The Managers Role in Customer Service Chapter 1.2 Pro-Start 2

Key Points Service Encounter Front-of-the-House Important Factors in Customer Mind Excellent Costumer Service: Leads Excellent Costumer Service: Results Ultimate Goal of Business Mission Statement Basic Types of Resources Once a plan has been designed… Comment Cards Service Guarantees

Service Encounter …or a contact with an operation’s workers’ occurs every time a guest comes in contact with an employee. Customers opinions and overall impressions of a foodservice operation are formed by their service encounters with employees. Managers and employees come across hundreds of customers services opportunities every day.

Front-of-the-house …employees meet and talk directly to guests. Those who work in the back-of-the-house impress customers with the cleanliness of the operation and the quality of the food. Production employees don’t see customers on a reg. basis; instead they aim to serve internal customers. Internal Costumers: refers to employees and coworkers who depend on one another to so a good job.

Important factors in customer mind …is the quality of service provided by a foodservice operation. One bad experience can mean the loss of a customer forever. Only 4% of dissatisfied customers let management know that they are unhappy. Dissatisfied customers tell an average of 10 people about their bad experience. More than 80% that don’t return, say that they were unhappy with employees attitude Word-of-Mouth: advertising lets a lot of potential customers know what kind of service an operation provides.

Excellent costumer service leads …to increase revenue for a foodservice operation. As a direct result, employees also benefit by enjoying higher tips, job security, and career advancement opportunities.

Excellent costumer service results …from sound planning. A good service plan is an organized, systematic method of handling customer services. Planning involves analyzing a goal, situation, assignment, or problem and then developing a step-by-step method for addressing it. The process requires identifying problems and their causes, setting goals, considering available resources, developing resources, polices, and procedures, and obtaining feedback and monitoring results.

Ultimate goal of business …is to make a profit. With increase profits, managers can expand an operation, increase employee wages, and continually enhance customer service. Short-term-Goals: Usually cover periods of one day, one week, one month, up to one year. Long-term-Goals: Ordinarily cover 2-5 years plus.

Mission Statement …should highlight and identify and establishment’s food, define the operation’s service policies and standards, describe the atmosphere, identify prices, and state how the operation differs from the competition. Managers continually use the mission statement to help them plan and manage daily operations. Managers should also gather information from customers, employees, trade publications, educational resources, and other realated operations.

Basic Types of Resources Human Resources- The people who work for and operation and help it achieve its service goals. Material Resources-The equipment and materials used to operate the business.

Once a plan has been designed… … managers and employees must do whatever is necessary to put the plan in action. To implement plans an achieve operational goals, managers must: Identify what has to be done and who will be responsible; Communicate information to employees and train them properly; Develop a tool for monitoring employees’ performance; And monitor the entire plan continuously over the long run.

Comment Cards Comment cards should be kept short and simple. General results should be tabulated and circulated so that all employees are aware of them. Mystery shoppers are hired to visit an operation and report on their experiences and impressions of the operation. Their feedback can be especially useful if they have been trained to know about an establishment’s systems and procedures. Written and telephone surveys should focus specifically on how service can be improved. A focus group consists of customers that meet together regularly to brainstorm with managers on how service can be improved Employees are a source of many practical ideas. Managers may want to hold focus groups with employees selected from each area of the foodservice operation.

Service Guarantees Service guarantees improve an operation’s image as an excellent business and often encourage people to try a restaurant for the first time. Establishing a service guarantee is one of the last steps in the customer service planning process.