METRICS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE IN HOSPITALITY

Metrics of Customer Service in the Hospitality Industry in the United States

Metrics of Customer Service in the Hospitality Industry in the United States

Introduction

One of the biggest contemporary challenges of management in service industries is providing and maintaining customer satisfaction. Service quality and customer satisfaction have increasingly been identified as key factors in the battle for competitive differentiation and customer retention. Competition in the service industries has been intensifying throughout the past two decades and shows little sign of decelerating in the near future(Lovelock 1991). This trend, combined with in creasing consumer sophistication and unparalleled media focus, has made the interrelated issues of service quality and customer satisfaction the key marketing weapons in the battle for competitive differentiation and customer retention. As part of this competition, guest satisfaction measurement has become common practice; however, the cathartic experience of a mediocre or poor stay in a hotel is not being assessed adequately. Increasing competition (whether for-profit or nonprofit) is forcing businesses to pay much more attention to satisfying customers. (It may help the reader to notice the role of customer satisfaction in the overall context of product or service development and management. Companies now recognize that the new global economy has changed things forever.

The Need for Customer Satisfaction Measurement

Increased competition, crowded markets with little product differentiation and years of continual sales growth followed by two decades of flattened sales curves have indicated to today's sharp competitors that their focus must change. Competitors that are prospering in the new global economy recognize that measuring customer satisfaction is key. Only by doing so can they hold on to the customers they have and understand how to better attract new customers. The competitors who will be successful recognize that customer satisfaction is a critical strategic weapon that can bring increased market share and increased profits. Customer satisfaction is the leading criterion for determining the quality that is actually delivered to customers through the product/ service and by the accompanying servicing (Oliver 1993). Simply stated, customer satisfaction is essential for corporate survival. Several studies have found that it costs about five times as much in time, money and resources to attract a new customer as it does to retain an existing customer. This creates the challenge of maintaining high levels of service, awareness of customer expectations and improvement in services and product. 

Qualitative and Quantitive customer service metrics

A customer satisfaction investigation is made up of quantitative and qualitative aspects. The satisfaction can be measured using quantitative means such as surveys, polls and reports. The survey is perhaps the most effective of these methods as it can be reproduced, the results are comparable, and it is unambiguous and can be easily distributed to end users or employees. Yet not every aspect of customer satisfaction can be investigated using quantitative methods. The qualitative aspect consists of meetings, interviews and conversations in the corridor(Geva Goldman 1991). Feelings and emotions are harder to measure. New, unique ideas are not usually concocted as the result of a survey, but during (group) discussions. Qualitative research is thus a valuable complement to ...