Help with guest satisfaction
 

Hello Everyone. Thank you for reading this and having this forum. I'm a long time lurker and have learned a lot. I am a supervisor at the front desk of a Marriott. I really like the hotel I work for, but recently we have not been getting as high of scores on our guest satisfaction surveys as we are used to or would like. I have ideas on what we can do to be better, but I also wanted to check with all of you frequent travelers to see what you guys would like to see a hotel do. Any really good stories of great service? Anything you ever wanted to see a hotel do? Thank you all for your help. I hope everyone has a great holiday season.

Don't put all your efforts into getting good survey results. Many of them really don't do well in measuring guest satisfaction. Choices like "exceeded expectations" will be totally different from someone staying at at FS Marriott vs a Fairfield Inn just as much as someone at the property for the first time vs their 20th time. Once you get use to a high level of service, you can't get a high mark since I got great service as I expected.

Instead, I'd suggest promote guests to post reviews here on FT or TripAdvisor or some such site where they can verbalize their experience. Then great service can be earned every time.

Welcome to FT PaperMachete!

I'd be interested to hear what your ideas are. Then the legions of FT'ers can provide feedback on those, plus we can expand and branch out from there.

I think there are little things we can do better, such as doing better at making eye contact, etc. We are an extended stay hotel with a lot of repeat business, so I thought it would be nice to personalize a card with maybe a small food item for long-term guests or frequent guests. Something to let those guests know how much we value their business. Honestly, I think the front desk is really solid and there are only small things we need to tweak.

Smile big. Be genuine. Be friendly. Realize often when I am checking in I have been traveling for long times. A signed card was a nice gesture I received in Utah I believe. Short waits to check-in always help.

Smile, be friendly and welcoming. It shows the attitude the front desk has. I have came across some not so friendly attitudes and it shows the minute you walk to the desk.

I applaud you for caring enough about your business, and your guests, to start this thread.

My highest scores are given to those hotels who read my profile, and provide me with a room that matches. Greet me pleasantly, have my keys ready, and welcome me back if I am a prior customer. Do not assume that I want points as my amenity, please ask. Understand that I may have been traveling all day, am tired, and would like to get to my room quickly - a pleasant welcome does not have to be lengthy! If you do write a card? Be sure it is accurate...I do not feel welcomed if I am greeted as a Mr. and my name is spelled wrong.:p

insure your front desk is trained well and is enabled to act when and where needed.

I do not require all kinds of special treatment to feel appreciated! A clean room that meets my profile and a front desk staff that is responsive when needed insures my high scores and repeat stays.

IMO being an extended stay MR property puts you in a bit of a box. You don't have a lounge, and might not even have a restaurant or bar. The options for differentiating your property likely focus on the front desk staff and what you do for the mealtime services. For an extended stay property these are the things I tend to notice most since they have the greatest impact on each day of my stay.

Since you're an extended-stay property, upgrade or add a specialty or signature item to your breakfast (e.g., wider selection of fresh fruit, better donuts or pastry, low-fat chocolate milk, etc.).

All of this.

If you don't already have something like a managers reception, this are often appreciated during an extended stay. But honestly, as echoed above, it's just being made to feel like we matter to you.

as a long time lurker you already know what 90% of FTers want ---- a way to beat the system.......... manipulate the rules.............get something for nothing...........compensation bonus points for the slightest of problems.....

Extended stay properties should focus on getting the basics right: friendly and helpful employees, good housekeeping and not cutting corners in offering the bare minimum for breakfast and evening reception (Monday-Wednesday with chips and salsa is not being competitive for a Residence Inn when Homewood Suites and Hyatt House offer more hot food from Monday-Thursday for an evening reception). Let me emphasize that people who travel a lot can see what properties are making the effort and which ones are not, even extended stay ones. The little things do matter. If you put out a better breakfast spread, people will notice. I am not talking about steak and eggs but having one more hot entree, more fresh fruit and more toppings for oatmeal are appreciated by me. I am not a waffle guy, but I understand the need for having waffles at breakfast due to customer demand.

Every property will have challenges. No one is going to expect perfect service all the time. I do not usually stay at extended stay properties, but I will on occasion for a night. I had a memorable stay in May at a RI in the San Diego area. I used a category 1-4 award certificate. The evening reception was okay, and I went to Costco to get more food. After eating, I decided to throw away some trash and opened a door underneath the sink to get to the trash bin. That was when I found an overflowing trash bin that smelled real bad. I was tired and flying out the next morning, so I closed the door for the night. I opened it up before checking out so housekeeping would take out the trash so the next guest would have an empty trash bin. I normally would say something to the hotel about stuff like this.

I would suggest the possibility of offering free gym passes to a local gym for hotel guests. Some RIs do this, and they are on my short list if I need to stay at an extended property.

Upgrade me.

Big welcome to FT!
Nice to see a supervisor lurking and asking for advice.

I recently had a FD clerk at a FI offer to make a batch of choc. chip cookies and deliver them to my room.:eek:

She actually did and arrivedd at the front door with a plate full of nice warm fresh baked choc. chip cookies and a few cartons of milk.:)

That was an extremely nice gesture and going above and beyond.

Of course this is not something I expect on visit, but it is a great example of terrific service and a FD clerk trying to make our day.

Each morning when leaving the hotel, the FD clerks were extremely nice and and personable, using 'have a great day' or 'we will see you upon your return'.
Again, just a simple, but very friendly and nice gesture.

Smiling friendly faces at the front counter always help, even when returning from a tough day or long travel.

Sometimes it's the simple things that matter.^
Also, when a MR member ask a program question, it's nice to see the FD clerk actually know the answer or be familiar with the program rules. If they are not, it's better to just say they don't know the answer but offer to get the correct answer instead of making up a rule or guessing. If members ask, they likely don't know the answer and are depending on the FD person to provide accurate info. (it's simple, but too often the FD clerk has no clue).

Forgive me for belaboring the obvious, but did you (or someone) actually READ the surveys? Surely the deficient areas would be noted.

Do you read the tripadvisor reviews of your property? Sure, there will be the occasional whacko review, but when you start seeing the same complaint(s) from different guests, the problem(s) should be obvious.

Finally, are you meeting the brand standard for your property, not only for content, but for quality as well. Put yourself in the guests' shoes. Would you actually enjoy eating the breakfast, would you enjoy staying in any one of your rooms?

If you do all of the above, I'm sure it will be a relatively easy task to identify and resolve your customer satisfaction issues.

There is a particular RI at which I've been staying about 7-9 times a year, with the first stay about six months after it opened.

Overall, quality on most aspects has been consistent (ie, things work, rooms are clean, landscaping is excellent, FD folks are friendly and efficient, etc.) though the breakfast has steadily deteriorated.

Two months ago the gravy was particularly awful, I just passed it up, but another guest thought it was bad enough to bring a sample to the front desk for a show-and-tell.

The following morning, breakfast was much improved. However, it seemed to have been fleeting, since it was back to being less than optimal during my following stay, about a month later.

OP, to sum this up: even though every other aspect of the stay is fine, I do give demerits on the surveys (and indicate why), perhaps there's a particular area that's causing the results you're seeing.

You've gotten some great feedback here. I especially like the idea of checking trends on online reviews, and reading the text on surveys.

I almost never stay at extended-stay properties, but trying to put myself in those shoes I think I would appreciate personalized attention. If I'm at a hotel for a long amount of time, I would think the staff could learn my name and my preferences, and then anticipate them. Sitting down to breakfast and having the attendant greet me with a hot cup of coffee (prepared the way I like it) and a hearty, "Good morning, Mr. DJ_Iceman!" would show that they care.

Unexpected surprises can be good too--coming back to my room and finding a gift card to a nearby sports bar, or a coupon for a beer at the hotel lounge, etc. with a hand-written "thank you for giving us your business" would impress me.

The person who posted this has given you a primer for things that would make him happier if he were to stay at your property. What I'm about to say is NOT intended to be a slam against that poster. His post makes sense and was intended to help you. BTW, let me add to the Kudos for your reaching out.

But...

One of the biggest loads of cr*p that causes horrible customer service is something we as Americans were taught at a young age: The best way to treat someone is the way you want to be treated. There is a giant conceit and a customer service flaw in that advice; Not everyone wants to be treated the same and the way you want to be treated isn't the "right" way. It's one way.

Personally, I don't want people getting in my business. I don't want to feel as though the staff is monitoring my comings and goings or having to stop what they are doing to fetch me coffee. Obviously, the poster above doesn't feel that way. That doesn't make me right and him wrong. It makes us different. It makes what you have to do "wow" us different.

Perhaps rather than looking for a single answer, your hotel may want to invest in some sort of training that can help your employees recognize these differences and learn how to flex their customer service to make each guest feel comfortable. Programs like Briggs Myers and DiSC can help your team members learn and appreciate different interpersonal styles and learn ways to pick up cues and execute customer service that is tweaked to work best given the individual customer's comfort level.

For the record, my inner INTJ or DiSC very high equal CD wants everything ready when I get there for a fast, hassle free check-in, a quiet room and the wake-up call as expected. For me, less interaction with hotel staff is better. If I've had any conversation with the hotel staff after checking in, it's likely something has gone very wrong. I'm polite, unless pushed, but not looking for staff buddies. IMO, the hotel should be something I don't need to think about. If there are problems, which there will be, I want them addressed quickly and correctly. I want the problem fixed, not MI points, comped nights, written apologies or insincere empathy.

FWIW, DiSC is the more relatable of the two, and is easier to introduce in a short, fun team meeting. If you want more information, PM me. I am certified in both, but use DiSC much more than MB. I do not do these programs outside my regular employment, so I'm not trying to sell you anything, but would be happy to point you towards additional resources.

Well glad you're a DiSC person, but perhaps your post should be aimed at Marriott HQ vs. a lone Marriott employee asking for input on how to make things better ;)

Cheers.

MI didn't ask. She did!

But probably as a FD sup, doesn't have the authority to make outside paid training decisions. S/he probably was looking more for the input provided by others on the thread on things to do. While you point out that each guest is different, I think pushing a diSC program is overkill for the OP's request. FWIW - I figured you'd say make sure my feather-free room is actually feather-free :D

Cheers.

DiSC can actually be done relatively inexpensively if you use the shorter questionnaire. There are even some people - not us - who teach the principles without the self assessments: using a self reporting starting point.

Yes, the FFR is key for me!

Realize I have already posted once, but in re-reading this thread.....

OP, have you thought of things you can do for your employees. Happy employees tend to provide best in class service - so perhaps looking to see if you have any weaknesses on the morale end of things could bring your scores up.

And / Or when all the nice amenities promised by the GM in the card are not present in the room.

Big fan of RI's in the past. Here are my suggestions:

Don't make me beg for an upgrade or the top floor which is always stated in my reservation.

Change up the tired old standard breakfast once in a while.

Regarding breakfast, have later hours, especially on weekends. 10 AM is too early, remember, weekend guests are usually there for events and may need to sleep in a bit. Also, don't break down the buffet at the stroke of 10 AM (or whatever). Often its a race / fight between late arriving guests and employees to see what can be grabbed before its jerked away, usually with their "I want to get out of here" attitude. Don't put more food out but let it linger for a while and everyone will be happy. Constantly see this!

Put mouthwash in all the rooms.

Make sure the room doors are not the "self slamming" type but the soft closing kind.

Make sure the fitness center is functional at all times (all machines always up and running).

Don't make me beg for an extended checkout since its a "privilege" of my status and lie about a big group coming in the Sunday night after Thanksgiving (yea right).

Have reasonably priced items in the "Market", don't gouge like $5 for a bottle of water.

And don't take something away to save you money under the guise of "go green" I'm writing this from the JW Marriott in SF and they've taken away bottled water from the Concierge Lounge by installing a water dispenser with a "going green" blah, blah, blah excuses sign on top of it. Not going to help me at 3 AM when waking parched / hungover. But plenty of $5 waters in my room that don't seem to bother the environment!

Have a refrigerator in every room and a working ice machine on each floor. This is not the case here, I have to go on a road trip to find ice at this supposedly top of the line Marriott.

Get the above right and I don't care how you recall my face or name or greet me. Just don't call me late to Happy Hour!

Great post, and I certainly didn't take any offense to your well-written and spot-on advice to the OP. What I find fascinating is that I agree with everything you say except for the "less interaction with hotel staff is better." Then I saw your INTJ. Guess what I am? Yep, ENTJ. *lol*

I also want to say that sophiegirl raised a REALLY important point. Sometimes the best way to take care of the guest is to take care of the employees. Happy, fulfilled employees will treat guests better every single time.

That's the most important element in life^

Being a young asian couple traveler (20+, students in Prague), my girlfriend and I always hope that we will be treated the same as everyone else in the hotel (of course the elite status matters)

When we were in Marriott Munich, we got the voucher for drinks (instead of lounge access) to be used at their bar. The bartender didn't even bother to come over to take our order. So I thought it's some kind of 'self-service', I went over myself to place the order, waited there and took our drinks back to our table, it's totally fine for me actually. Minutes later, a caucasian elderly couple sat down, and the bartender hand over the beverage list to them o.O It really makes us feel unwelcomed due to the different treatment. We don't request for some special treatment, but to be treated the same as the others would make our stay a pleasant one.

When we were in JW Marriott KL, we were treated exceptionally well. Greeted with our name in the lift on our way for breakfast by the check-in staff who just happened to enter the same lift as us make us feel valuable for them. This kind of simple thing will definitely make your guests to leave a thumbs-up review=)

Welcome to FT Paper Machete.

What others have posted about your breakfast and evenings offerings is true. However, the number 1 thing that will cause your customers to give you less than stellar ratings is the High Speed Internet you provide to your guests. The majority of the guests staying in your hotel have a smart phone, a computer and even a tablet. If the internet service, especially the wireless is slow or spotty, your guests are going to be frustrated and it will be reflected in your satisfaction surveys. I know I get extremely frustrated if I can not check my personal email when I get back to my room, or if I keep getting kicked off the internet.

Make sure the wireless signal is strong throughout the hotel, from the rooms closest to the lobby, to those on the top floor furthest from the elevators. Also, make sure your are offering the fastest speeds possible. Finally, check with the service provider who provides your internet and see if they can increase your bandwidth at night from say 6:00pm to 11:00pm when most guests are in their rooms trying to use the internet. Reliable internet at reasonable speeds will help keep most of your guests happy.

While its always nice to have someone from a Marriott Hotel on FT, they usually don't stay long. MI has ways to identify you and will encourage you not to post here. But we will provide whatever help we can during your stay on FT.

Regards,

RIP

Agree.

Another point - don't start breakfast later on weekends. A fair number of your guests work weekends, and starting breakfast later means it is not available to them.

This is very important as well. Business travelers may well go to a different hotel if they can't get work done at night.

Another very important point is to make sure your FD staff have the authority to take care of little problems themselves without having to get approval, which takes extra time and makes the minor seem major.

Keep the halls clean. I hate the way lotsa guests just put their trash outside their door. For the guests that act normal (take the trash to the garbage can next to the elevator or stairs), make sure the opening in the garbage can matches the typical size of, say, what their kitchen trash bag would be. Empty those often.

Keep track of the luggage carts so they aren't sitting in the halls for long.

Have a suggestion box. A frequent traveller notices lotsa things that staff might not, but they might not wanna complain directly to staff.