Service industry placement

7/28/2019 Service industry placement

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Block Placement Report

Shweta Pagedar,

Roll No. 26, Sr. MHRM


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTAny accomplishment requires the efforts of many people and this work is no

different. With deep sense of gratitude and humble submission, I owe my heartfelt

thanks to the Dean of Faculty of Social Work, Prof. Dr. M N. Parmar who ensures

that students gain enriching experiences through their block placement.

I have immense gratitude for Mr. Vimlendu K Sharma (Manager- HR) for giving me

an opportunity to undergo my summer training in an organization as prestigious as

ITCs WelcomHotel, Vadodara.

I express my gratitude to all the staff of WelcomHotel, Vadodara for extending to metheir support and making my block placement and my project possible.


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HISTORY AND EVOLUTION

ITC was incorporated on August 24, 1910 under the name Imperial Tobacco

Company of India Limited. Later the name of the Company was changed from

Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited to IndiaTobaccoCompanyLimited in

1970 and then to I.T.C. Limited in 1974.

In recognition of the Company's multi-business portfolio encompassing a wide range

of businesses - Fast Moving Consumer Goods comprising Foods, Personal Care,

Cigarettes and Cigars, Branded Apparel, Education and Stationery Products,

Incense Sticks and Safety Matches, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers,

Packaging, Agri-Business and Information Technology - the full stops in the

Company's name were removed effective September 18, 2001. The Company now

stands rechristened'ITC Limited'.

ITC Limited is one of the largest professionally managed public limited companies in

India. This multi-faceted corporation has six dynamic businesses:

Tobacco

Packaging & Printing Paper and Paper Products

Information Services

Agri Products

Travel & Tourism

ABOUT WELCOMHOTEL, VADODARA

Address; R.C. Dutt Road, Alkapuri, Baroda - 390005.

Telephone: 0265 2330033, Facsimile: 0265 - 2330050

WelcomHotel Vadodara offers plush accommodation and top-of-the-line Business,

Conference and Leisure facilities tailored to the requirement of the discerning and

modern day business traveler. It was founded in 1986 by Gujarat Hotels Ltd

promoted by ITC Hotels Ltd, New Delhi.

WelcomHotel Vadodara is a three storied, expansively spaced haven of hospitalitywith 134 rooms and suites. It has two restaurants and 3 Banquet Halls.
http://www.itcportal.com/about-itc/profile/history-and-evolution.aspx#ITChttp://www.itcportal.com/about-itc/profile/history-and-evolution.aspx#ITChttp://www.itcportal.com/about-itc/profile/history-and-evolution.aspx#ITChttp://www.itcportal.com/about-itc/profile/history-and-evolution.aspx#ITC


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In addition, it has a Business Centre, Health Club with Sauna and Steam Bath

facilities, Home Theater, Executive club Lounge and Table Tennis facilities or the

Guest.

DEPARTMENTS IN THE HOTEL & THE HOTEL AS A PRODUCT

Front Office: This department is unison of the teams of Reservation, Reception,

Welcomassistance, Bell Desk, Guest Relations/Namaste Girl and the Lobby Desk

respectively. This is the first line that a patron comes in contact with and thus plays a

crucial role in attracting guests and ensuring long term loyalty.

Housekeeping: Housekeeping is in-charge of upkeep of the Public Area, various

floors. It also includes the Linen Room or Uniform Room and the Guests Laundry

Area.

Food & Beverage Service: This includes the areas where guests are served at

restaurants within the hotel. It also includes in-room dining (IRD).

WelcomHotel Vadodara has a 24-Hour Restaurant by the name of Cambay

Pavilion. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets as also a-la-carte services to

the guests. The menu offers multi cuisine options to the patrons.

Peshawri Restaurant on the other hand, operates in the evening from 7:30 pm to

11:30 pm and offers the highly acclaimed cuisine from the North West Frontier. It

brings alive the robust flavors of this region traditionally prepared in a clay tandoor.

The menu offers a wide choice of kebabs, vegetarian dishes, Indian breads and the

famous Dal Bukhara.

Food & Beverage Production: The backstage of the show that ensures customer

delight is the food and beverage production department or the F&B Production. It is

essentially a kitchen with divisions like

Pantry

Chinese Kitchen

South Indian/Continental Kitchen

Indian/Banquet Kitchen

Halwai (Indian sweet meat) Kitchen Bakery & Confectionery


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Garde Manger

Butchery Section

Peshawri Kitchen

LUXURY ACOMMODATION

Welcomhotel Vadodara offers a range of accommodation options that rate among

the best in hotel accommodation in Vadodara.

Striking the perfect balance between world class luxury and the warmth of Indian

hospitality, this landmark hotel presents 133 luxury rooms including 6 suites allow

patrons to choose the accommodation that best suits their needs, in Vadodara.

There are 75 Standard rooms, 24 corporate rooms, 29 Executive Club rooms and 6

Suites.

There are separate smoking (16 in number) and non smoking rooms to facilitate

guests with their preferences. There is a provision for rooms specially equipped for

handicapped guests.

Executive Club Rooms

Exclusive Club rooms offer guests a King size bed, comfortable sitting area and a

large writing table. These rooms include an elegant ensuite marble bathroom with a

shower cubicle and offers special in room amenities along with complimentary buffet

breakfast.

Privileges:

Complimentary Buffet Breakfast

Complimentary internet usage at business centre (30 minutes)

Wi-Fi & Hard wired internet access in room (on charge)

Complimentary 4 pieces laundry / ironing of garments per stay

Complimentary use of Board room at Business centre for up to 4hrs subject to

availability

Complimentary coffee / tea making facility in the room

Complimentary mineral water 3 half litre bottles in the room

Access to Residents lounge


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Fruits of the Season on request

32 inch LCD TV in Room

Access to fitness centre and swimming pool (excluding massage)

Corporate Room

For the business traveler on the move, corporate rooms offer well appointed smart

rooms, with the latest communication facilities.

Corporate Room privileges:

Complimentary coffee / tea making facility in the room

Wi-Fi & Hard wired internet access in room (on charge)

Complimentary mineral water 3 half litre bottles in the room

Access to Residents lounge

Fruits of the Season on request

Access to fitness centre and swimming pool (excluding massage)

The Executive Club lounge provides the ambience of living room at home, ideal for

holding informal business discussions. The guest rooms are also planned to offer an

elegant workspace for busy executives in luxury surroundings.

Tariffis as follows:

Room TypeINR

Single Double

Executive Club Exclusive* 11,000 12,000

Corporate Room 9,500 10,500

Standard Room 8,000 9,000

Suite* 18,000

6% Luxury Tax on rack rate + 7.41service tax on the charged rate.

MEETINGS & EVENTS

The hotel offers a selection of banquet and conference venues, offering flexible

seating, board rooms and a well equipped business centre. The various options

allow the hotel to accommodate any gathering from 15 to 200 - these are just some


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of the banqueting events that can be planned in Vadodara at Welcomhotel

Vadodara.

Be it a corporate meeting, product-launch, symposium or conference, Welcomhotel

Vadodara offers the perfectly located venue for all kinds of events in Vadodara, in

the dignified ambience of a 5 star luxury hotel.

Chandarva Hall is located at the lobby level. It offers a free space which can be set

up to meet any requirement for a gathering from 30 to 170 guests

Facilities:

Meeting and Event Facilities

Audio Visual Equipment and Technicians

Wireless High Speed Internet Access in All Meeting/Event Facilities (on charge)

Video conferencing facility

Note: Some of the services and facilities above may not be available on a 24-hour

basis or without advance request. Fees on certain facilities/services may apply.

Shikhar Hall is located at the lobby level. Set up as a Board room, Shikhar is the

venue of choice for Board meets. The large board room set up can accommodate upto 18 guests.

Facilities:







Jharokha Hall is located on the first floor. The hall offers a free space which can be

set up to meet any requirement for a gathering from 15 to 40 guests.

Facilities:





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Jharokha lawn is located on the First floor. The lawn is open to the sky and is an

ideal venue for social dinners.

Facilities:








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Project on: Six sigma analysis of Guest Feedback to

achieve enhanced productivity at ITC-WelcomHotel,

Vadodara.

The hotel industry is an industry in which customer satisfaction and achieving

customer delight is at the summit of business priorities. A customer (referred to as

guest) rendered happy, ensures patronage, repeat business, referral, and loyalty.

This project was undertaken to study guest feedback obtained in form of Electronic

Guest Comment Cards (EGCCs) from the months of July 2012 through February

2013.

To understand how employees play pivotal roles in guest satisfaction, I spent 2-3

days each in departments that were crucial in forming an impression. These were

the Front Office department (Reception, Reservations, Welcomassistance) and Food

and Beverage Service (F&B Service) whereby employees have direct contact with

the guests.

I made observations and compiled them. I had meetings with various Heads of the

Department regarding employee expectations in achieving customer delight. The

Duty Manager provided me with EGCCs (guest feedback) which I categorized as per

the Rater (Reliability-Assurance-Tangibles-Empathy-Responsiveness) model. I also

did a pilot Six Sigma project on Wow ratios and their implications under the guidance

of the Six Sigma Manager (Mentor), Mr. Sujan Chakraborty, Front Office Manager

(Project Leader) Mr. Faiyaz Qaisari and General Manager (Sponsor) at

WelcomHotel, Vadodara.

Guest satisfaction is ultimately the end result of individual, department and

hotel productivity. In ITC-WelcomHotel, employees are entrusted with the

responsibility of eliciting Wow ratioswhich in laymans terms means performance

par excellence resulting in guest satisfaction. Scientifically, Wow ratio is calculated

depending on the weightages assigned to various parameters (28 in number),

discussed later.

The Six Sigma team at Welcom (WOW Express) ensures that these ratios are

maintained at desirable levels.


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The meaning of WOW:

The motto of the hotel is A WOW at every moment of Truth. WOW is an expression

of delight, surprise, of exceeding expectations.

WOW can be built in Product, Processes (Service Design) and could also be result

of a discretionary effort made by the human being.

In terms of product, it could include space, equipment, furnishings, ameneties etc.

provided in an ITC Hotel. One room could elicit a WOW from a Guest. It could be the

ambience or a well spread buffet breakfast or even a cover layout at the restaurants.

Wow could be institutionalized by carefully building them into products.

In terms of processes, WOW can be built in things like a Steward Changing Toasts

picked up by the guest with Fresh, Crisper Toasts for Breakfast, a Houseman

polishing guest shoes on finding them dirty, a bell Boy Cleaning/Tightening the

handle of Guest Baggage.

Wow could be institutionalized by also building them into processes.

WOW could also be result of a discretionary effort made by the employee.

According to Jan Carlson, Moment of Truth is an episode where the guest comes in

contact with any aspect of the company, however remote and has thereby an

opportunity to form an impression.

Employees need to continually WOW the guests by delighting them. It is not simply

to be viewed as a technique but is to be made a way of life. It requires thinking,

preparing carefully and planning. It requires being alert on the job and acquiring

prerequisite knowledge, skill and attitude. WOW is not to be elicited by surrendering

ones dignity but by anticipating the needs of the guest.

Three Essentials for eliciting a WOW at every Moment of Truth:

Knowledge: Knowledge of the Hotel, Organisation, Your Job

Skill: Communication Skill to Listen and Articulate, Technical Skill to serve

Right the first time and every time.

Attitude: Positive Attitude with willingness to serve, empathize and a cheerful

disposition.


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Three ways of eliciting a WOW from the Guest:

Empathy: Show Guests that you care for them

Procedure: Follow Procedure and have some discretion built in to make

decisions.

Resolution: Take responsibility to resolve problems quickly and efficiently.

Six Sigma & the methodology:

Six Sigma provides a methodology and a set of tools that help organizations to

assess their current level of quality and then improve delivery to customers

incrementally, one sigma level at a time. It focuses on the customer rather than

process, inputs, or outputs. The sigma level is determined by how well the

organization and its processes meet customer requirements.

Six signa is data- and fact-driven management, with an emphasis on measurement

of quantitative data. Process is the key vehicle of success. Six Sigma tools are

applied to create major process changes, not only incremental improvements, in

order to improve quality.

Implementing Six Sigma in an organization requires a high level of management

buy-in (often at the executive level or higher) and management champions are held

directly accountable for the efforts success. The work is delegated, but

accountability is not.

The emphasis on root causes, digging down beyond proximal causes to find what is

really going on and creating sustained changes, with control mechanisms.

Six Sigmas 5 major steps make the acronym DMAIC:

1. Define

2. Measure

3. Analyze

4. Improve

5. Control

Step one Define entails asking who, what, and why questions about the project,

writing the project charter which includes a business case, problem/opportunity

statement, goal statement, constraints/assumptions, scope, players/rules, and a

preliminary plan)


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Scope:

The team would focus on all processes with maximum correlation with Overall

Experience, Loyalty and Referral.

The boundaries of the process to work on are right from the start point to the

end point which means reservation to checkout.

the constraints the team must work underTime, Manpower strength & Hotel

infrastructural issues. Staff would be enriched by exposure to in depth analysis of Guest Satisfaction

metrics and a logical conclusion towards its improvement, against the time

they invest.

Various tools were used like Brainstorming, Problems-Issues-Expectations(PIEs) to measure.

Measuring helps to gather data on outputs/outcomes, processes, and inputs. It helps

to identify facts and data that offer clues to quality issues. It also helps create an

early sigma measure of the process.

Brainstorming (by way of meetings with Six Sigma manager, Duty Manager and

Departmental Heads)led to the following inferences:

The Manpower strength is below that sanctioned for front line

The major challenge for the hotel is sourcing the required manpower.

There is a high employee turnover rate especially in Front line Operations

M

A

IC

D


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A greater part of permanent employees are beyond the age of 40 years and

further, they also lack desired educational background

There is a need for greater interaction and feedback from guests at all

possible touch points Service recovery needs to be prompt and effective

Root cause analysis and initiation of corrective action for all EGCC (Electronic

Guest Comment Card) negative feedback

Training Plan based on quarterly Skill Inventory analysis needs special

attention

DLCs need to developed to enhance the quality of Training (Train the Trainer

Program) All guests comments must be evaluated carefully which should translate into

initiating small improvements

Quality of recruit is not up to the mark both in terms of education level and

experience in the industry

Despite the age of the Hotel (27 years old), there are many areas with

infrastructural/ Product related issues causing guest dissonance

Very small number of quality Hotel Management institutions in and around the

city


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Problems-Issues-Expectations (PIE) analysis is as follows:

Problems Issues Expectations

Manpower strength below

sanctioned Need more interaction with

guests at all possible touch

points

Service recovery needs tobe prompt and effective

Root cause analysis andinitiation of corrective actionfor all EGCC negativefeedback

Training Plan based onquarterly Skill Inventoryanalysis needs specialattention

DLCs need to developed toenhance the quality ofTraining(Train the TrainerProgram)

All guests comments mustbe evaluated carefullywhich should translate intoinitiating smallimprovements

Quality of recruit

not up to themark both interms ofeducation leveland experiencein the industry

27 years oldHotel manyareas withinfrastructural/Product related

issues causingguestdissonance

High attritionrate

Local peopleare not so keento work in hotels

Very smallnumber of Hotel

Managementinstitutions inand around thecity

Professionalservice delivery

Creating aWow at everymoment of truth

Guestsatisfaction

The next step was to analyze the data, using advanced statistics and tools asneeded in order to find the root cause of quality issues.

M

A

IC

D


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An Electronic Guest Comment Card (EGCC) has 28 parameters on which guests

respond during their visits.

Unit Wow Ratio Calculation

Parameters Weightage

Reservation 2.00

Check-in 2.00

Luggage assistance 2.00

Stay customized 3.00

Air conditioning 1.40

Cleanliness 1.40

Shower Experience 1.40Quiet and Restful 1.40

Sleep comfort 1.40

INTERNET - Technical 1.40

INTERNET - Value 0.00

Cuisine - Breakfast 1.20

Cuisine - IRD 1.20

Cuisine - Restaurants 1.20

Service - Breakfast 1.33

Service - IRD 1.33

Service - Restaurant 1.33

Laundry 1.00

Business center 1.00

SPA Services 1.00

Health and fitness center 1.00

Check-out 2.00

Warm&Courteous 3.00

Knowledgeable&Responsive 3.00

Problem resolution 3.00

Composite experience 20

Would you stay with us 20

Would you recommend 20


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A Pareto graph was generated on Parameters for their negative markings:

Conclusions:

Warmth & Courtesy and Knowledgeable & Responsiveness are showing

maximum correlation and hence needs immediate focus and corrective action.

50 39 39 35 34 29 29 27 26 24 24 20 20 20 18 1 5 14 14 12 12 12 11 10 9 9 7 6 20%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

P + F Cum. Freq.

Reservation Check-inShower

Experience

Sleep

comfort

Check-

out

Warm&C

ourteous

Knowled

geable&

Responsi

ve

P + FWeigh

tage

Compositeexperience

0.57 0.56 0.61 0.58 0.61 0.65 0.66 34 20

Would you

stay with us0.52 0.58 0.58 0.53 0.58 0.67 0.65 39 20

Would you

recommend0.49 0.55 0.58 0.53 0.56 0.64 0.64 35 20

P + F 14 12 39 20 20 18 24

Weightage 2 2 1.4 1.4 2 3 3

3 major parameters maximum correlation with others

Parameters with max. weightage,

although 19% of the total negative

markings, they have a huge impact

on other parameters.


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Negative impact on unit Wow Ratio seems to be predominantly Front office

related issues

From the above graphs, it can be seen that there were as high as 34 Electronic

Guest Comment Cards with overall WOW Ratios less than 60%.

With these EGCCs it was observed that the most highly weighed parameters

showed high dissatisfaction. This evinces that the three parameters composite

experience, loyaltyand referral are directly related to low WOW ratios for other

25 parameters and thus these need to be addressed.

11 11

9

3

40to50% 50to60% 30to40% Below 30%

34 EGCC for Wow Ratio below 60%

4

11

16

26

19

10

Comp. Exp. Loyalty Referral

34 EGCC for Wow Ratio


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When guests check in, their email addresses are captured. This has a huge impact

on business in that they can be communicated to regarding offers and kept updated

about the hotel.

The months of July, January and February show high WOW Ratios. The month of

August shows that maximum EGCCs were received.

The months of August, September and October shoe the maximum number of total

EGCCs received. However, September and October also show maximum number of

39 85 34 49 52 61 30 34

53%

64%

13%

54%48%

70%

55%

53%

93% 92%

85%89% 89%

93% 93%89%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

Mail Statistics 2012-13 - Trend so far

Total No. of EGCCs % of EGCCs @100% MTD Wow Ratio

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350


250205

179135 143

204 226

149

25

3635

1335

2826

11

51

3076

3732

31

81

43

Mail statistics 2012-13 - Trend so far

Blank IDs Invalid IDs Total No. of EGCCs


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blank IDs. The most number of blank IDs were received in the month of December,

next to the month of October.

This is also linked with the training offered to employees- how well trained is an

employee where he feeds the correct details or commits errors.

The month of August shows the highest no. of EGCCs with higher than 94% WOW

ratio, a highly desirable expectation. This is followed by the month of December andthen October, closely followed by November and July.

August and December show higher numbers of EGCCs with WOW ratios of 100%.

The months of October and December also show higher than five EGCCs with a

WOW ratio of 60%, thus calling for immediate attention and action.

21

50

627 23

49

14 20

3

6

3

73

7

14

27

60

9

3329

50

2325

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140


Mail Statistics 2012-13 Trend so far

No. of EGCCs @100% No. of EGCCs - < 60% No. of EGCCs ->94%


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The trends of other WOW ratios (in between) are evident in the graph above. These

are next in the line of list of priorities.

From the above graph, it can be seen that guests of Indian nationality outnumber

those of other nationalities to a very significant degree.

Therefore, Indian guests demands would require more attention. If their demands

are not attended to, it will impact business highly adversely.

1 12 3 4

02 2

3

1612

99

53

4

4

2

3

2

3

01

1

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20


No. of Wow ratio slots 2012-13 - Trend so far

No. of EGCCs - 60-75% No. of EGCCs - 75-90% No. of EGCCs - 90-94%

Country Statistics Jul - Feb 2012-13

Sum of persons Sum of nights


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The analysis of Front Office Core Parameters reveals the following:

Reservation

There is a need for effective communication with Guest, Sales & Marketing

(S&M) and front office (FO).

There needs to be accurate and timely update from web Portals to the

electronic portal (Opera).

This should happen in a climate of coordination with S&M, WelcomAssistance

(WA) and FO.

Check-in

There needs to be incorporated timely and accurate update by Reservation in

terms of Notes & comments in Opera.

Ensure proper handover/takeover between shifts

Verifying/Confirming with guests on key checkpoints

There has to be coordination & collaboration (Luggage Assistance, Escorting

& Room Orientation)

E-conceirge

The entire team should be informed through SMS or other means and these

E- Conceirge Requests are to be circulated to all concerned.

E- Conceirge Tracker is to be created in common drive for the status of

requests once fulfilled can be updated

The concierge should be immediately informed through the SPOC (Single

Point of Contact) on failure to meet a certain E-Conceirge Request.

Checkout

Single Point Lesson on checkout for a common understanding of the Guest

Service Associates (GSAs).

Ensure proper handover/takeover between shifts.

There should be timely updates on guest dissonance from cross functional

areas

Coordination & Collaboration (Luggage Assistance, Minibar Posting, Escorting

& Airport drop)


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Out of 89 guests, 40 i.e. nearly 50% stay in ECE rooms. These rooms elicited lower

Wow ratios, between that of 60-94%

There were 33 rooms, again half of which belonged to ECE category and showed

alarmingly low Wow ratios of below 60%.

These data imply two things- either the product ECE is not up to the expectations or

the employees responsible for these need to be trained better.

Product is a limitation. However, human resources that impact business i.e.

employees need to be trained for various different categories in a manner that they

lead to maximum guest satisfaction. They should be made aware of the room

40

25

21

3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

ECE Old corporate New corporate Standard

Wow ratio b/w 60% & 94% (89)

No. of guests (89)

12

9

7

5

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

ECE Old corporate New corporate Standard

Wow ratio < 60% (33)

No. of guests (33)


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category, what is offered for what price, what all is a part of the sale of the room for

the duration of stay, etc.

No & %age of EGCC received Vs. Origin, Room Categories, Floor and

Housekeeping Sections

Out of 384 guests, 199 (52%) are Indian and 185 (48%) are of a different nationality.

The highest number of rooms offered to patrons are ECE, followed by New

corporate, Old corporate, Standard and finally the Suite. The priority of training

respective employees are in that order, except for the Suite which is priced at a

much higher tariff and thus calls for intense training to the concerned employees.

199

18552%

48%

40%

45%

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

175

180

185

190

195

200

205

Indian Foreigner

No. of guests (384) % of EGCC

175 90 84 20 15

46%

23%22%

5% 4%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

ECE New corporate Old corporate Standard Suite

No. of guests (384) % of EGCC


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In terms of all three parameters, the first floor needs to be addressed. Air

conditioning and shower experience would mean identifying training employees from

engineering department for that floor.

Sleep comfort issues require employees sensitivity to be developed for guest needs.

Norms need to be created through meetings and trainings to comport in a manner

that doesnt lead to the stay of guests being disturbed or disrupted.

34

1

6

2

4

0

2

4

6

8

Unacceptable Needs improvement

Sleep comfort as against Floors

First floor Ground floor Second floor

3

9

1

12

2

12

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14


Shower experience as against Floors

First floor

Ground floor

Second floor

3

4

1

62

4

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7


Air conditioning as against Floors

First floor

Ground floor

Second floor


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The above Pareto curve shows that Indians contribute to 54% of the total number of

guests, followed by those from the USA, Germany, Japan, China and finally Great

Britain.

Thus, employees need to be oriented about various cultures prevalent within the

nation. They also need to be imparted basic knowledge about the other countries as

mentioned before. This is because what may be welcoming in one culture could be

offensive to another. This thus becomes crucial in retaining and building patronage.


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Key accounts are those customers which come through certain organizations. These

generate business in volumes and are of incomparable importance to the Hotels

revenue generation.

The Wow ratios for the business accounts (all apart from ITC-Hotels Division) range

from the lowest of that of GAIL (75%) to highest of that of Alstom (99%). Whereas,

the other guests who are individual patrons (10) show 100% Wow ratios.

The business accounts generate business in huge volumes and therefore employees

need to be trained to ensure customer delight to these accounts.

76

51

107

46

2434

60

41

10

5459

1

20

43

25

413

27

66

34

6

24 2216

311

20

4 5 2 6 2 4 2 18

0

20

40

60

80

100

120 Room categories offered to Key Accounts for Jul-Feb 2013

ECE

New corporate

Old corporate

Standard

Suite

10 9 8 8 7 6 6 6 6

100%

87%

99%

88%81%

97% 100% 97%

75%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

No. of guests Average Wow Ratio


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The solution and action stage, Improve, involves solving the problem and acting

on it. This step involves any modification in problem/goal statement to reflect

discoveries, confirming with the Champion, modifying the scope of project,

implementing, managing and testing solutions. Solutions are piloted and then tested

before full implementation.

The following are the to-bes arrived at through brainstorming:

To improve the Response Rate against the trend so far as per mail statistics

To start breakthrough improvements towards improving scores on Warmth &

Courtesy and Knowledgeable & Responsiveness.

Increase in number of major dissonances must be arrested by the following:

Reinforcing Designated Guest Associate certification process

Strengthening Induction and Re-induction program

Training plan based on skill inventory analysis

Duty Managers along with the FOM to keep a stringent check on the

Registration cards so as to ensure proper details collected and a 100%

compliance by employees to all checkpoints and taking actions like issuing

show-cause or warnings, even dismissal after three warnings in case of

repeated failures.

New Registration Cards to be printed with specific Bullet points to be covered

during Check In to facilitate new joiners in carrying out efficient check-ins.

Repeat and VIP Guest list to be discussed in daily briefings so as to ensure

warmth and recognition from the employees.

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To start a process of shower, AC vent cleaning and maintenance at regular

intervals by introducing TQM techniques in the engineering department.

Reservation call audit on weekly basis and tracking improvement in scores

week on week and imparting training to address areas of lacunae. Effective training on check in/check out process (developing an audio visual

and creating Single Point Lessons, Simulations, etc.).

Focus on the process of updating reservation details in Opera(Notes &

Comments etc). Train and re-train personnel on the e-portal.

Focus on eliminating the communication gap between guests & FO team on

E-Concierge requests.

Installing a better recognition program for associates creating an wowexperience(apart from the existent WelcomAchiever points)

Imparting cultural training to employees for Indian guests and guests of other

nationalities to build a connect with them.

Improvement Initiatives:

To ensure sleep comfort, awareness/Training program for associates

(talking/chatting in the corridor) Reservation department efficiency can be ensured by the following:

New joiners must go through a session specially scheduled for a

thorough understanding of product specifications, key customer

categories, loyalty programs, USPs etc during their induction period

Bi-monthly training for reservation associates

Introduction of Call Audit scorecard

Weekly call audit for reservation and tracking the individual score for a

continuous improvement

Training on handling special queries, updating reservation from web

portal, communication skill etc

Warmth & Courtesy and Knowledgeable & Responsiveness can be enhanced

by:

Reinforcing Designated Guest Associate Certification Program(Three

phase interview)

Strengthening Induction Program and initiating re-Induction program


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Training plan based on quarterly skill inventory analysis

Issuing KOP 134 (warning or show cause) on serious lapses in service

delivery

Strengthening Cross Functional coordination/collaboration through AETs

Identifying intra-departmental and inter-departmental communication

gaps and taking corrective action

Customer complaint management through HEAT

Hear: The first step is to listen to the customer. Hear them out carefully.

Dont interrupt. Sometimes a customer just wants to vent. Of course,

other times they have a real problem that needs solving. Try to listen for

cues about whats really bugging them. Is it the problem with their meal

or their room? Or is it that they are now running late? If the real problem

is time, then that takes a different twist to your solution; you have to

solve the problem fast.

Empathize: Empathy is defined as the ability to imagine oneself in

another's place and understand the other's feelings, desires, ideas and

actions. The best way to do this (and teach team members how to do it)

is by naming the emotion. You have to articulate to the customer what

they are feeling and validate it. I completely understand how you feel

and at this level of service this is not acceptable at all, I do agree that it

would make me very upset if that happened to me as a guest. By

naming the emotion, expressing understanding and placing yourself in

the customers place, you begin the process of diffusing the situation.

Apologize: This is a big one, and easy. It goes like this: Im sorry. It

can be that easy. Unfortunately, many line-level team members tend to

take this sort of thing personally and feel apologizing for something they

may not have had any control over to be uncomfortable. Please get over

it. Nobody said it was your fault. We arent blaming you, so apologize

already. To be more powerful, add a little of empathy. Im sorry for the

inconvenience this has caused you. Im really very sorry this happened.

Take action: Going from apology to taking action should be seamless.

The very next sentence out of your mouth should be what youre going

to do about the customers complaint. The customer deserves to know


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what is going to happen next and what they can expect. The foundation

to most customer complaints is the disconnect from what was expected

and what actually happened. This is your chance to reestablish an

expectation and deliver on it. Taking the appropriate action can only be

done if you really hear the problem, fully understand the customers

feelings and combine it with a sincere apology.

Control is that step that involves developing and implementing monitoring process

to track changes and results and create response plans in case solutions do not

work as intended.

Control helps to ensure management support for longterm goals. It helps the

management focus on appropriate metrics to get info on outcomes and processes. It

is intended to Sell project throughout organization and handoff responsibilities to

day-to-day operations staff

The business case, the drop in WOW ratios is reflective of customer experience. In

an ever-changing economic environment, loyalty is most crucial to business.

Creating an emotion connect with our guests, ensures repeat usage, enhancing

revenues and creating value for all stakeholders. It is imperative that we devise an

action plan that will aid in reversing the falling WOW ratios at the earliest.

The following were the suggestions made:

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Daily target oriented Voice feedback (Personal Interaction)recording by front line

managers and supervisors

A team approach is to be adopted in collating guest feedback by front line

operations Newly formatted Registration Cards are to be printed with specific bullet points to

be covered during Check In

Single worksheet Centralized Guests Comment Database placed in common

drive for daily update and referral, collating Voice of Customer from all sources

Social Media, Teleconferences and personal interaction

Excel Scorecard to be developed for reservation call audit and to be carried out bi

monthly at the unit

Tools used includedSingle Point Lessons, Pareto, Fishbone, Brainstorming, PIE,

PQIS, etc.

Rater model is as follows:


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The highest number of negative feedback can be attributed to timeliness,

consistency/regularity Reliability as a whole of these parts.

Employees need to imparted time management and self management training.

Emphasis should be laid on adherence to procedures to ensure customer delight.

This is followed by Assurance Staff competence, respect for stakeholders,

credibility, safety, etc. This can be addressed by not compromising on recruitment

and selection standards, training and retraining, induction and re-induction, etc.

Responsiveness is another area which is a reason for a large number of negative

feedback. Employees need to be explained the nature of business and thus made

adaptive to handling customer complaints and being flexible.

70

60

25

15

50

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Rater model classification of EGCCs (220)

Number of negative EGCCs

(feeback)

Documents

Service industry placement