In tourism, excellent service is paramount

In tourism, excellent service is paramount

Agus W. Soehadi, Contributor, Jakarta

According to a report issued by the World Trade Organization
in 2000, the tourism industry then was one of the fastest growing
businesses in the world. The report said more than 657 million
tourists worldwide spent US$455 billion that year, while foreign
tourists to Indonesia increased from 4.6 million in 1998 to 5.06
million in 2000.

While this business promises a bright future, data issued by
the International Conference on Networking (ICN) in 2002
indicated that the occupancy rate of hotels worldwide has, in
surprising contrast, dropped by between four and six percent in
quite a number of countries in the past two years. The ICN report
also indicated that to lure customers, many hotels had resorted
to the most basic of marketing strategies -- room rate discounts
as much as 55 percent. Airlines also face a more or less similar
situation.

Most marketing experts say the obvious solution lies, as
proven by major brands or corporations that have survived all
kinds of economic weather, in providing excellent service to
customers. The possibility for a company -- in any field -- to
turn out a winner is much heightened by giving its very best.

Excellent service not only maintains customers' loyalty, but
also helps to retain clientele, and is thus the most effective
tool to win customers' hearts and "erase" competing brands and
companies from their minds.

At hotels, for example, courteous and dedicated service from
professional staff throughout a guest's stay produces a lasting
sense of satisfaction that eventually makes the customer into an
indirect salesman through positive word-of-mouth marketing.
Certainly, the service provided by sincere, professional and
skillful staff is vital in creating a satisfying experience that
even exceeds customer expectations.

In advertising or marketing jargon, "moments of truth" are
drawn by the customer from their cumulative impressions of
contacts and transactions with a particular company -- whether a
direct meeting between company staff and customer, or an indirect
or virtual communication -- to see whether the company has
matched their needs. The company must surpass customer
expectations for such moments of truth to enhance the image of
the product or service, as well as its producer or provider.

The big question, indeed, is how to create and continuously
manage these invaluable moments of truth. Three basic marketing
tactics must be attended to carefully: external marketing,
internal marketing and interactive marketing.

External marketing is conventionally known as a company's each
and every effort to communicate the superior values of a
company's product or services to match -- or better, exceed -- a
customer's expectations. Such efforts include the first and most
important step a customer takes: a trial or the first purchase of
a product or service.

Internal marketing, meanwhile, is a communication exercise for
and with employees on how to deliver services and achieve
customer satisfaction. The employees' high level of competency
and motivation are definitely crucial here.

Interactive marketing is mainly about keeping the company's
promises and claims as to the superiority of its product or
services.

These three areas in any type of business, but especially the
tourism industry, are nonnegotiable if growth or, at the very
least, survival is at stake.

In 2000, Cornell University in New York discovered an
interesting finding from a related survey: The leaders or
champions of service excellence were strong in all three areas.
They incorporated various strong points, such as a solid service
culture, an empowered service delivery system, a friendly-ear
approach to customers and responsive services.

In terms of a solid service culture in tourism, Thailand's
taxi drivers are famous for their courteous service and are known
to take the shortest route to your destination -- not wracking up
unnecessary charges by taking a circumventing route. Their no-
cheating attitude has greatly helped the country's tourism.

The bottom line is that the commitment to excellent service is
not restricted to top management, but must exist at every level.

Another example is the JW Marriott Hotel's implementation of
its 12-point service program, which instills its staff and
employees with the concept that customers are family, and that
hotel guests are no different from house guests. Employees are
instructed to fill out "promise cards" on how they mean to
provide best customer service. Daily reviews and meetings on
improving services are also held. On Fridays, the hotel reads out
comments and letters from customers, which are sometimes attended
by the customers themselves. Of course, responding immediately to
complaints is part of the program.

As for empowered delivery systems, at Ritz-Carlton hotels,
this comprises empowering staff and employees of a certain level
to handle any problems that may incur costs or expenses up to
US$2,000. This has proven to provide instantaneous solutions in
many cases, while indicating that hotel management had
prioritized customer satisfaction. It also shows that the
management trusts its staff and employees to make the right
decisions in handling customer complaints. They clearly believe
that happy customers, made happy by employees enriched with a
sense of responsibility, improve business.

So confident are they of this program that Ritz-Carlton hotels
even dare to give a guarantee on their services. If a customer is
not satisfied with the hotel's services, he does not have to pay
a single cent. The 100 percent-customer-satisfaction guarantee,
which is clearly detailed for the sake of the client as well as
the hotel staff, can be redeemed if: a) the customer is
dissatisfied with below-standard service that has been provided;
b) the poor service is obviously due to the staff or employee
being incapable of delivering good service; and c) the hotel
management fails to rectify and quickly fulfill service needs as
per its high standard. Certain hotel staff are also authorized to
refund customers. The hotel management has taken every measure
possible, from recruitment and intensive training, to prove that
their ambitious guarantee is more than a slogan.

Similar to the Ritz-Carlton's "promise cards", one hypermarket
in Jakarta provides its sales staff with diaries. They are
required to note down their observations on customers as well as
any comments or complaints. Daily reviews are conducted and the
management and relevant staff quickly respond to the complaints.
Complaints of an urgent nature are certainly attended to on the
spot. Communicating with customers, getting their feedback and
compiling this information onto a marketing database, maintaining
active internal communication with employees, updating them on
recent product launches and other developments are all part of
service excellence.

These are only a few examples to illustrate the great role
excellent service plays in any and all businesses, particularly
those in the tourism industry, which has built a worldwide empire
on service.