Obsługa „trudnego klienta” jako element formuły gościnności hoteli łódzkich

Abstract

The service of guests constitutes the essence of hotel functioning. Not everyone is apt to work as a hotelier. The key factor leading to success in hotel industry is a full comprehension of the message conveyed by the performed job. According to respondents who were surveyed in the research it appears that the most frequent features facilitating work in hospitality are: patience, an outgoing nature, communicativeness and self-control. However, among features hindering work in hotel industry the most commonly mentioned are: nervousness, impatience, frankness and lack of assertiveness. Guests have diverse personality traits, which manifest themselves in different patterns of bearing. Accordingly, unconventional procedures of guest servicing should be applied in many cases. On the basis of the research three main types of “difficult customers” – i.e. a silent guest, an impulsive guest and a pushy guest were distinguished. The first type of customers is characterized by the fact that they do not manifest their emotions. The second type of guests, on the contrary, reveals all the feelings in public. Whereas the service of pushy guests requires far more attention than the service of standard guests. In case of a conflict with such a guest, he/she should be treated individually due to his/her unpredictability. Depending on the significance of the problem one of the six options of measures while dealing with problematic guests can be used: “on one’s own initiative”, “with the superior’s help”, “initial caution”, “intervention” , “life hazard” and “full solution to the problem”. Each of these methods assumes the participation of different people or groups of people who aim to solve the problem situation. Which option will be chosen depends, first of all, on the kind of a problem and to what extent the life is threatened. Problem situations often result from the behaviour, approach and personality traits of the guest and not the fault of the hotel, management or the staff. However, it is to remember that the guest is always right. Thus “difficult clients” should be treated as a challenge. Due to problem guests not only professional but also life experience is gained. Hotel industry is very complicated since “man to man” relations dominate here. Work where “a human factor” prevails is very demanding and requires many dedications. Unfortunately, no hotel can avoid mistakes but it should be remembered that any error can be rectified. The hotel staff should take care of their guests since every client brings in a profit to the hotel which is, at the same time, beneficial for employees.