Phone and web surveys, point-of-sale service quality assessment panels, the Mystery Shopper method are all tools that are used daily by the owners of hotels and restaurants, beauty salons and fitness clubs in order to know for sure: their customer is satisfied!
Indeed, gone are the days when it was easy to win the competition simply by offering good quality at an affordable price. Today, His Majesty Service plays the first fiddle in the service sector. Therefore, it is not surprising that new technologies for assessing the quality of service are born on the market almost every month. But in order for them to benefit the business, it is very important to correctly formulate key indicators of customer experience.
They may vary, depending on the scope of service provision, corporate standards and the mission of the organization. But there are a number of criteria that are applicable to almost any service industry enterprise, and therefore can be taken as a basis by the owners of service companies.
Criteria that cannot be ignored!
Competence.
The client is not obliged to understand all the intricacies of the provision of services. For example, going to open a deposit in a bank, he should not know in advance how the nominal interest rate differs from the real one, and what are the advantages of interest capitalization. All this in an accessible language should be explained to the client by a specialist of a financial institution. But in order to do this, the employee himself must understand well what are the advantages of this or that proposal.
Understanding.
Unfortunately, it is not enough for an employee of the service sector to be well versed in his work, he also needs to understand the needs of the client. Take the same example with a deposit: one of the depositors opens a savings account in order to raise funds for a new car as soon as possible, someone wants to have a monthly bonus in the form of interest on a debit card, and someone just needs to protect their savings from inflation. And a bank employee is obliged to take this into account when recommending a particular financial product to a client.
Availability.
Analysis and evaluation of the quality of service always include this criterion, because the unspoken rule of the service says: the client should not be left alone for a long time! Wherever a visitor goes: to a restaurant, bar, hotel, service station, he does not have to look for staff to ask a question of interest.
Communication.
This paragraph complements the previous one, and assumes that the client has the right to receive all the information he needs. For example, a hotel guest does not have to run to the reception desk to order breakfast – all the necessary phone numbers should be at hand.
Goodwill.
From the first to the last minute of being in the company, the client must feel his importance. No ridicule, neglect, rudeness! Good staff – polite, attentive, helpful!
Responsiveness.
The quality of customer service in the service sector is at its best if, in addition to formal compliance with the rules of hospitality, the staff sincerely strives to please their visitors: for example, smile once again at a child or try to fulfill a client’s request that is atypical for the enterprise.
Stress tolerance.
Sometimes checking the quality of service can be a serious test for staff. Thus, the Mystery Shopper method often involves provoking company employees into open conflict. Successful passing of the test in this case is defending the interests of your employer in the most correct form.
Tangibility.
The way a person works is that he is comfortable in beautiful, clean rooms, it is pleasant to communicate with neat staff in smart uniforms. All this evaluates such a criterion as tangibility.
Safety.
According to the theory of the American psychologist A. Maslow, security is one of the five basic human needs. And therefore, applying for the provision of services, any person unconsciously feels the need to feel protected.
Confidence.
The client wants to know that he trusts his body to a professional fitness instructor who can help him in shaping his ideal figure. The client must be sure that the master colorist will not ruin his hair. It is very difficult to evaluate a service industry enterprise according to this criterion, because recommendations are usually transmitted orally by satisfied customers through friends, relatives and relatives. But this indicator is one of the most reliable and informative.