Industry Research #3
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleleinbachreyhle/2015/07/03/5-ways-to-handle-difficult-customers/
As I continue my internship , I was able to get a weeks worth of time at the front desk as a GSA , and the responsibility of being the hotel’s image was no easy task. For the most part dealing with guests isn’t difficult but dealing with an ANGRY guest is a whole different thing. I had a guest that was upset and yelling about the noisy AC unit in his room , I didn’t even question it and moved him to another available room and offered a free breakfast as well. The guest was very happy and content with my quick and courteous response. We had a family that was unhappy because we sold out of double rooms and had to split up their rooms to two kings. I was very apologetic and explained the reasoning why this occurred after listening to their story of a stressful plane ride. Letting the father vent was what he needed as once I took care of things for them he evened came back down to apologize for his attitude. You must have an open mind of things when working with guests , you can not see them as rude or annoying but as people who are confused and uninformed. Patience is a huge factor that helps me as a front desk agent.
Thank you for sharing the article. I am happy to hear that you had such an experience as a GSA and able to satisfy the customers considering everything that happened. Tip 3 stood out to me ‘In business, if you can deliver bad news with good news, that always helps ease the pain of the not-so-great news.’ I truly believe this to be true and will remember this for future purposes.
Great article and it’s absolutely true. have the guest vent, speak first, and we just listen. The rule is always as follow, we shouldn’t say no to the guest, we give them the best accommodation. You are working at a fantastic hotel because they really know how to empower you! It’s definitely great to be working at a place that you can accommodate the guest based on your judgement without managers approval. Also I feel the like the way to handle any angry or upsetting guest is not to have sympathy, but empathy. If they are yelling it’s always best to speak to them softer.
These tips are very helpful especially when you work in a customer service industry. I work at a library at the circulation desk. When I first started working there I thought customer service at a library would not be so bad, boy was I wrong! I found out that these patrons are very passionate about books, they hate being fined and do not like noise. I consider myself to be a very patient person but I have been tested many times. I find tip #1 and #2 are very helpful where I work because 9 times out 10 all the customer wants is to vent and be heard. If you pack your patience, acknowledge the customer and really listen, you will find that sometimes that’s all the customer really wants.