Unit 11 Research Project Assignment - Sunderland International Hotel

Program	Diploma in Business
Unit Number and Title	Unit 11 Research Project Sunderland International Hotel
QFC Level	Level 5

Introduction

Research project sunderland international hotel assignment is discussing about the different theories as well as principles that surrounds as well as relates with the aspect of managing service quality in respect of the hospitality sector. Factors related with service delivery have been analyzed in respect of a 3 star hotel named The Sunderland International Hotel and its staffs as well as customers. There is the requirement to assess in a critical manner the management of service quality in respect of the 3 star hotel as well as there is the need for critical evaluation of different aspects that are in relation with service quality.

 

Assessment 1: Project Report

1. Justify the importance of managing and measuring service quality, recommending the adaptation of appropriate service quality management methods.

Before having an in-depth analysis of the significance of managing as well as measuring service quality, let us first discuss regarding the definition of service quality. Well, service quality is considered to be the evaluation of how effectively a delivered service will be conforming to the expectations of the client. The operators of service business often do the evaluation of service quality offered to their customers for improving their service, for quickly identifying the crises situations as well as improved assessment regarding the satisfaction of the clients. (McCalman, 2015)

To manage as well as measure service quality, certain dimensions are to be followed such as,

• Tangibles – These are associated with the appearance of physical amenities, equipment, personnel as well as materials for communication.
• Reliability – These dimensions are associated with the ability for performing the services that are promised in a dependent as well as accurate manner.
• Responsiveness – These dimensions are associated with the keenness for supporting the customers as well as providing fast services. (McCalman, 2015)
• Assurance – These dimensions are associated with the aspect of knowledge as well as courtesy of staffs as well as their ability in conveying trust as well as confidence.
• Empathy – These dimensions are associated with the aspect of providing care, individualized attention an organization is providing to its customers.

To manage the service quality for an organization, two approaches are being followed viz., a proactive approach or a reactive approach.

• Proactive approach – This approach necessitates the aspect of reaching out to customers in an active manner as well as making efforts for gathering their feedback regarding service quality as well as areas that needs to get improved. This is done with the support of surveys and administering questionnaires, gap analysis as well as training the staffs. (Lancaster, 2010)
• Reactive approach – This approach in general resorts to the mechanism for service recovery in a predetermined manner when a customer is complaining in respect of inefficient service quality. This approach generally commences by asking apology from the customer and then conducting steps for redeeming the scenario. (McCalman, 2015) A major discrepancy with the reactive approach is that, in this approach the customer has already experienced a poor service regarding the brand.

To measure the service quality for an organization, there is a need for having a metric towards the measurement of quality. The selection of the specific factors will be depending on the business type, service model as well as the expectations of the customers. (Lancaster, 2010) For instance, in a customer service call center regarding a telecom provider, the metric to measure service quality is associated with the average time taken to handle a call or resolving a grievance. In respect of an outlet for fast food, the metrics towards the measurement of service quality regarding the sales staff could be the generation of the number of bills as a percentage of total footfalls of the customers or increasing the sales every month.

The importance of managing as well as measuring service quality can be justified as under,

• Promoting Business – The most effective way for promoting the products as well as services for a business is word-of-mouth marketing. After receiving satisfactory as well as quality services from an establishment, the customers will be discussing about in their social network that will be leading towards direct publicity as well as growing popularity of a company.
• Satisfying the shareholders – There will be an increase in sales when consumes will be offering responses that are considered satisfactory that will be finally be leading towards the growth in the shareholder’s satisfaction. They will be interested in investing more in the establishment that will as a result bring a striking improvement in the business’s ROI. (Dwyer, 2012)
• Increasing the business growth – Service Quality will assist in boosting the growth of the business. Service quality will assist in expanding the foundation of the customers but excellent service to the customers is the key towards retention of customers by the organization.
• Successful strategies of business – Customers are encouraged in respect of providing feedback as well as comments that are considered to be the part and parcel of service quality in respect of the customers. To follow the feedback of the customers to analyze the strengths as well as weaknesses is basically the best process for understanding the consumer’s expectations as well as adopting business strategies that are considered to be successful. (Dwyer, 2012)
• Critical experiences for learning – The  business organisation  can have a vital learning experience by providing services to the customers for understanding the corporate world’s dynamics as well as keeping pace with the current trends in business.
• Reduced Business Failure risks – To understand the customer’s mindset as well as anticipations will be having a considerable reduction in the risk associated with failures as well as losses in respect of business. (McCalman, 2015)
• Satisfaction of customers – By keeping the customers happy, the investors as well as business partners will also remain happy, and this will finally be leading towards increased profitability. Having a strong foundation of clients will assist an organization in winning the investor’s trust as well as making the most of every feasible scope of business.
• Reduced turnover of the staffs – With growth in sales as well as increased profitability, an organization will be offering the staffs better salary packages as well as additional bonuses as a result reducing the turnover of the staffs. (Palmer, 2011)
• Staff motivation – Satisfying the clients will be directly influencing the working environment of business establishments. Having reduced pressure to meet targets as well as stability for business, staffs will be working in a better corporate surrounding that will encourage them in giving their best output to work. (Dwyer, 2012)
• Improved efficiency – There is the occurrence of an overall improvement in the organizational effectiveness.

The appropriate service quality management methods that are adopted for justifying the significance of managing as well as measuring service quality are as follows,

• Survey and questionnaires – This kind of approach assists a brand in anticipating the demands of the customers as well as expectations and aligning its service offering consequently. Moreover, the findings of such surveys assists in identifying common factors as well as customer demands thus assisting an organization towards customizing its service offering. (Dwyer, 2012)
• Gap Analysis – Gap Analysis is considered to be another approach that is taken into consideration to analyze service quality. An organization is having an appropriate standard of service that will be offered by it in respect of the customers. There occurs a contrast with the offering of the current service level. The identification of the gap therefore will be serving both as a measure as well as a foundation to plan a future way of action for improving the service offering. (Palmer, 2011)
• Staff Training – One more significant approach is associated with staff training. In the current scenario, the organizations are spending in a generous way in respect of training their staffs for adequate handling of the queries as well as grievances of the customers. This is mainly correct when an organization changes its service offering or increases the prices of its services that are existing at the moment. For instance, when there is increase in price of a fast food chain’s current products, the staffs are required handling various queries of the customers in relation to the hike. (Palmer, 2011) Absence of satisfactory explanation will be signifying poor standards of service and will be leading towards dissatisfaction of the customers.

2. Assess the impact that current service delivery/practices will have on the front-line employees, their engagement and also managerial implications.

Prior to the commencement of assessing the impact of the current service delivery of the Sunderland International Hotel, let us first understand the current service delivery condition of the 3 star hotel.

The Hotel is attracting business guests as well as leisure guests, and currently refurbishing as well as developing the conference as well as banqueting suite and the 3 star hotel is having a 200% growth in respect of rooms as well as events booking. The Hotel Manager is checking the Trip Advisor Reviews only once every month, as well as instructing staffs for referring any customer grievances directly to him. Of late, the management team has got the awareness that customers are posting their comments as well as reviews on the Facebook page of the Hotel as well. (McDaniel, 2011)Since, there has been a significant rise in the number of occupancies of the hotel rooms as well as there have also been an increase in the booking of events related to conferencing as well as banqueting, it has become quite a challenge for the management team for finding the time in responding to the feedbacks of the customers. The service culture stresses on the significance related to the experiences of the guests, but the employees are lamenting that there is lack of ownership, and they are not provided appropriate care. There is a lack of reward schemes or active employee empowerment and the staffs are having a feeling that the management is not giving them the proper value. At present, the part-time employment of staffs is around 60% and only the team of management as well as supervisors is on full-time contracts as well as there is an increase in the employee turnover. (McDaniel, 2011) Complains have also been raised in respect of the payment of minimum wages. Regarding recruitment, the team of management is not having any systematic approach as well as recruiting on an unplanned manner. Trainings are provided for a week and are offered on the job with the help of on-duty supervisors. (Lind, 2014) Previously, the 3 star hotel was operating basic standards of service regarding assurance of quality, identification as well as providing genuine attention. But, with the rise in occupancy of hotels as well as employee turnover, the upholding of these standards is not being done and the team of management is also not trying to enforce it. (McDonald, 2012)

The frontline employees of The Sunderland International Hotel such as the desk staffs, food and beverage workers, and housekeepers are being considered as the spokesperson for the 3 star hotel in respect of interacting with the customers on behalf of the hotel and have a strong influence in respect of the satisfaction level as well as engagement. (Harris, 2014) Let us now analyze the probable association amongst the actions of the frontline staffs as well as their engagement with the customers. The term ‘engagement’ in this regard can be viewed as an indicator that is reflecting the involvement of the customers with the services of the 3 star hotel. (McDonald, 2012) As a result, it can be stated that an engaged customer is the outcome of getting enough satisfaction from the interaction amongst themselves as well as the frontline staffs of the 3 star hotel. It needs to be mentioned here that, in this process of interaction, the frontline staffs of The Sunderland International Hotel who are in direct contact with the customers are playing a very significant part. (Harris, 2014) The reason for this is that the frontline staffs are time and again acting as the organizational spokesperson and playing an important part in respect of service delivery, offering information, mentioning to the customers ways of making effective utilization of the acquired services, processing grievances of the customers, proposing solutions or substitute utilization as well as generation feedbacks, each of these traits are considered to be utmost significance in respect of the current as well as future worth regarding the organization. Aspects like training, actions as well as staff motivation as a result can assist in explaining the reasons for some customer’s willingness towards becoming engaged customers. (Harris, 2014)

For analyzing the frontline staff’s role regarding customer engagement there is the requirement for particularly examining the aspect whether the frontline staffs in their tasks as organizational spokespersons are affecting the customer’s level of satisfaction as well as the customer’s engagement level. Also, it is required to be examined whether customers will be having appropriate engagement only in respect of their feeling of satisfaction or there might be a possibility that the frontline staffs are playing a significant part in this respect. (Furnham, 2012) Last but not the least, it is required to be examined whether comparison can be drawn between relationships where no complaint has been drawn with those in which grievances has been made.

The interaction that occurs within the frontline staffs as well as the customers will be influencing the overall insight regarding the service quality and finally the satisfaction of the customers. As a result, since the frontline staffs that are playing an essential part in respect of the complete rating of services, the 3 star hotel is required taking utmost care towards performance management. (Furnham, 2012) Moreover, in this respect the managerial implication comes into consideration where there is a requirement for promoting an attitude of positivity within the frontline staffs of The Sunderland International Hotel. These positive attitudes are depending on factors that are considered to be both objective as well as emotional constituting of salary, receiving training, conditions for work, the staff’s socio-cultural profile, feelings in respect of the organization or being compatible with values of the organization and finally determining whether there is prevalence of satisfaction or dissatisfaction amongst the staffs. (McDonald, 2012) So, it can be stated that staffs that are having an attitude of positivity as well as having a feeling of satisfaction will be having the ability for performing in a more effective manner that will as a result, create an improvement in the results of the 3 star hotel. (Freeman, 2013) Hence, it is very much essential for The Sunderland International Hotel for understanding the requirements as well as anticipations of the frontline staffs of the 3 star hotel for increasing their satisfaction level since the staffs that are having the satisfaction will be treating the customers in a more improved manner as well as provide an enhanced service. It can be stated in particular that the interaction amongst the frontline staff staffs as well as the customers of the 3 star hotel will be providing an outstanding scope related to marketing in respect of The Sunderland International Hotel whose manifestation will occur in different manners that will not only be focused on service delivery but also a scope for understanding the customers in a more effective way, their changing requirements as well as anticipations, satisfaction as well as dissatisfaction standards, the probability to develop a relationship and so on with the help of feedbacks that are considered to be of significant worth in respect of the organizational future. (Freeman, 2013) So, taking into consideration the management’s viewpoint in respect of traits such as attraction, selection as well as retention of the appropriate employees for the organization, as well as their development and training, understanding as well as trustworthiness, communication, environment for work assists in determining the satisfaction standard of the frontline staffs and are considered to be of utmost importance to the performance of the 3 star hotel. (Lancaster, 2010)

Hence, from the above discussion, with proper engagement as well as managerial implication, certain inferences can be drawn that are mentioned as under,

• A proper attitude of the frontline staffs will be influencing the satisfaction of the customers in a positive manner: The attitudinal behavior of the frontline staffs that are regarded as the spokespersons for The Sunderland International Hotel will be leading to the aspect of customers talking in a positive manner in respect of the 3 star hotel. (Freeman, 2013)
• A proper mind-set of the frontline staffs positively affects the level of customer engagement.: The most elemental aspect of customer engagement is to build, maintain as well as develop beneficial bonding amongst the 3 star hotel as well as the customers of the hotel. (Freeman, 2013)
• Customer satisfaction influences their degree of engagement in a positive manner: At times, there might take place ‘service failures’ while the customers are interacting with the frontline staffs of The Sunderland International Hotel. Regarding services, such interactions will be determining the customer’s satisfaction level as well as offer the 3 star hotel the opportunities to fix the problem as well as regain satisfaction. The steps that are being considered in respect of the failure of services and are focused towards fixing the problem are known as ‘service failure processes’. In this respect, the frontline staffs are playing a very important part, not just by dealing out with the grievances but also in playing their part as spokespersons for The Sunderland International Hotel where they will offering an apology as well as proposing probable solutions. (Fernando, 2011) In respect of various customers of The Sunderland International Hotel, the agility, dynamism as well as trustworthiness of the frontline staffs will be playing a significant part towards the determination of their satisfaction level.

3. Produce a Customer Feedback System (CFS) framework that the organization can utilize to monitor and continually improve service quality.

The Sunderland International Hotel needs to acknowledge primarily the monitoring process that is as follows,

• Listening to the customers of the 3 star hotel by monitoring interactions. Questions need to be asked like whether these interactions are associated with the organizational goals or whether they are associated to particular concerned areas that are related with the attrition of the customers. In this respect, analytics will be playing a very essential part in respect of the contact centre. Speech analytics will be identifying the relevant calls in respect of assessment as well as text analytics will be identifying email as well as chat interactions that require monitoring.
• Capturing every channel of customer feedback. There is a need for the application of similar standard of quality that is utilized in respect of calls as well as interactions that are based on text such as emails as well as chats. (Fernando, 2011)
• Asking the customers about their views. It is considered very significant for mapping first-rate interactions with the expectations of the customers and doing the comparison of the internal assessment scores with the scores of the customers. (Daft, 2015)
• Using quality monitoring for assisting the staffs towards skill improvement. There is a requirement for the evaluation of interactions for the identification of the skills gap, as well as providing individual scopes of learning where there is the presence of deficits.
• Development of the staffs should not be a one-off aspect. There is a requirement for providing constant training of the frontline staffs that will assist towards the improvement of the performance as well as effectiveness of the staffs. Training is considered to be the essential aspect in respect of providing continuous customer service. (Daft, 2015)
• Measuring the outcomes. There is a requirement for keeping track of constant feedbacks as well as assessment for monitoring as well as measuring the development.

Therefore, the aspect to monitor, measure as well as manage performance in respect of service quality is considered to be utmost significance for any hotel. It will assist in the improving the experience of the customers as well as the customers themselves.

Profitability at hotels is linked directly to the satisfaction of the customers as well as satisfaction of the staffs of the hotel. This clarifies the fact that happiness of the customers is directly proportional to their loyalty that assists in retaining the customers with the 3 star hotel. Also, the loyal customers in addition to visiting the hotel themselves frequently, will also be referring the name of The Sunderland International Hotel to others. It has been found that hotels are losing opportunities of business as well as competitive advantage because of the irate customers. (Lancaster, 2010)Therefore, an effective Customer Feedback System (CFS) will be assisting in continuous measurement of the satisfaction of the customers as well as identifying the deficits as well as improvement areas. A research study in this respect has revealed has stated that a 5% growth in customer retention will be increasing profits by 25% to 95%. (Daft, 2015) On the other hand, if The Sunderland International Hotel will not offer optimum services then it will lead to irate customers and there will be possibilities that will be influencing bookings in the future. Therefore, satisfaction of the customers as well as hotel experience is required to be assessed as well as evaluated on a daily basis for providing the 3 star hotel’s administration with realistic data for improvising as well as providing enhanced service day in day out. (Capon, 2015)

An effective Customer Feedback System (CFS) is considered to be very significant for The Sunderland International Hotel in respect of measuring the satisfaction of the customers and is considered to be an effective means for assessing as well as encouraging performance from its team of operations as well as individuals. Reports regarding customer satisfaction can also be regarded as an effective means for promoting as well as publicizing the special care that the 3 star hotel is providing in respect of its customers. (Fernando, 2011) The Sunderland International Hotel slowly but surely is becoming more approachable in respect of the feelings that are conveyed to them by the customers and this important aspect is utilized in an effective manner for fostering effective performance from the operating section as well as the hotel’s staffs.

An effective Customer Feedback System (CFS) is having the ability for capturing the accurate feelings that the customer will be having in respect of the experiences the individual after staying in the 3 star hotel. The most ideal time for doing this is just after the person’s checkout or when the individual will be using certain various amenities of the 3 star hotel. For example, when the feedback of a customer is taken just after the completion of his meal at the restaurant of the hotel, it is considered having more accuracy in comparison to when it is taken after few weeks. (Capon, 2015) An effective Customer Feedback System (CFS) should be having the ability for analyzing the feedback that are being provided by the customers and these should be translated to reports that are considered to be intelligent as well as exhaustive which will be providing the management of the 3 star hotel a summarized viewpoint regarding the complete satisfaction of the customers that it aspires to control. These reports are also required focusing on personal satisfaction areas in respect of the customers and displaying those effective staffs in the hotel that can be motivated for providing their utmost in satisfying the customers in the 3 star hotel.  (Daft, 2015)

The Customer Feedback System (CFS) framework can be segmented into certain options that can be utilized in The Sunderland International Hotel such as,

• Website Surveys – Customers are having the option of filling up the feedback online post their organizational experience as well as accessing the survey with the support of a URL link that will permit The Sunderland International Hotel to collect the feedback from the customers at any point of time. The accessibility of these surveys can also occur with the help of Personal Computers, Tablets or Smart-phones. (Lancaster, 2010)
• Tablet Surveys – The facilitation of the customers can be done for providing fast surveys directly from the tablets and is considered to be significant process to gather fast feedbacks. Tablets are also offering increased mobility within the 3 star hotel as well as customers can have the accessibility of the survey with the support of their personal tablets. (Capon, 2015)
• Smart Phone Surveys – The Sunderland International Hotel will be sending links regarding feedback surveys with the help of SMS to the customers while they are staying at the hotel or while they are checking out of the hotel. Mobile phones are considered to be the fastest methods to reach out to the customer’s of the hotel and have a significant growth in the possibilities for receiving feedback. (Fernando, 2011)
• QR Codes – There can occur the creation of QR codes in respect of various surveys whose placement can be made in a strategic manner in the 3 star hotel in which the customers will be able to do the scanning of the code in a direct manner as well as accessing the surveys that they feel like accessing.
• Touch Screen Kiosks – This is considered to be the most easy as well as effective process for the collection of feedbacks from the customers. In this respect, the 3 star hotel can do the strategic placement of touch screen kiosks at various important locations.
• Hotel and Restaurant App – With the help of the hotel and restaurant apps, the customers will be having the ability to directly provide feedbacks from their mobile phones. (Capon, 2015)

In conclusion, it can be stated briefly that, an effective Customer Feedback System (CFS) for The Sunderland International Hotel can as a result, be more than simply a measurement of the satisfaction of the customers. It can be regarded as an essential element regarding the  human resources  policy as well as operational aspect of the 3 star hotel. It can also be regarded as an efficient element in relation to the hotel’s marketing plan as well.

Conclusion

This assignment delves with the aspect of service quality in respect of a 3 star hotel named The Sunderland International Hotel in which the significance of managing as well as measuring service quality has been justified that recommends the aspect of adopting proper methods associated with service quality management. The influence of the current service delivery on the front-line employees have also been assessed along with their engagement as well as managerial inferences and lastly, a framework in respect of Customer Feedback System (CFS) has been produced that will be utilized by The Sunderland International Hotel for monitoring as well as continuously improving the quality of the services.

Reference

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