Case Study

Room for Improvement

Monique Kazer is a salesperson working at a company specializing in audiovisual equipment for convention hotels
and centers. She has asthma and is very sensitive to cigarette smoke so she often requests for nonsmoking room at
hotels or motels she’s staying at. She had a room reserved for her at the Hospitality Inn where she will be staying at
room 315; when she got there, the smell of smoke and air-freshener mixed together welcomed her in causing her to
have a difficulty in breathing. She hurried to the reception to address her problem hoping to have another room but
the receptionist was on the phone taking to someone else. Monique’s patience could not handle it anymore so she
took the telephone from the receptionist’s hand and stopped the call. The receptionist told her that all the rooms are
taken and she cannot cancel or refund so she just went out to find another place to stay the night.

The main problem that I can see is that the Inn has failed to meet the customer’s request. Monique wants a room
that is nonsmoking because it is a health hazard to her but the management seemed not to care about it. To resolve
this problem, there are three things that the management could do. First is that the staff should always be attentive
to what the customers need, second is that the management should always be honest upon informing the customers
about their requests because just like in the case it could be a serious health hazard, and lastly, they should
prioritize their customer’s needs before doing their personal agendas most specially during work hours.

The best solution to this problem I think would be always be honest with your customer, tell them before hand that
the room that they requested used to be a regular room a week before it became a non-smoking one. Some
customers are sensitive with regards to matters like these because it is a serious risk to their health.