SERVICEDESIGN AND GUEST

CITISENSHIP

Recovering poor service on the

workfloor

Recovering poor service on the workfloor

As could be read in earlier blogs, even if you are a small hostel, a familiy-run bed

and breakfast, a low-budget accommodation: It is inexcusable not to think

thoroughly about the services you provide. Simply NOT doing something, does not

constitute a service! Nor does leaving things out, because it is your hostels policy

not to provide too much guest-services for not being economical or simply too

much work for the staff you have or don’t have.

Loyalty

Your guest really is perceptive enough to see the contours of the `deal’ that

he is presented with. Chances are he was already familiar with it, before he

even came to the hostel. That is- however -not the same as guest loyalty. He

is simply providing behaviour that ties in with his side of the bargain! As

written in earlier blogs, low prices are not the only thing the backpacker

chooses your hostel for. The matter of ambiance is hugely improtant (see

the post on creativity). Not only does a creative ambiance give the guest a

good feeling on a personal level, it also creates a space for him, in which to

interact with others, causing him to use the interaction with fellow-guests

and space, as an interface for social interactions.

Service provided by guests

Many hostels employ volunteering travellers and backpackers as their staff. See also the

post on volunteering abroad. It is important to give your volunteering traveller a good deal

aswell, always making sure you remain on the giving side of the deal. It is perfectly

acceptable to ask your volunteer to maintain certain standards and behaviours in handling

guests. Instructing them, providing scripts, making sure they read a servicedesign manual

you might have created. But make sure you discuss these things before they arrive.

Furhermore, motivate them beforehand to apply if they have the personality traits ands skills

you require of them, to communicate your servicelevel with. But again, make sure you

remain on the giving side of the deal.

Contrary to popular belief, the loyalty of your guest can still be maintained and be put to

good use, if they are happy with yourservice recovery effort. If something goes wrong, make

sure you correct it and use the dimensions:

Competence

Excitement

Sincerity

Sophistication and

Ruggedness.

In short, make sure there is room for your guest to experience empathy for you and your

efforts. When you have recovered their satisfaction, make sure the guest experiences this in

Loyal guests and identification

Loyal guests usually attribute errors to unstable factors, over which the supplier has little

control. In the case of volunteering staff, guests are more likely to accept service-recovery,

but it is important to understand that volunteers are often part of the group, with little to no

distance to the guests, and therefore likely to choose the side of the peer-group rather than

playing the role of experienced hostel manager. And who can blame them? Ashforth and

Mael (1989) found that social identification lead persons to perform activities that are

congruent with their identity and support institutions that embody that identity. So the

volunteer-employee might be just the person to handle these things. If handles correctly,

they will identify with the hotel organisation.

Service-recovery

Guest behaviour after service-recovery, is much more likely to be a guest-citisen-

also known as customer voluntary performance, varying in behaviour from using

less towels as to have less costs for the hostel, to helping out during breakfast and

giving advice to other guests.

So the production of your service is very much a joint effort with volunteers, paid

staff and ofcourse your guests, which includes a good briefing of volunteers before

they arrive.

Interested in hostel service-design?

Interested in putting everything into practise

and see welldevised concepts turn into proper,

unforgettable experiences? Contact me!

Renk van Oyen

acts@la-clappeye.nl

www.blog.la-clappeye.nl

www.la-clappeye.nlwww.blog.la-clappeye.nl