How do you create customer satisfaction? Delivering a quality product is only an element in the process. Recent trends in the hospitality industry indicate a return to time-honored values that emphasize the critical role service employees play in creating customer satisfaction.

A service employee has direct contact with the customer and may be the only significant contact a guest has with your company or resort. The employee IS the company in the customer’s eyes, and all the values and characteristics of the company are communicated through that person. By understanding the influence service employees can have on customer perception, many companies have begun to develop a service culture which promotes basic competencies that will lead to more effective interaction with the customer.

Basic service competencies are:

• Value the customer (assurance)
• Ask the customer (responsiveness)
• Listen to the customer (empathy)
• Help the customer (reliability)
• Thank the customer (lasting impression)

How can we be sure our service employees are effectively serving the customer? By developing and sustaining a service culture. Creating a culture requires training, consistent expectation throughout the organization and modeling from upper management down. It’s a long-term commitment, but the rewards that come from consistently satisfied customers can be great.

At MasterCorp, we have created a service culture that is well-known in the resort industry. We have developed internal customer-oriented processes and excellent resources that help train our employees and maintain our culture ofservice. Major resorts have entrusted us to deliver higher satisfaction ratings, and we have found that consistency is possible only through training, accountability and a passion for cleanliness.

Remember, when it comes to customer satisfaction, your opportunities are unlimited. Take the initiative, focus your efforts daily, and your company can enjoy greater success and prosperity.