Executive housekeepers in Dubai argued that free offering free gifts was not the way to deal with guest complaints.
Speaking at the Hotelier Middle East Executive Housekeepers Forum on a panel titled ‘Meeting the needs of the connected customer – ensuring guest satisfaction’, Grand Hyatt Dubai housekeeping manager Tatjiana Ahmed said: “If a guest has an issue, it should be dealt with and he should be happy to come back by the time he leaves. In some cases it’s okay to offer a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine, but I would not say that as a practice we give out gifts. I think it’s a nice touch for the customer, but that is not the way to deal with guest complaints – the issue should be resolved before guests leave.”
The Regency Kuwait executive housekeeper Kathleen Knight commented that some guests expect a free gift in the event of a complaint as standard practice.
She said: “I think there are some guests who may want something free and some are very good at that by complaining about a lot of things such as the room not being cleaned.”
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“My general manager is very sensitive to any guest complaints and sometimes you have to offer something to manage the complaints but we try to stay in touch with the guests when the issue is being resolved,” added Knight.
The Palace Downtown Dubai executive housekeeper Laetitia Lasry argued: “Giveaways are more a marketing thing. A problem is a problem and you have to fix it before you give them anything because what they want is for the problem to be fixed. So if the shower isn’t working properly, they don’t need a bottle of wine. You make the guest happy by fixing the problem, and then give an extra gift if you want to as a souvenir but not as compensation.”
Panel moderator Pamini Hemaprabha, executive housekeeper at Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates stated: “Gifts don’t make up for service; most guests value the service more than the gifts.”
The Hotelier Middle East Executive Housekeepers Forum was held on April 30 at Grosvenor House Dubai.
The forum was sponsored by Intercoil/Simmons, Ronai, Protect-a-bed, Glion, Diversey, Restonic, Gemini 1765, Muldorfer, Iasmo, Everstyle, Sysco Guest Supply, GFS, TCL, Infoscape Technologies, Newmarket and Invotech.
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May 3, 2014 , China
@Laetitia Lasry, what surprise me of her comments is about GIFTS. Why a gift is a marketing thing if is being offered as a part of problem which was actually solved. If your shower isn't working then what your housekeeping team did the whole day? Every room is to be checked prior to handing over ...