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Creating a Guest-Centric Organization

IAAPA ~ Orlando

2010

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Why are you here?

• We are immersed in an experience economy.

• Dissatisfaction with customer service drives your customers to other venues

• Successful operations know how to manage the service experience – do you?

• If you don’t satisfy your guest someone else will!!!

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What will you leave with?

• How to make your organization “Guest-centric?”

• How to build a service culture?

• How to manage the service experience?

• In other words…How to become a

Guestologist!

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Outline for Guestology

• Introduction

• Definition of Guestology

• Principles of Guestology

– Principles 1-3: Making your company “Guest-Centric”

– Principles 4-6: Building a Service Culture

– Principles 7-11: Managing the Service Experience

– Principles 12-14: Providing Guest-Centric Support

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2009/10 American Customer Satisfaction Index (score based on 1-100 scale)

Industry Score

• Parcel Delivery 83 (Fed Ex-85, US Postal-71)

• Breweries 84

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• Broadcasting 74

• Hotels 75 (Marriott Int-80, Starwood -77)

• Hospitals 73----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Air Lines 66 (Southwest-78, Continental-67)

• Cable 66

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What does this mean for you?

• The “bar” for guest service has been set very low.

• It is easy to shine when nearly everyone else is merely average.

• Applying the principles of Guestology can provide you with a competitive edge.

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Guestology: Definition

• Guestology is the scientific study of the behaviors, needs, and expectations of people in a service environment, and how to use that knowledge to optimally manage a service organization.

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Guestology: Business Rationale

• A company that follows the principles of Guestology believes that it can maximize its profits and/or achieve its organizational goals and objectives:

– By providing products and services that meet the needs and expectations of its customers, and

– By providing such exemplary service that the customers not only become repeat customers, but become loyal advocates for the company

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Guestology: Business Rationale (continued)

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Business Rationale

• If we are truly moving towards an experience economy then the study of guests and guest actions is imperative.

Pine & Gilmore

The Experience Economy

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The Experience Economy

“…Companies stage an experience whenever

they engagecustomers, connecting

with them in a personal, memorable

way.”Pine & Gilmore

The Experience Economy, p. 3

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Engaging the Guest

• Entice the Guest to Interact

• Connect With an Individual

• Make the ExperiencePersonal

• Create a MemorableMoment

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Five Economic Stages

• Commodities

• Goods

• Services

• Experiences

• Transformations

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Competitive Position

Differentiated

Undifferentiated

Market PremiumPricing

Irrelevant to

Relevant to

Needs of Customers

Deliver Services

Extract Commodities

Make Goods

Stage Experiences

Guide Transformations

Customization

Customization

Customization

Commoditization

Commoditization

Commoditization

The Progression of Economic Value

Pine & Gilmore

The Experience Economy

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Creating The Experience

“An experience occurs when a company intentionally uses

services as the stage, and goods as props, to engage individual

customers in a way that creates a memorable event.”

Pine & Gilmore

Welcome to The Experience Economy, p. 98

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Guests Not Customers

“…commodities, goods, and services-are external to the buyer,

experiences are inherently personal, existing only in the mind

of an individual who has been engaged on an emotional, physical, intellectual, or even spiritual level.”

Pine & Gilmore

Welcome to The Experience Economy, p. 99

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The Connections to an Experience

• Absorption

• Immersion

• Passive Participation

• Active Participation

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The Four Realms of an Experience

• Entertaining

• Educational

• Escapist

• Esthetic

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Designing the Experience

• Theme the Experience

• Harmonize Impressions With Positive Cues

• Eliminate Negative Cues

• Mix in Memorabilia

• Engage All Five Senses

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Experience Economy Lesson

Challenge Conventional

Thinking

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Guestology: Guest vs. Customer

• Definitions:

–“Customer”: A person who buys goods or services.

–“Guest”: A person who is a recipient of hospitality at the home or table of another.

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Guestology: Guest vs. Customer

• The Difference is in attitude–If you treat everyone merely as a customer,

there is no implied obligation of special treatment or service

–On the other hand, treating your customers as guests implies a greatly increased level of service, courtesy, and respect

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Guest Behaviors Needs & Wants

• Value and Quality are always defined by the guest!

• Value and Quality are subjective opinions based on perceptions of each guest (and not the opinion of management).

Remember – Facts are negotiable perceptions aren’t!

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How will the Guest define their Experience?

• Setting

• Product

• Product Delivery System

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Setting the Scene

• The Environment–Sets the Expectation

–Sets the Mood

–Includes the Employee mood

–Becomes part of the Service

–Communicates Safety & Security

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The Product

• Tangible

• Intangible

• Perishable

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The Product Delivery System

• Physical Design

• Operating Systems

• Interaction of Employees w/Guests

• The Service Encounter

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The Basics

• If you don’t know who your guests are and understand their behaviors, needs and expectations, you can’t possibly satisfy them.

• Don’t assume you know what your guests want – their needs and expectations are always changing.

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The Success Formula

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To excel in the

experience economy,

you must devote most of

your time and attention

to your guests & the

frontline employees who

interact with them.

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Service versus Servitude

• If you are not serving a guest, you better be serving someone who is.

Albrecht & Zemke, Service America

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The Principles of Guestology

Making your Organization

Guest-Centric

1. Understand the behaviors, needs, and wants of your guest.

2. Identify the “Key Drivers” in your business.

3. Focus all business strategies around the “Key Drivers”.

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Principles of Guestology – cont.

Building a Service Culture

4. Find and hire people who love to serve.

5. Incorporate commitment to guest service in all training programs.

6. Define, build, and sustain a total service culture.

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Principles of Guestology – cont.

Managing the Guest’s Service Experience

7. Set standards with appropriate metrics.

8. Constantly reinforce standards by all levels of management – “walk the talk”.

9. Motivate for success.

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Principles of Guestology – cont.

Managing the Guest’s Service Experience - cont.

10. Manage the quality and perception of the waiting experience.

11. When the service experience fails to meet expectations, provide immediate recovery.

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Principles of Guestology – cont.

Providing Guest-Centric Support

12. Set the stage (physical environment)

13. Provide centralized coordinating and overseeing role – organizational structure.

14. Ensure organization’s commitment to continuously pursue perfection.

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