How to improve the art of handling complaints in hotels

Service is the main product of the hotel, and the hotel makes profits by selling services and facilities. The relationship between the guest and the hotel is the relationship between buying and selling, and also the relationship between being served and being served. Guests come to the store to buy specific service products at the agreed price to meet their material and spiritual needs. Complaints will arise when guests think that the fees paid are not proportional to the quality of the service products obtained, that is, they think that the hotel products purchased are not worth the money.

First, a correct understanding of guest complaints

Guest complaints not only mean that some of the guests' needs have not been met, in fact, complaints are also a poor evaluation of hotels, service quality and hotel staff management. It is human nature that any employee in any hotel doesn't want guests to complain about their work. However, even the most prestigious hotels in the world will encounter complaints from guests. Successful hotels are good at turning the negative aspects of complaints into positive ones, and urging them to continue their work by handling complaints and preventing them from happening again. To correctly understand the guest's complaint behavior, we should not only see the negative impact of the complaint on the hotel, but more importantly, we should seize the favorable factors implied in the complaint, turn passivity into initiative and turn passivity into positivity.

1. Complaints are a barometer of the quality and effect of grass-roots management and a driving force for improving the quality of grass-roots management.

For front-line service, the main object of grass-roots management is the service quality of on-site waiters; On logistics; As far as departments are concerned, the main object of grass-roots management is to cooperate with front-line departments to ensure that the overall quality of hotel products meets the requirements. Both the front line and the logistics department communicate with the guests directly or indirectly through their own work, and they are the "hotel representatives" in the eyes of the guests. From the bellboy, receptionist and switchboard operator in the front desk department to the waiter in the housekeeping department, the maintenance personnel in the engineering department and the security guards in the security department; From the head waiter and waiter in the restaurant to the staff in all processes in the kitchen, and then to the staff in the housekeeping department and the washing department, their working attitude, work efficiency, service quality and effect directly affect the generation of guest complaints.

Guest complaint behavior is actually a barometer of the management quality of grass-roots hotels. Through complaints, hotels can find work loopholes that they can't find in time. Through the complaint, we can urge the hotel to plug the loopholes in time, prescribe the right medicine and solve the work quality problems that may exist for a long time and seriously affect the reputation of the hotel. Even if the guests are deliberately picky and unreasonable, the hotel can learn from it, accumulate experience, improve management quality, continuously improve the system, and improve the service and reception work.

That guest complained directly to the hotel, which provided an opportunity for the hotel to recover its reputation.

When guests are dissatisfied, complain, regret or angry during the hotel consumption, they may or may not want to complain. Guests who don't want to complain may not be used to expressing their opinions by complaining, but they would rather put up with the status quo; Another possibility is that complaining can't help them get rid of their current dissatisfaction and get what they deserve. In a word, complaining is useless. Another possibility is that you are afraid of trouble and think that complaining will waste your time and make your losses even greater. Although these guests don't complain, they will vent in the hotel through other channels: or warn themselves not to go to the hotel for consumption in the future; Or tell new friends about unpleasant consumption experiences. All this means that the hotel will lose this guest forever, and the hotel doesn't even have a chance to apologize to the guest.

Among the guests who express their opinions through complaints, there are also several different specific ways:

① Complain directly to the hotel.

This kind of guests think that the hotel makes them dissatisfied, and the hotel does not meet their own requirements and wishes. Therefore, complaining directly to the hotel can try to recover your losses.

② Complain to the travel agency or introducer, not to the hotel.

It is often the guests introduced by the travel agency who choose this kind of complaint channel, and the complaint content is often related to the hotel's service attitude, complete service facilities, supporting conditions and consumption environment. In the eyes of these guests, it is better to complain about the travel agency than to complain about the hotel. The former is laborious and often futile.

(3) Complain to the Consumer Council and other social organizations.

Such guests hope to use public opinion to pressure the hotel to solve the current problems with a positive attitude.

(4) Complain to the industrial and commercial bureau, tourism bureau and other relevant government departments.

⑤ Sue the hotel through legal proceedings.

From the point of view of maintaining the reputation of the hotel, it is not difficult to find that the direct complaint from the guests is a way that has the least impact on the reputation of the hotel. Accepting guest complaints can control the spread of information that damages the reputation of the hotel in the society and prevent the competent government departments and the public from having a bad impression on the hotel. From the long-term perspective of ensuring the hotel, accepting guest complaints can prevent the business relationship between the hotel and important customers from being affected by individual guest complaints, and prevent the spread of bad information from misleading potential customers and guests of the hotel. Guests who complain directly to the hotel, regardless of the reasons and motives of their complaints, provide the hotel with opportunities to remedy in time, preserve its reputation and make comprehensive preparations. Correctly understanding the positive aspects of guest complaints to hotel management has laid the foundation for correctly handling guest complaints. Guests are welcome to complain, whether it is "better late than never" or "seeing strange things". In short, "I'm happy when I hear about it" should be the basic attitude of the hotel to receive complaints from guests.

Second, the types of complaints in grass-roots management

The main places where the hotel accepts guest complaints are the front desk and restaurant. The operating income of rooms and restaurants in many hotels is the two pillars of the operating income of the whole hotel. The front desk, housekeeping department and catering department receive a large proportion of guests. Therefore, most of the objects of complaints are guests and diners, and the complaint locations are at the front desk and restaurants, which makes sense. The front desk and restaurant are the business places where the hotel directly serves the guests. Diners often complain about food quality through restaurants rather than kitchens, and guests often complain about room facilities through the front desk rather than the engineering department. Therefore, the grass-roots managers of the front desk, guest rooms and restaurants need to know the psychological activities of the complaining guests in particular, so as to properly handle complaints by using complaint handling skills.

Guest complaints are often caused by mistakes in hotel work, misunderstanding between the hotel and the guests, force majeure or some guests with ulterior motives.

As far as guest complaints are concerned, they can be divided into:

1. Complaints about the service attitude of hotel staff.

Although guests with different consumption experiences, personalities and moods have different sensitivity to service attitude, the evaluation criteria will not differ much. Guests who have a strong demand for respect often complain about poor service attitude, which is manifested as:

(1) The waiter does not take the initiative to entertain the guests, giving them the feeling of being left out and neglected.

(2) The waiter is not enthusiastic, blunt, dull or even cold, and his words are not kind.

③ The waiter lacks self-cultivation, and his actions and language are vulgar, rude, sarcastic, mocking and insulting the guests.

The aggressive attitude of the waiter in public embarrassed the guests.

The waiter suspected the guest's misconduct without foundation.

2. Complaints about the inefficiency of hotel service.

If the above complaints are directed at specific waiters, then the following complaints are often directed at specific events. For example, the service and checkout speed of restaurants are too slow; The check-in procedures at the front desk are cumbersome and the waiting time for guests is too long; The late delivery of mail delayed the guests' activities, etc. In this regard, some complaining guests are impatient, some have important things to do, some do suffer economic losses due to inefficient hotel services, and some use bad mood as an excuse.

3. Complaints about hotel facilities and equipment

Unusual use of hotel facilities and equipment, non-matching, and imperfect service items are also the main contents of guest complaints. Such as room air conditioning control, drainage system failure, conference room is not equipped with the required equipment, etc.

4. Complaints about improper service methods

Injure the guest or make the guest suffer losses due to improper service methods. If there are no guardrails and signs when waxing the lobby floor at night, guests will fall down; When the guest delayed his check-in and urged the front desk to pay the room fee, the guest understood that the waiter hinted that he was running away.

Account; Burn a guest by accidentally bumping into it, etc.

5. Complaints about hotel breach of contract

When guests find that the promises made by the hotel have not been fulfilled, or the goods are not right, they will feel cheated, fooled and unfair. If the hotel fails to fulfill its promise to give preferential treatment, a certain entrusted service accepted by the hotel is not completed as required or is outdated.

6. Complaints about the quality of goods

The goods sold in the hotel are mainly rooms and food. The room smells bad, the bedding, tableware and food are unclean, the food is immature and deteriorated, and the suspected counterfeit and shoddy drinks may cause complaints.

7. Others (hotel reasons)

The waiter misbehaves, violates relevant regulations (such as asking for tips from guests), and damages or loses guests' property; The waiter is unfamiliar with the business and doesn't know when asking questions; The guest is controversial about the price; Dissatisfied with the surrounding environment and public security work; Have objections to the manager's handling of complaints.

Hotel reason:

The main reason of the hotel is that the consumption environment, consumption places, facilities and equipment can not meet the requirements of the guests; Employees have low professional level, incompetent work, irresponsible work, chaotic job responsibilities and frequent work mistakes; Lack of communication and cooperation between departments and poor supervision by managers; Lack of respect for guests; Service guides and brochures are out of date, and the instructions are not detailed.

Guest reason:

The reason for the guests is that they have high expectations for the hotel. Once the reality is too far from the expectations, they will be disappointed. The understanding of hotel publicity content is different from that of hotels; Individual guests are too picky about hotel work.

When a guest complains, the expressions are usually divided into:

1, rational type

This kind of guest is depressed when he complains. They try their best to explain the course of the incident and their own views and demands to the complainant with a rational attitude, calm tone and accurate and clear expression, and are good at giving reasons. This kind of person's personality is in the state of adult self.

2. Thermal type

It is difficult for such guests to restrain their emotions, and they often shout loudly when they are dissatisfied. They speak without embellishment, and get it off their chest quickly, leaving no room. Strong and quick action, hate the work style of procrastination, and hope to solve the problem thoroughly and cleanly.

3. Disappointed and distressed

Emotional ups and downs, sometimes anger, sometimes regret, sometimes harsh questions, sometimes shaking their heads and sighing, deeply disappointed with the hotel or events, deeply saddened by their own losses, are the remarkable characteristics of this kind of guests. Most of these guests' complaints are that they can't stand it, or hope to achieve some compensation through complaints.

Three. Principles and procedures for handling complaints

1. Adhering to the service tenet of "guests first", welcoming guests to complain, not arguing with them, not defending themselves, accepting and handling complaints is one of the hotel's service items. If the cause of guest complaints is always related to the quality of service, then at this moment, the management personnel who accept complaints on behalf of the hotel sincerely listen to the opinions of the guests, show sincerity in solving problems for the guests, give comfort to those who are disappointed and sad, show deep sympathy, be humble and polite to those who are grumpy, and try to solve the problems satisfactorily, which in itself is the display of the normal service quality of the hotel. If all the complaining guests demand compensation, then the other party can treat themselves with the best service attitude during the complaint process, which is also a certain degree of compensation for reasonable guests.

2. When handling complaints, pay attention to the interests of both guests and hotels.