HRM 136 P3 Communicating for Service PDF

HRM 136 P3 Compressed File Module 19 Lesson title: Communicating for Service At the end of this module, I should be able to: 1. Define the importance of communication in service. 2. Highlight how information is used in the service setting and as the product. What is Communication? - Communication...

HRM 136 P3 Compressed File Module 19 Lesson title: Communicating for Service At the end of this module, I should be able to: 1. Define the importance of communication in service. 2. Highlight how information is used in the service setting and as the product. What is Communication? - Communication is an art of transmitting information, ideas and attitudes from one person to another. - Communication is the process of meaningful interaction among human beings. Informing the guest: Regardless of the hospitality experience being offered, all informational cues in the service setting should be carefully thought out to communicate what the organization wants to communicate to the guest about the quality and value of the experience. What is effective Communication? It is two way It involves active listening It reflects the accountability of the speaker and listener It utilized feedback It is clear It achieves one or more of the goals of communication Importance of Communication Skills for the Hospitality Industry Excellent communication skills can enhance a guest experience as it shows that you are listening to them, valuing their feedback and conveying clear messages. This can lead to ▪ customer loyalty ▪ increased business ▪ successful business Communicating in a meaningful way is not necessarily a natural skill. It is important that managers and staff are trained to communicate effectively. Adding Quality and Value through Information Organizations can use information in many ways to add quality and value to the service experience. Occasionally, information technology becomes so important that it can even transform the organization itself. Information can help employee personalize the service to make each customer, client, or guest feel special. Hospitality organizations that are effective in getting information where it needs to go recognize that providing information is in itself a service to guests. Steps of Effective Information: ▪ Gather the data that can inform, ▪ organize the data into information, and ▪ distribute that information to the people--both customers and employees--who need it just when they need it. Service providers should identify the information needs of both guest and hospitality employee in regard to all three components of the guest experience: the service product itself, the environment, and the delivery system. Let's talk about information as it relates to each of these elements. INFORMATION AND THE SERVICE PRODUCT Information as Product Information products are products where the most important part of what you sell is knowledge. Usually these products are sold digitally and can be downloaded from your website. Because “information” is the key value of an information product, they often don't have any kind of physical form. Some companies use a model such as Economic Ordering Quantity - Economic Order Quantity is one of the techniques of inventory control which minimizes total holding and ordering costs for the year. - Based on this model, customer’s inventory is monitored, future demand estimated, and orders generated automatically via EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) for the next delivery. Giving Employees the Information They Need Employees also need relevant, timely and accurate information to do their jobs effectively. When you consider information to be the service product, the employee is the internal customer for that product. For this internal customer, the service provided is the delivery of information that the employee needs for making decisions about how to satisfy external customers. Example: If the hotel is hosting a conference with more than 2,000 attendees, and they are all ready For dinner, your employee needs to update information to deliver exceptional service. Employees can get immediate information on wait times, how many tables are available, can find out what table’s food has been ordered. Employees get information that allow them to be efficient as well as deliver better service. INFORMATION AND THE SERVICE SETTING The service setting and its features and aspects can provide several kinds of useful information for guests. The Environment and the Service The service setting can be a source of information related to the service itself, and that information must be efficiently and effectively provided. Example: If the tangible product in the guest experience is a quick-service meal, then the patron needs to know how to get quick service, which quick-service meals are available, and when the meal is ready. How to provide information: Signs are therefore placed in the service environment to facilitate quick customer access Menus are posted in easy-to-find places to aid the diner in selecting the meal A picture of what the meal looks like may be located next to each menu item Customer order number may be displayed on an overhead video screen to let the customers know as soon as the order is ready. Other examples: Some hotels post on the Web 360 degrees panoramic views of their guest rooms to showcase the interiors  Some travel agencies provide virtual tours to have a glimpse of the travel destination. Customer-Provided Information Guests do not need to wait for companies to provide information to them. There are many sources of information available to the customers to help evaluate a hospitality experience before they decide to have it. The Web / Internet has provided customers to gain online access for information such as prices, reviews on service quality, quality destination attractions and anything else the inquiring visitors might wish to know. Examples of Information Providers Online: Guest Sharing Information with Other Guests: ▪ TripAdvisor – Reviews, lodging places, travel packages and other travel services ▪ Klook – travel attractions, travel options and travel services ▪ Virtualtourist – Sources for user-generated travel content and reviews Finding Deals or Comparing Prices: ▪ Cheaptickets – for plane tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, events and cruises ▪ Expedia – travel agency for airlines, rental cars and lodging ▪ Travelocity - travel agency for airlines, rental cars and lodging Information Tools for Tourists: ▪ DisneyFamilyTravel – Go-to source of family-oriented travel ▪ Lonelyplanet – Provides reviews and information for responsible tourism ▪ MyTravelGuide – source of travel information around the world by city The Environment as Information System The environment itself can be thought of as an information system of sorts by the way it is themed and laid out. Not only does the environment provide information on the location of various points of interest, but the environment itself becomes part of the service and therefore influences the customer’s perception of the service. Example: Casinos are carefully designed to send the desired messages to the customer. Interiors of the Casinos are full of information, they are designed not only to enhance the customer’s experience, but also present information that keeps them there longer. Module 20 Lesson title: Service Information Delivery System At the end of this module, I should be able to: 1. Define an information system. 2. Discuss the use of service delivery information systems. INFORMATION AND THE DELIVERY SYSTEM Information is required to make the service delivery system work. That system includes both people and the processes by which the service and any accompanying tangible product are delivered to the customer. The nature of the service product and the delivery system unique to that product will determine what the an ideal information system should be. What is an Information System? - is defined as the software that helps organize and analyze data. - the purpose of an information system is to turn raw data into - useful information that can be used for decision making in an - organization. An information system (IS) is a coordinated set of components that collect, store, manage, and analyze data to support decision-making and organizational operations. It typically includes: 1. Hardware: Physical devices like computers, servers, and networking equipment. 2. Software: Applications and programs that process data and support various tasks. 3. Data: Information that is collected, stored, and processed, which can be in various formats. 4. Procedures: Guidelines and protocols for how data is handled and processed. 5. People: Users who interact with the system, including IT professionals and end-users. Using Information System in knowing your Customers In restaurants, the information system can improve service delivery by including information about the freshness of the food products used to prepare the meals. Labels with date of production or purchase on food products and sophisticated inventory systems are all examples of how an information system can be designed to ensure that the chefs have the information they need to make the right decisions about using or not using the available ingredients to produce the fresh meals they are responsible for preparing. Though the information is related to the product--the ingredients--and to the service delivery system, its primary purpose is to ensure that product delivery is "just-in-time." Ensuring freshness has another dimension that information systems can help manage - food safety. Gather information on service quality - acquiring this information, organizing it into a usable form, and disseminating it to managers and service providers are critical to ensure that service delivery and other problems are identified and resolved. - the information system must be designed to ensure that someone follows up on such service quality problems.  Getting information to the People The information system can be used to ensure that all the people involved in delivering the service have the information they need to do their jobs in the best possible way. Providing the hospitality employee with the information necessary to satisfy and even wow the guest is an effective way to add value to the guest experience. Information Technology for Expertise Information technology now allows the hospitality organization to provide expert skills without paying experts to provide them. using information and information technology to enhance the hospitality organization's ability to provide a valuable service and provide easy use for the guest as well. A centralized reservation system (CRS) is a software platform that allows businesses, especially in the travel and hospitality industries, to manage and automate the booking of services such as airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, and other travel-related services. Information Delivery systems for Front-of-the House and Back-of-the House operations Another major part of the hospitality service delivery information system ties together the front of the house, or those people and operations serving the guest, with the back of the house, or those people and operations who serve those who serve the guests. Coordination between these two geographically separate parts of the service delivery system is critical in providing a seamless experience for the guest. Point-of-Sale Systems - is a combination of hardware and software that businesses use to complete sales transactions. It serves as the central hub for processing purchases and managing various aspects of sales operations. Point-of-sale (POS) systems have been developed to help managers, servers, and cooks do their jobs better. The server enters the order on a keyboard or touch screen, and it is transmitted back to the cook station for preparation. Capabilities beyond that depend on the system's sophistication level. All POS systems ensure that the orders are entered in the proper sequence so that the hot foods are served hot and the cold foods are served cold and not the other way around. The Daily Count - A good illustration of how an information system can improve experiences for customers and results for the company is a daily count system. - "Daily count" typically refers to the practice of tallying or recording the quantity of specific items, transactions, or activities on a daily basis. Example: At Disney, every guest entering the park is counted and added to the total in the park at that time. Based upon their extensive attendance database and knowledge of arrival-rate distributions, Disney can accurately predict after the first hour of operation how many guests will come into the park during the whole day. This information can then be used to inform the food and beverage people how much food needs to be taken from central storage facilities and brought into the park's various restaurant and food-service locations, and how many salads, soups, and other pre- prepared food items need to be on hand. THE HOSPITALITY ORGANIZATION AS AN INFORMATION SYSTEM Perhaps the easiest way to understand how information ties the hospitality organization together is by considering the organization itself as a big information system. The main purpose of the information network is to provide each person with whatever information that person needs to serve the customer when that person needs it. Looking at the organization in that way, everyone becomes a transmission point on the organizational network--gathering, sending, and processing information into a decision-friendly format. Those responsible for designing the organization as an information system must consider how all these network participants are linked together and what each participant's information needs are. Module 21 Lesson title: Planning, Managing and Assessing the Delivery System At the end of this module, I should be able to: 1. Discuss the importance of planning and managing service standards. 2. Categorize activities and outcomes for planning, monitoring and assessing the delivery system. To have a smooth work process, these are some of the things to be considered: Developing a service product that meets guests’ needs. Well-trained staff, motivated and enthusiastic employees. No service system is guaranteed, but the best managers take the time to plan out the guest experience with all available planning tools, monitor it while it is happening, and fix it when they find that it did not meet guest expectations. Joseph Juran - a Romanian-born American engineer, management consultant and author. He was an advocate for quality and quality management. - Founder of a range of quality management techniques. - He introduced the "Juran Trilogy," which consists of three interrelated processes: quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement. This framework helps organizations understand and implement effective quality practices. Quality planning - involves identifying customers, determining their needs, creating a product or service to meet those needs, and then developing a system to deliver the product or service. - it is like making a game plan to ensure that a product or service meets the needs of customers and works well. Why is it Important? Quality planning helps make sure that products or services meet customer expectations, which can lead to happier customers, fewer complaints, and less wasted time and resources. In simple terms, it’s about planning ahead to deliver something you can be proud of. Quality control - making sure that the system is delivering the service in the most effective way. - is like having a set of checks in place to make sure that what you’re making or providing is good enough for your customers. Think of it as a way to catch any mistakes or problems before they reach people who will use them. Why is Quality Control Important? Happy Customers: When your product is good, customers are more likely to be satisfied and come back for more. Save Money: Catching mistakes early means you waste less time and materials fixing things later. Follow Rules: In some businesses, there are regulations about quality (like in food or medicine), and QC helps make sure you follow those rules. Build a Good Reputation: Consistently providing quality products helps your brand earn trust and loyalty from customers. Quality improvement - involves after-the-fact analysis of the errors and failures that have contributed to poor quality and improving the delivery process to reduce or eliminate future errors based on that analysis. - Quality Improvement is about making continuous efforts to enhance what you offer and how you operate, ensuring that you meet or exceed the expectations of your customers. Why is Quality Improvement Important? Happy Customers: When you improve quality, customers are more likely to be satisfied and come back for more. Save Time and Money: Better processes can help reduce waste and lower costs, making the business more efficient. Stay Competitive: Continuous improvement helps businesses adapt to changes and keep up with competitors. Engaged Employees: Involving staff in improvement efforts can boost their motivation and teamwork. Phase 1: Planning the Service Delivery System What is a Service Standard? A service standard specifies requirements that should be fulfilled by a service to establish its fitness for purpose. When should organizations establish service standards? Service standards need to be established in the planning stage, before the guest is present or before the guest arrives. Criteria for Service Standards: Should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. Examples of standards widely used in the hospitality industry: - In hotels: Twenty minutes to get a room-service breakfast, six minutes to check-in including waiting time - Greet customers in a courteous and professional manner. - Respond to website questions/requests within 24 hours during normal business hours. - For airlines: Be impeccably dressed and well mannered - Respect the rules of etiquette and look immaculate and convey the image of the company Organizations have also set service standards by industry associations or other agencies that establish certification, accreditation, and recognition standards. Organizations or individuals are assessed on the degree to which they meet these standards and those assessments are then made public. Examples: Certification: HACCP Certifications (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) - a systematic approach used in food safety management to identify, evaluate, and control hazards that could compromise food safety. PTAA – Philippine Travel Agencies Association Accreditation: IATA – International Air Transport Association DOT - Department of Tourism Accreditation Skytrax Recognition: Evaluation and ratings from magazines Awards Phase 2: Monitoring the Service Experience Phase 2 as shown in the table, involves monitoring the experience through measurement as the experience is happening. Monitoring the service experience is all about paying attention to how customers feel and what they go through when they use a service. It helps businesses ensure that they’re doing a good job and that customers are happy. Purpose of measuring quality: Help to make the intangible experience tangible. Phase 3: Assessing the Experience and Improving the System Collecting and analyzing information about what has actually occurred drives system improvement. Once the plan is clearly laid out and the results of implementing that plan adequately measured to yield insights into how well the system is operating, both management and employees have the information needed to redesign the system and fix the problems to yield continuing improvement in the guest experience. The overall health of the business is a good indicator of whether or not guest service quality is where it should be. If the business is losing money, market share, capacity use, and so forth, these measures may indicate problems with the service product, setting, or delivery system. Gathering and reviewing data generated by the tools are important, but the overall success of the business itself is an indicator of whether or not you are providing the guest experience on which you built your business model. Assessing the experience means understanding how customers feel about a service or product, while improving the system means making changes to make that experience better. Module 22: Lesson title: Techniques for Planning the Service Delivery System At the end of this module, I should be able to: 1. Define and discuss planning techniques. 2. Identify planning techniques/tools for service delivery systems. PLANNING TECHNIQUES Planning techniques focus on constructing or diagramming a thoroughly detailed step-by-step description of what the service delivery process involves and the service standards that must be met. Planning techniques are commonly used to develop a detailed plan for delivering the guest experience. 1. Blueprinting - The entire service delivery process and its subprocesses are described in blueprint format as if one was building a house and needed a plan of what went where. - a good blueprint defines every component part and activity, not just of the delivery system, but of the entire guest experience from the moment when the guest sees the front door or greeting sign to the time that the guest departs and moves out of sight. Purpose of Blueprinting: Does not only to satisfy the guest but also to enable the organization to achieve its profit goal. Permits the organization to show a profit while maximizing the quality and value of guest experiences. Blueprinting is like creating a detailed map of a service experience. It helps businesses understand exactly how customers interact with their services from start to finish. This technique is especially useful for places like restaurants, hotels, and stores. 2. The Universal Service Map Universal service map is a different version of a blueprint that can be generally applied to a variety of service situations. This arrangement is more than symbolic; it shows that the satisfied customer is the ultimate outcome of the process In the universal service map, three horizontal dotted lines divide groups of boxes. The bottom line is the line of internal interactions, representing all the things that must happen inside the organization to produce the service experience. All the boxes and the lines connecting them merely represent how the organization gets from the initial determination of management strategy to the final outcome of customer satisfaction. The Line of Internal Interactions - In this group of boxes are the organizational back-of-the-house functions that supply and support the frontline service employee with the product part of the service experience. - refers to the boundary that separates the customer-facing activities from the behind-the-scenes processes within an organization. It highlights the interactions that occur among employees and internal systems that support the delivery of a service but are not directly visible to the customer. Example: Restaurant Service Experience Customer Journey: 1. Customer Arrives: The customer enters the restaurant and is greeted by the host. 2. Seating: The host shows the customer to their table. 3. Ordering: The customer places an order with the server. 4. Food Preparation: The server relays the order to the kitchen. 5. Food Served: The server brings the food to the table. 6. Payment: The customer requests the bill and pays. The Line of Internal Interactions Frontstage (Visible to Customers): Host Greeting: The host welcomes the customer. Serving: The server takes the order and delivers food. Customer Interaction: The server interacts with the customer during the meal. Backstage (Internal Interactions): Order Communication: When the server inputs the order into the system, it goes to the kitchen staff. Food Preparation: The kitchen staff prepares the food based on the order received. Inventory Management: Before the service, the kitchen staff checks inventory to ensure all ingredients are available. Staff Coordination: The kitchen and wait staff communicate about any special requests or delays. The Line of Visibility This line separates activities that are visible to the customer from those the customer cannot see. The service employee disappears beyond this line from the view of the customer to interact with the back- of-the-house operations. Example: Hotel Service Experience Customer Journey: 1. Check-In: A guest arrives at the hotel and checks in at the front desk. 2. Room Assignment: The guest receives their room key and information about amenities. 3. Room Service Order: The guest orders food to their room. 4. Room Stay: The guest enjoys their stay and uses hotel facilities. 5. Check-Out: The guest checks out and pays the bill. The Line of Visibility Above the Line (Visible to Customers): Check-In Process: The front desk staff greets the guest, checks them in, and provides room details. Room Service Delivery: The staff brings food to the guest’s room and interacts with them briefly. Guest Interactions: The guest interacts with staff at the restaurant, gym, or pool area. Below the Line (Not Visible to Customers): Room Preparation: Housekeeping staff cleans and prepares rooms before guests arrive. This includes changing linens and restocking toiletries. Internal Communication: Staff communicate about room availability, special requests, or maintenance issues. For example, if a guest requests extra pillows, the front desk relays that to housekeeping. Inventory Management: Staff manage inventory for supplies like towels, toiletries, and food items in the kitchen, ensuring everything is stocked and ready. The Line of Guest Interaction The uppermost dotted line is the line of guest or customer interaction. It separates those things the customer does in the service experience from those that the service employee does. These are the points of interaction between the provider and the customer at which the customer becomes, in effect, a co-producer of the service experience. Example: Spa Service Experience Customer Journey: 1. Appointment Booking: A guest books an appointment online or over the phone. 2. Arrival: The guest arrives at the spa. 3. Check-In: The guest checks in at the reception. 4. Service Experience: The guest enjoys their treatment (e.g., massage, facial). 5. Check-Out: The guest pays for the service and provides feedback. The Line of Guest Interaction Above the Line (Visible to Guests): Appointment Booking: The guest interacts with the booking system or receptionist to schedule their appointment. Reception Check-In: The guest checks in with the receptionist, who welcomes them and confirms their appointment. Service Interaction: During the treatment, the therapist interacts with the guest, asking about preferences and comfort levels. Check-Out Process: The guest interacts with the staff to settle the bill and may provide feedback about their experience. Below the Line (Not Visible to Guests): Internal Communication: Staff communicate with each other about treatment schedules, special requests, or inventory for products used in treatments. Preparation of Treatment Rooms: Staff prepare the treatment rooms with clean linens, oils, and equipment before the guest arrives. Inventory Management: Staff manage stock of products used in treatments, ensuring everything is available when needed. 3. Fishbone Analysis The fishbone diagram or Ishikawa diagram is a cause-and-effect diagram that helps managers to track down the reasons for imperfections, variations, defects, or failures. The diagram looks just like a fish's skeleton with the problem at its head and the causes for the problem feeding into the spine. The results of fishbone analysis are often used to make major changes in the delivery system. Fishbone analysis is a tool that helps people figure out why a problem is happening. It looks like a fish skeleton, with the problem at one end (the head) and the different reasons for that problem branching out like the fish’s bones. 4. PERT/CPM PERT stands for Program Evaluation Review Technique and CPM for Critical Path Method.  The PERT/CPM planning technique, frequently used in the construction industry and the military, has many points of application in the hospitality industry as well. PERT/CPM provides to the manager a detailed, well-organized plan combined with a control measurement process for analyzing how well the plan is being executed. PERT/CPM is useful in planning major projects such as hosting a convention, building a convention center, or opening a new hotel. PERT/CPM diagrams are simple to create. They consist of circles or bubbles, representing completed events, and arrows representing the activities that must be done before an event can be considered completed. The arrows connect the circles, and the arrow points to the event for completion of which the activity is necessary. PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) and CPM (Critical Path Method) are tools that help people manage projects. They help plan out what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and how long it will take. PERT is for projects where you’re unsure about task durations, while CPM is for projects where you know how long things will take. 5. Simulations A simulation is an imitation of the real thing. It may be doodled on a piece of paper with a pencil, or it may be done on a computer. Some simulations are big, like a computerized simulation and some are small, like a role-playing exercise at a company training session. Module 23 Lesson title: Planning and Managing the Wait At the end of this module, I should be able to: 1. Discuss managing capacity in hospitality organizations. 2. Identify and define types of queue. KEYS TO MANAGING LINES Managing the wait has two major components: 1. Keep the wait as short as possible - by ensuring that the appropriate capacity has been built into the service facility to minimize the wait for the anticipated number of guests arriving at the anticipated rate. 2. Ensure the guests - ensure guests who are waiting that their psychological needs and expectations are met while they wait. Management must predict three factors that drive the capacity decision: Number of arrivals - How many people will arrive for the service? Rate of arrival - At what rate they will arrive? Length of Service - How long will the service take? What is Capacity? - the maximum amount that something can contain. Managing Capacity Choices that hospitality managers face when the organization sees that its waiting lines are becoming unacceptably long: 1. Close the Doors to Further Customers - this choice is highly undesirable. Example: Sometimes the movie theater manager or rock show entrepreneur must tell those waiting, "Sorry, we're full” or “We’re sold out.” 2. Add Capacity. Because this alternative is usually expensive, organizations do not usually choose it unless they believe the high demand causing the waiting lines will continue. Example: Employees can be asked to work overtime or temporary help can be hired. 3. Manage Demand. Simply informing guests of when the busy and slack times occur may smooth out demand. Ways to manage demands: Requiring reservations and appointments  Early bird specials or discounts Shifting demand – Example: Disney shifted demand by creating a special after-hours ticket called "Magic Kingdom's E-Ride Nights." The ticket sold for $10 and provided guests unlimited access to the nine most popular attractions for an additional three hours after the normal park closed. 4. Divert Customers - Allow the Line to Form and Then Manage the Line by Diverting Customers. Offer people waiting in line for something else to do. Example: Having a gift shop in a Hard Rock Cafe or Rainforest Cafe gives patrons someplace to go and something to do while they wait for the service that brought them to the organization. These diversions can become highly profitable. 5. Do Nothing. The organization can accept the fact that it will have unhappy customers and hope that they aren't so unhappy that they vow never to return. Concepts used by organizations for managing Capacity by balancing costs Design Day The day of the year that the organization assumes when determining how much capacity to design for. The design-day capacity is set to handle a predetermined amount of demand without compromising guest satisfaction; used to balance the costs to the organization of excess capacity and costs to the guest in terms of quality and value of inadequate capacity. All hospitality organizations use the design day concept. Design Day Concept: If demand is less than the design-day model, then guests are happy, but the facility is underutilized. If demand exceeds the design-day capacity, then some guests will probably be unhappy. Waiting lines may form on design days, but they will not exceed the length where guests perceive a decline in the quality or value of their experience. The Capacity Day The maximum number of guests allowed, by law or by the organization, in a service facility in a day or at one time, used like the design day to balance the costs to the organization of excess capacity and costs to the guest in terms of quality and value of inadequate capacity. Capacity Day Concept: Many organizations also calculate and use a capacity day, the maximum number of customers allowed in the facility in a day or at one time. The capacity day may be set by the organization itself, to represent a point beyond which overall customer dissatisfaction with crowds, lines, or delays in service is unacceptable. QUEUING THEORY: MANAGING THE REALITY OF THE WAIT Few organizations in any industry have the luxury of adjusting capacity quickly or managing demand by getting customers to show up when the organization wants them to, instead of when customers want to come. Most hospitality organizations must therefore rely on predicting and managing the unavoidable waiting lines that are created when customers arrive looking for service. What is Queuing theory? Queuing theory or waiting-line theory refers to the mathematical study of the formation, function, and congestion of waiting lines, or queues. Characteristics of Waiting Lines: 1. Arrival Patterns: The Numbers of Guests Arriving and the Manner in Which They Enter the Waiting Line. Queue management is easiest when customer arrivals can be scheduled. Even if arrivals cannot be strictly scheduled, they can be controlled. 2. Queue Discipline: How the Arriving Guests Are Served. Options are first-come, first-served; last-come, first-served (not a formula for hospitality success), or some other set of service rules. For example, guests with reservations or wanting takeout food only may be served first, or restaurant parties of two may be served when a two-seat table is available regardless of how many parties of three or more are in line ahead of them. 3. Time for Service: How Long It Takes to Serve Guests. The amount of time it takes to serve the different customers can be as unpredictable as the people themselves. If the waiting-line model is going to be an aid in managing the line, it must take this variation into account. Line Types Single-Channel, Single-Phase The basic line type is the single-channel, single-phase queue--one server, one step. The customer looks the lines over, chooses one, stands in it waiting for service, and eventually reaches the counter to begin the single service phase. In that phase, the counter person takes the order, assembles and delivers it, and collects the money. Single-Channel, Multiphase Multiphase queue, like a cafeteria line or the drive-through at a limited-menu, fast-serve facility. The guest waits in one queue for service from a single server, then moves on to wait in another queue for another phase of service from another single server. Example: At a typical drive-through restaurant like McDonalds. Multichannel, Single-Phase The customer begins in a single line that then feeds into multiple channels or stations for the service, each staffed by a server. The customer waits to get to the front of the single line, then goes to the next available server for service. Example: Airline waiting line where everyone stands in a single queue, often snake-shaped to fit into available space, waiting for an open channel to any one of multiple servers. The queue discipline is to call the next person in the line to the next available teller, airline-counter attendant, telephone operator, or career counselor, who renders a single service in a single phase. Multichannel, Multiphase The most complicated to manage: the multichannel, multiphase queue system. Essentially, it is two or more multichannel, single- phase queues in sequence. The guest waits to get to the front of one line, then goes to the next available server. After receiving the first phase of service, the guest then gets in another line, waits to arrive at the front, then goes to the next available server/channel to receive the next phase of service. Virtual Queues Type of queue that is becoming increasingly popular or also referred to as the line that is not visible. A virtual queue is one-way businesses set up their waiting lines, so customers can wait for assistance without physically standing in line. Example: Disney’s virtual queue is called FASTPASSTM or “FP”. Disney's FastPassTM is a system for reserving attraction times in the Walt Disney World theme parks. With a FP reservation, instead of waiting in the regular line for a ride, you’re directed to a special line with a shorter wait time. It’s like making a restaurant reservation, but for rides. FP is a fully electronic system. You can make FastPassTM selections in advance on a computer, smartphone, or tablet via the Walt Disney World website or the My Disney Experience mobile app. Module 24 Lesson title: Techniques and Methods in Assessing ServiceQuality At the end of this module, I should be able to: 1. Identify techniques and methods for assessing service quality. 2. Enumerate the advantages and disadvantages of the techniques used for assessing service quality. Process Strategies - Various ways in which organizations can avoid failing their guests by monitoring the delivery while it is taking place, or while it is in progress. The idea of process strategies is to design monitoring mechanisms into the delivery system to find and fix failures before they affect the quality of the guest experience. Advantage of Service Strategies is that they can catch errors before or as they occur, enabling prevention or immediate correction before the errors impact guest satisfaction beyond repair. Example: Some restaurants hire an additional person to stand at the end of the food preparation line to match the order against the food on the plate to be served, to catch discrepancies before the guest ever sees the order. Techniques and Methods for assessing Service Quality: Service Standards – objective measures to monitor staff performance while they are doing it. Job Performance Standards are specific jobs, derived from the service standards, that provide employees with clear and specific performance expectations for each major duty associated with their job. Example: Chef Emeril Lagasse’s restaurant service standard His restaurant’s waiters must take the cocktail order within fifteen seconds of the guest being seated. Salt and Pepper shakers are used to signal whether the standards are met. The person seating the guest discretely separates the salt and pepper shakers, meaning that the drink order has not been taken. When the servers take drink orders, the server puts the shakers back together. This simple cue lets everyone see whether the standards are being met. “Management by Walking Around” (MWBA) - refers to a style of business management which involves managers wandering around, in an unstructured manner, through the workplace, at random, to check with employees, equipment, or on the status of ongoing work. Employee observation and inquiry – employee feedback should be based on observed, factual, specific work-related behaviors, actions, statements, results, and working relationships. Service Guarantee - A publicly expressed, usually written promise either to satisfy guests or to compensate them for any failure in part or all of the service. Example: Service Guarantee of Carnival Cruise Structured Guest Interviews - In-depth interviews that can uncover previously unknown problems or new twists to known problems that might not have been uncovered in a pre-printed questionnaire or reflected well in numerical data. Module 25 Lesson title: Measuring Service Quality After the Experience At the end of this module, I should be able to: 1. Identify techniques and methods for measuring service quality. 2. Enumerate the advantages and disadvantages of the techniques used for assessing service quality. Measuring Quality Service: To identify and implement the methods that best measure the quality of the experience from the guests’ point of view as experience is occurring Measurements taken after the experience may be too late to enable recovery from failure, though may be useful in improving the service experience for the future. Organizations should choose the techniques that fit their particular purpose. The value to organizations of finding and correcting service failures so that it can deliver the service quality its guests expect is tremendous. Failing to meet guest expectations will quickly make the organization and all services and business affiliated with it uncompetitive. Measuring Service Quality After the Experience Comment Cards - Method for obtaining guest feedback, often in the form of a postcard, enabling guests to rate the quality of the guest experience by responding to a few simple questions. Surveys: Mail and Web-based surveys - Sent on appropriate and willing sample, can provide trustworthy information concerning guest satisfaction Phone Survey and Interviews - Useful method for assessing customer perceptions of service through a phone call. Critical Incident Survey - Survey tool through interviews or paper-and-pencil surveys, customers are asked to identify and evaluate numerous moments – classified as dissatisfied, neutral, or satisfied in their interaction with the organization. SERVQUAL - Standing for "service quality," SERVQUAL is the best-known survey instrument within the services field; measures customer perceptions of service quality along five dimensions that are believed to represent service quality.: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangiblility.  Guest Focus Groups A method of assessing service quality in which, typically, six to ten guests gather with a facilitator for several hours to discuss perceived problems and make suggestions. It provides in-depth information on how guests view the service they receive. Mystery Shoppers Hired or in-house person who poses as a guest, methodically samples the service and its delivery, observes the overall guest service operation, and then submits a report to management.