefore, responding quickly means you're meeting customer expectations,when a

company takes too long to respond and doesn't meet expectations, they stop doing

business with you Personally, a preferred response is within 15 minutes - no more

than an hour maximum.

If the respond is not as expected, a customer will obviously find a new company or

business to deal with Slow response times definitely leave a bad impression for any

future business.

Companies do prioritize fast response times, while Net Promoter Score and

other customer success level remain popular, a study says only 12% of customer

service managers are focused on responding quickly to their customers.

Eventually if a business owner doesn’t respond as expected your customers will

contact you through another channel essentially doubling your workload

Relying on Customer Feedback

Getting honest customer feedback can be essential to businesses who are looking to

improve their customer’s experience. However, capturing their customers’ feelings

isn’t always easy when you consider that almost 91% of customers don’t complain

when they are unhappy because they think that taking the time to provide feedback

isn’t worth the time because its not worth it. But if the customer knew that there

would be an immediate response, 81% claimed that they would provide the business

with feedback.

The customers feedback is so vital when it’s involved with reputation and how’s the

customer is being taken care of. However, A business organization can collect

feedback from their customers, analyzing what they had to say and acting on their

customer’s needs by doing this the business owners able to avoid a public relations

complication and resurrect their reputation back with their customer base.
Businesses could do well by learning from this example as the benefits, especially for

a smaller business looking to build up their customers, can be quite impressive. And

getting up to that level is something that businesses of any size can accomplish if they

listen to what customers says

(Below are the 4 Key point to be responsive towards the customer)

 Make sure that you are available via phone and email.

 Be quick to respond to customer issues.

 Listen to what customers are saying, don’t be clueless.

 Make the effort to be friendly.

 Get to know your customers and their history.

Most importantly, have a process in place to collect customer feedback and a way to

log not only complaints, but also how the company respond to issues as they are

reported. Being able to follow trends in actual feedback has shown great promise in a

company’s ability to solve small problems before they have a negative impact on how

customers view them.

Ignoring the Positive

too much attention is given to negative feedback and customer complaints and people

forget that positive feedback can be useful when it comes to the development of a

business. Not only do positive words and comments tell a company what they are

doing right, but they help to encourage others to take note of it as well. 

.
Conclusion

Organizations that want to provide outstanding customer service have elaborate every

perspective of customer management with equal importance

a systematic workflow and performance are essential fr an excellent customer service.

But trust and control customers experience during interactions with an organization.

Emotions, trust and control often drive, or subconsciously reinforce, how customers

perceive service interactions. Organizations that take the time to understand each of

these elements can discover opportunities to create improved, excellent customer

services. Poor customer service including such things as indifferent attitudes, lazy or

sloppy service and delayed follow ups are extremely contagious to an organization’s

reputation, and it can lead to a loss of credibility and trust. Obviously, there are high

chances the brand value can be ruined and there will be a drop in the sales graph.

To provide outstanding customer service, success is measured by the customer

benefits from the help that an organization offers. The ability to create unique value

for customers makes an organization to be an outstanding organization from its

competitors; this makes a company to set a fair price for what it offers the customer.

Reference

https://blog.staah.com/hotel-management/the-importance-of-customer-service-in-the-
hospitality-industry
https://www.thoughtco.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4582571

https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/how-to-measure-service-quality/

https://www.cxservice360.com/10-body-language-tips-will-make-customer-service-
star/

https://www.superoffice.com/blog/response-times/#:~:text=Second%2C%20speed
%20matters%20in%20customer,you're%20meeting%20customer%20expectations.

https://smallbiztrends.com/2013/10/respond-to-customer-feedback-quickly.html

https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/183956