Becoming Customer Focused

Many companies have come to realise it is very important to improve their customer focus. That is, treating customers in ways that build loyalty and repeat sales.

Customer focus goes beyond the concept of service quality to include not only the actions of the front line staff, but also those of supervisors, management, and other departments. It also involves the company's structure, operating systems, and company culture.

Take a look below at part of a hotel company’s mission statement.

Customer Focus

Starwood's mission is to consistently exceed our guests' expectations in terms of the products and services we provide to our business and leisure travelers.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

The key issues in this statement are:

• products and services designed with true customer focus

• ongoing research to understand customer needs and expectations and

• suitable products and services to maintain a competitive edge.

Customer focus is a company-wide approach to customer satisfaction and service that is achieved when a company completes the following.

• Learns its customers' needs.

• Translates those needs into products and services.

• Provides excellent service to its customers before, during and after the sale.

Figure 3.1: One of Starwood’s hotels – The Sheraton, Phoenix, Arizona (Photo: Kevin Dooley)

When an organization has a customer focus the customers get valuable products and services that meet real needs, and get exceptional service from the company. So the customer benefits and the company gets more satisfied customers that enjoy doing business with them, and who come back.

3.1.2. Examples of Mission Statements with Customer Focus

Now we look at examples of how companies in the tourism and hospitality industry explain how they provide quality customer services and make their service pledges.

Let’s look at two famous hotel groups first.

SHANGRI LA HOTELS & RESORTS

From http://www.shangri-la.com/en/corporate/aboutus/mission/overview Our Mission: “Delighting Customers Each and Every Time”

“Shangri-La has always believed in the unique characteristics encapsulated by Asian Hospitality. Our commitment to providing guests with distinctive Asian standards of hospitality and service from caring people remains our major point of differentiation from our peers and the very cornerstone of our reputation as a world-class hotel group.

Figure 3.2: Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok, Thailand (Photo from Satane)

“Pride without arrogance” is of particular importance as we want our people to be internally proud of our achievements but outwardly humble. After all, the hallmark of true success is that it does not need to be stated.

In striving to delight customers each and every time they stay with us we aim to exceed expectations through consistently providing quality and value in our products and services. That’s why we look for trendsetters, professionals who are enthused by innovation and driven by achievement.”

MANDARIN ORIENTAL

From: http://www.mandarinoriental.com/at_your_service/

“Our Mission is to completely delight and satisfy our guests.

We are committed to making a difference every day; continually getting better to keep us the best.

We will strive to understand our client and guest needs by listening to their requirements and responding in a competent, accurate and timely fashion. We will design and deliver our services and products to address their needs. In fact, we are committed to exceeding their expectations by surprising them with our ability to anticipate and fulfil their wishes.

Figure 3.3: Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Hong Kong (Photo from

Wilfred912@msn.com)

Mandarin Oriental is best defined as a family of individual hotels and resorts, each with their own distinct personality yet inherently linked to their exotic oriental roots. Our luxury brand strives to delight our guests by providing service that is gracious and sincere and steeped in the values of the orient. Our aim is to be widely recognised as the best luxury hotel group in the world, providing exceptional customer satisfaction in each of our hotels.

Every time you ask for a service it is our genuine pleasure to meet your requirement.

Quite simply that is our business. Here we have reviewed our facilities and those in each of our destinations, so wherever you travel and whatever your needs we are at your service with advice.”

ACTIVITY 3.1

Which of the two company strategies do you consider to be the best and why?

See if you can write a slogan for your own tourism or hospitality company:

My company name

My company business

My customer service pledge

OPTIONAL CLASS ACTIVITY

Share your slogan, company name and customer service pledge with others in your class. How do you rate your classmates’ ideas, and why would you want to use their services?

3.2. Service Standards and Commitment

Setting high customer service standards are essential for hospitality companies.

Normally company policies are set out along with operating procedures to ensure everyone knows what is required. Commitment to service quality must come from all staff, including most importantly the senior management. This commitment must be to:

• the customer

• a quality product

• staff

• courtesy and other service dimensions and

• giving value for money.

Of course there will be many problems, and obstacles to success. Some of these will be to do with systems, others to do with people. Those to do with systems are the easiest to resolve.

The simpler a system is made, and the more clear the standard procedures, the easier it becomes to operate, the results easier to see and the rewards are obvious to everyone.

In order to simplify procedures:

• tasks and processes need to be standardised

• use technology where suitable

• programmes of internal training set up

• goals set to meet customer expectations

• formal ways to measure and evaluate results

• resources committed and

• flexibility in the quality programme.

All staff must know they have the ability to deliver quality service, that products can be changed, that customer’s needs can be matched and exceeded, that resources can be made available, and that training and rewards will be given. It is important that employees see their role clearly, and that there is no conflict between what they think they do and what they are expected to do.

Companies must make sure they have:

• excellent selection and training processes

• clear and simple job instructions to help employees understand the product and services offered

• good communication channels to help them understand policies and procedures; and

• training to assist them in dealing with people.

Appropriate resources, flexibility and authority will help to ensure that staff are not overloaded, that they have adequate support from other areas, and the freedom to make decisions without having to obtain frequent help or approval.

One way to provide a working definition would be to take some of these examples of good business practice and develop them into a formula. Take a look at the following extracts from corporate mission statements to see how some of the world’s leading hotel companies view quality service.

Table 3.1: Hotel Corporate Mission Statements

The Ritz-Carlton Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen Four Seasons Offering only experiences of exceptional quality.

Hilton Innovation and quality

Marriott International Provide the customers with good service and a quality product at a fair price.

Peninsula Hotel Superior customer service, luxurious surroundings, superb amenities and cuisine.

The end result might look something like this:

Guest satisfaction = Superior customer service + Exceptional quality + Innovation + A fair price

This formula adds the concepts of value and innovation, which are important from a marketing viewpoint. But, it fails to take into account the importance of employees and the concept of customer perceptions. And, it does not allow for any measurement of quality.

Service quality is all about making best use of every corporate asset to make and keep the customer happy. Companies need to do “everything” they can to satisfy the customer, but is not very clear, in that it gives no directions on how to make best use of assets to make and keep the customer happy.

ACTIVITY 3.2

See if you can find the customer service mission statements from some other hospitality and tourism companies and make a note of them here:

Company Customer service mission McDonald’s

Disneyland Hong Kong

Hong Thai Travel

Cathay Pacific Airways

Which statement do you like the most and why?