Assumptions
How effective people determine the qualities of the resultant service
For there to be an effective organization there must be effective processes
Good Customer service forms the backbone of any kind of business. This is especially crucial for Service and hospitality oriented businesses (Ward para.3). Good customer service aims at ensuring that you establish a great customer base and keep them coming back. Goods and services can be sold at any time to anyone; the method or technique employed used to deliver the product, however, determines whether or not you will be able to sell any other product to that client. Statistics show that companies with excellent customer service have an average annual growth of about 12%. Service and hospitality companies with great customer service have an average profit growth rate of about 10% per year.
Body
The Spa knows the value of customer satisfaction. They have invested heavily in excellent customer service both in terms of their products and people. Everything at the spa is built with utmost exquisite. Alex was impressed d from the time he entered the lobby. He was welcomed by a great environment and the reception lady was most inviting. I think the spa has a strategy of focusing on excellent customer service to grow its recurrent customer base.
They employ a very detailed service that is most likely to have the client almost emotionally attached to the spa and this is what keeps the spa special. With such excellent and detailed service, they are sure to keep the customers coming back and probably gain from a little free advertisement by word of mouth. This strategy most likely means that the spa will always be run on a capacity that will keep it profitable and from the above-mentioned statistics, the spa is bound to grow both as a company and in profits by double figures every year.
As already stated in the above-mentioned assumptions, how effective people determine the qualities of the resultant service, and for there to be an effective organization there must be effective processes. For the case of the spa, it is clear that both these assumptions have been put into consideration. They have therefore built a system that combines these two important components of their business to come up with a very effective service delivery plan. When Alex walked into the lobby, the environment was great and he loved it, but if he had been greeted in a rude, obnoxious way, he would have probably lost interest in the beautiful surroundings and left.
The lady at the reception greeted him warmly and attended to his needs in just about three minutes. This shows that the spa invests in both people and processes. The reception lady was kind and served Alex promptly. It is however not mentioned that she did this out of her own volition. There must be processes and systems to ensure that the service she gave to Alex is standard across all clients. Alex’s room was perfect for him; the path to the dining area was lit accordingly and even had signs to show directions.
After dinner when he went back to his room, he found that the fireplace was already lit for him and the bed properly fixed. In the morning, he woke up to his favorite coffee already prepared and awaiting him. All of these show that the spa invests heavily in the process to ensure that the client is totally satisfied. This could very well be put aside as a process oriented organization.
On the contrary, many instances of a people-driven organization are observed. The reception lady was very nice to Alex and showed plenty of effectiveness by delivering service to Alex promptly. It is also observed that a lady ensured that Alex did a reservation for dinner early enough when he just checked in; this is probably a process point as well but matters of effectiveness can also not be overlooked. Alex’s preferred coffee and newspaper were both delivered to him in the morning without as much as a confirmation query; the people involved in handling Alex had listened to him the first time and took off headnotes.
We are not told of any time when the ladies stopped to write down what Alex needed; all this was asked in a casual conversation with Alex. This is a clear indication that the spa is also a people-driven organization. We are not told whether it was company policy to use the techniques used to get useful information from clients, but these could be methods independently devised by esteemed workers. Evidence of a people-driven company is also manifested by personalized service as is evidenced when Kathy leaves a welcome card and indicates her name rather than just sigh off as “Spa”.
Information flow is very important in any organization. It is the basis upon which systems, processes, and people interact to deliver good products and services. In recent years, it has become apparent that people find it easier to deal with things rather than people. Systems and organization structures have therefore been developed to that effect to ensure that customers get good service or even products without too much human interaction.
This is evidenced in vending and ATMs. Information flow at the Spa was seen to flow verbally and through organizational systems. Alex gave information verbally to the host talking to him. This information was then relayed to the rest of the staff through information systems. The systems are not explicitly mentioned in the study but could be assumed to be in form of emails or telephone calls. The receptionist could have used these means to relay the information to the relevant persons.
This made information flow effective because fewer people were involved. One or two persons getting the information and sending it to the rest also means that the client is not overwhelmed or overcrowded by questions from everybody. It also means that the person does not have to leave their workstations to come and get information from a central point. This results in decentralization which in turn brings about accountability and effectiveness.
Conclusion
In the creation of a new spot like the Spa, the owners should ensure proper and thorough training of the new staff to handle the new place. I would even recommend that the owner move some of his supervisors to the new place. This would ensure consistency as they would have previous experience of what the Spa is and what the clients expect. I would also recommend that the owners link the new place to the Spa; this would then compel the supervisors to deliver nothing short of what is given at the Spa to maintain their good name
Works cited
Ward, Susan.”Good Customer Service Made Simple.” 2009. Web.