Many hotels and resorts carry exciting service mottos, but the reality is another story. From my experiences of travelling and staying at many hotels and resorts, I almost do not believe information on their websites. Most time, it is disappointing because the information provided gives me certain expectation which is unreachable.
When I talk about expectation, it basically refers to the knowledge that a customer receives about product and service of the organization. For example; two weeks ago, I and my colleague of Mai-Bs’s are on a business trip and need to find a place to stay. My partner glances through several websites and one of the hotel websites hit the eyes, consequently, that brings to the room booking decision. However, beautiful pictures are for website purpose ONLY as its reality is wordless and unexplainable. My partner is very kind. The guest room photos are well taken and they are sent directly to the owners via email as a constructive feedback. Guest room pictures create certain expectation, but it is not met. In conclusion, we both decide not to return to that hotel as a guest as we think one-time bad experience is more than enough and the overall unsatisfying service urge us to feel that this hotel is overcharging their customer.
More simple examples to learn from, many hotels and resorts have a long list of their amenities and facilities provided on websites, but half of them are not functional. For instance, hot water is un-hot, hair-dryer that takes 100 years to dry, shower gel smells like detergent – don’t want to take a risk to have skin allergy, high speed internet that customer must communicate to at least 3 staff to understand how it operates and for its speed, I think turtle walks faster, in-room welcome fruit is shocking – some are black and rotten, or even 24-hour security mentioned but there is an additional note reminding that the hotel will not be responsible to guest’s belonging that left unattended in the room and so on and so forth.
The basic of service excellence is to meet the expectation. The above cases at times are often being viewed as an unethical advertisement. From both customer and consultant's advice, I wish to urge the owners or senior mangers to revisit their products and services offered and ensure that they are good and functional. This is something that many managers overlook and almost do not care. So, let’s ensure that amenities and facilities are filled with true caring hospitality before talking about “service excellence”.
© Tevabanchachai N. (2009), Honorary Advisor / Director, Mai-BS (THAILAND)
http://mai-bs.com

© Tevabanchachai N. (2009), Program Director at Travel Industry Management Division, Acting General Manager at Salaya Pavilion Hotel and Training Center at Mahidol University International College
http://www.mahidol.ac.th

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