Customer Service Evaluation and Strategies for Marriott Hotels

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of customer service strategies, policies, and communication methods within Marriott International. It begins by exploring the significance of customer service policies and their role in staff training, highlighting their impact on brand image and competitive advantage. The report then delves into the objectives of customer service policies, emphasizing their importance in customer retention, goodwill enhancement, and fostering positive customer relationships. Different communication methods, such as open meetings, emails, and presentations, are examined for their effectiveness in delivering optimal results. Furthermore, the report investigates sources of information on customer requirements and satisfaction levels, analyzing Marriott's approach to meeting customer needs and identifying areas for improvement. The self-reflection section provides insights on the importance of customer service in the service environment. The report concludes by summarizing key findings and offering recommendations for enhancing Marriott's customer service practices.

Customer Service

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK A...........................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Customer service policies and its assistance in staff training..........................................1
1.2 Objectives of customer service policy which leads to future growth...............................3
2.1 Different communication method and how these can be used for best result..................4
2.2 Analysis of customer perceptions and service provisions................................................6
TASK B (1) ....................................................................................................................................8
3.1 Sources of information on customer requirements and satisfaction level........................8
3.2 Analysis of customer requirements for Marriott hotel and suggestion from improvements 9
TASK B (2)....................................................................................................................................14
4.1 Customer service in Marriott hotel and service environment........................................14
4.2 Self reflection on customer service................................................................................15
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................18

INTRODUCTION
Customers are considered to be the kings of business. No business could survive in a
market without proper services provided to users. Consumers service is the provision of services
to customers prior to, while or post purchase. Customer service includes the facilities that are
provided to its consumers before, during and after purchasing of goods or services (Austin,
2011). This project is based on Marriott International Inc. which is a multinational diversified
hospitality organisation that manages the large number of hotels and related lodging facilities.
Present study will deal with the reasons for providing the customers services and the different
methods of communication by which they can influence the customers while providing facilities.
The perceptions of target market and provision of services will also be discussed within this
report. This report will also highlight the sources of information on customers and their
requirements to satisfy their needs from a particular service from the hospitality industry. It will
also carry out research on end users' requirements and their satisfaction level.
TASK A
1.1 Customer service policies and its assistance in staff training
A customer service policy is a written document which the employees have to follow
while dealing with consumers so that they can get satisfaction while consuming goods or
services.. It also lists that how shall the employees behave with target market for improving the
overall experience. Managers can manage issues of company in stores, over the phone and even
by mail. Companies that produce high technical products like software or satellite television,
may even include technical support staffs to resolve the problems. There are a lot of reasons due
to which customer service is considered to be significant for an organisation. Lack of customer
service can even bring down the performance of an organisation and they can't even survive
without providing services to the end users, as there won't be anyone to handle the payments and
answer the queries from the prospective customers (Chen and Tsou, 2012).
 Significance: provision of services to customers is very important for an organisation as
it is often the only interaction a customer would have with the company. Customers play
an important role to the company. Some customers even spend hundreds and thousands
of pounds per year with the same organisation. By chance, they gave a query regarding
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any of the product or services, they approach the customer service department straight
away to get their issues resolved (Fletcher, Fletcher and Fletcher, 2012).
 Identification: A company always wishes to be different from their competitors and
customer services are important for the same reason that their style of giving services to
the customers could completely create a different image in the market. If two similar
stores are present in the same market dealing with the same products, but one of them are
providing additional services to customers such as complete guidance to use that
particular product or range of products and clear all the doubts that customers have in
their mind regarding the product and its usage, then definitely the store providing those
services will gain the identity of being customer friendly. If consumers policy will be
good then it will create brand image in the market because this strategy will satisfied the
consumers needs or wants which will convert them into loyal customers. Then every
individuals can easily identify the company.
Service policies is very helpful in achieving the specified result or outcome
because it provides a action plan on what basis task can be completed easily and effectively.
There are also many other reasons for using customer service policy by Marriott International
Inc., some of them are as follows-
 Getting competitive advantages- Rivals can copy the products or services of the
company but they can not match the consumer policy. So in this case, organisation will
be able to achieve competitive advantages over its competitors.
 Good working environment- If Marriott hotel will have good working environment then
employees will do work effectively and efficiently that will assist in satisfying the needs
of consumers. Due to conducting training programme, employees get motivation and
perform according to the standards which creates good working environment at
workplace.
 Accountability- If business will use this consumers strategy then it will make to them
accountable for providing services as per users' expectations that will aid in increasing
large market share.
 Image- If corporation will have good plan related to services then it will create positive
image in the market as well as in the mind of consumers or prospective clients which will
assist in achieving vision and mission statement (Ganguli and Roy, 2011). If organisation
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will have good tactics that it will be able to attract the large number of people by which
positive perception can be created in the mind of persons.
 Guidelines- This tactic guides or instructs the member of the company that how to deal
with users' expectation and their problems. With the help of this, employees can work in
a systematic and accurate manner.
1.2 Objectives of customer service policy which leads to future growth
Customer service policy is a written document which assists in providing better quality of
goods or facilities to its consumers. If Marriott hotel wants to achieve its specified result then it
should evaluate its policy on a regular basis so that it can modified it as per changing
environment. With the help of evaluation, organisation can know that this policy is working
according to the specified standards or not (Ganguli and Roy, 2011). Marriott hotel should
evaluate the outcome of this policy so that it can take corrective action accordingly. It has many
other objectives which are given below-
 Retention- Customer service policy assists in providing better quality of services to its
target market that helps in maintaining to them for long period of time. This tactic also
contributes in converting users in to loyal consumers as well as in future growth and
development of the company. Evaluation is necessary in retaining the customers as well
as to employees because it helps in increasing efficiency and effectiveness of the
employees who aid in serving the consumers according to their requirement.
 Increase goodwill- If business will provide better quality of facilities to its customers
then it will enhance the goodwill in the market. Goodwill increases the sale and profit of
the company and al;so assist in achieving desired result.
 Treating fairly- For a company, all consumers should be equal and should also be
treated fairly without any discrimination on the basis of race, colour, personal
relationship etc. Discrimination leads to loss of customers as well as of market share.
 Customize products- The main objective of customer policy is to provide services or
goods as per requirement of target market so that their needs can be satisfied. If
organisation will provide products as per need then it will lead to increase in sales as well
as in loyal consumers.
 Friendly behaviour- With the help of this policy, company can dissolve the problems of
users in friendly manner which are most important element. If problems of target market
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will not be dissolved as soon as possible then they may switch to other brand and will
spread negative word of mouth that will affect the business activities in negative manner.
So it is recommended that organisation should evaluate the strategy so that i9t can
remove the complaints of consumers.
 Better relation- This strategy assists in maintaining better relationship with their
customers (Gilmour and et. al., 2013).
 Welcome feedback- An enterprise should take feedback from the customers because it
helps in knowing about the drawbacks of the company as well as its products or services.
If firm will know about their weaknesses then it can improve it by taking corrective
action which will provide support in attaining competitive advantages over it's
competitors. In short, it can be say that, feedback aids the company in growing in a better
way so that it can reach to its decided destination.
 Resource availability- Firm should have proper amount of resources so that it can full
fill the demand of target market with in specific period of time (Jahanshahi and et. al.,
2011). For ensuring that organisation has proper amount of resources or not, evaluation is
necessary because with the help of this, firm will be able to know about the scarcity of
important resources.
 Train and retain employees- Workforce should have proper knowledge about the
company's products or process so that they can give some innovative ideas to the
business that can lead to increase in sales and profit. Training enhances the skills of
manpower so that they can deal with their consumers in a polite and effective way.
To evaluate the service in today competitive environment is very important because it
aids in achieving the competitive advantages over its rivals. It has also some other reasons
related to training which are given below-
 Attain specified objectives- If strategy will be evaluated on a regular basis then it will
help in achieving the desired result or outcome. Because on doing evaluation, mistakes
can be known easily which can be improved timely by which organisation will be able to
move towards its decided destination. This errors can be improved by providing training
to its employees because man power plays an important in the formulation of tactics.
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 Satisfy the needs of consumers- If evaluation of strategy will be done on a regular basis
then it will help in satisfying the requirements of people because now onwards they will
prepare strategy according to the demand of target market.
Training of employees is very important aspect because it increases the skills or
knowledge of manpower which is helpful in attaining the desired result or outcome. If workers
will not be trained then they will not perform their job effectively and efficiently then firm will
not be able to achieve competitive advantages over its rivals.
2.1 Different communication method and how these can be used for best result
Communication is very important for every company because it drives the company on
the right path of success. It can be defined as a two way process by which individuals share their
ideas, thoughts and views via media such as phone, emails etc. There are multiple ways by which
management of Marriott hotel can communicate with their subordinates, which are given below-
 Open meeting- It is a easier way for better communication. In this kind, supervisor
conducts a meeting in which specific problem will be communicated to the team member.
In current global environment, it is one of the best approach for communicating with
team members.
 E-mails- Mostly, this method is used in every company. It will enable to pass messages to
the subordinates without pulling them from their job.
 One to one- Mostly people believes that people can easily understand the things when
they took away alone and talk to them on a one to one basis. While communicating with
them, it should be ensued that proper eye contact should be maintained in the entire
communication process (Jasmand, Blazevic and de Ruyter, 2012).
 Presentations- It is one of the best tool for communication because through it, people can
easily understand everything because of using graphics, images that more attract the
individuals towards project.
 Verbal communication- Marriott hotel can also use this method which can be done one to
one, in a group or over a phone etc. This technique is best when management wants to
convey message in detail or wants to give complement to anyone (Sadler, 2011). It is
needed in many circumstances such as training, presentation, performance appraisals etc.
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 Non verbal communication- In this, individual communicates with other person without
using of words such as pitch, speed, volume, gestures, postures, eyes, touching etc.
 Written communication- This method is very important in every organisations. It includes
emails, memos, reports and other documents which are the most important part in
everyday business life. This techniques is useful when there is requirement of detailed
instructions or when other party is too far away and is not easily to speak over the
phones. With the help of this, communication can be done in an easy and effective
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Illustration 1: verbal communication
Illustration 2: Non-verbal communication

manner and also reduces misunderstanding among the parties (Santouridis and Trivellas,
2010).
So Marriott Hotel should adopt that method of communication which will fulfil their
requirement. If organisation will adopt best method then it will help it to attain its desired result.
To select best method has various advantages such as-
 Communication can be done easily and properly.
 Strategy can be implemented easily and effectively.
 Employees will get motivation and will work effectively and efficiently which will aid
the company in achieving competitive advantages over its rivals.
 Operations can be carried out with out any disturbance.
 Problems of workers and customers can be addressed easily by which they become
committed towards its brand.
 If organisation will use proper communication channel then it will aid in creating
awareness about the products or services.
2.2 Analysis of customer perceptions and service provisions
Customer perception can be defined as a consumer's thinking related to company'
products or services. In other terms, it can be say that it is a process by which users selects,
organise the information about the firm to create the clear image of the brand or products. In this,
consumers think a certain brand on their own decision which can be derived from the many
factors such as price, overall experience etc.
To analyse the consumer perception is very beneficial for the company because it can
bring changes in the goods or services as per thinking of target market which will aid in
increasing sales and profits of the organisation (Wilson and et. al., 2012). If customers have
negative perception about its brand then Marriott hotel should take corrective action so that it can
change the thinking of the people. There are many factors that influence the clients' perception
which are given below-
 Word of mouth- It is one of the biggest influential element which affects the consumer
behaviour. If Marriott hotel will provide the better quality of services then consumers will
spread positive word of mouth in the market that will assist in attracting potential users
and other person will also want to take services from it. If users will increase then
revenue of the company will also enhance (Lo, 2012).
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 Previous experience- It is also one of the most important influential element in hospitality
sector. If a person will have worst experience in previous stay then he will not take
services from Marriott hotel again and will also spread negative word of mouth.
 Advertisement- If a company will give attractive advertisement then It will be able to
attract consumers towards its services. Organisation can give advertisement into
newspaper, on internet etc. Organisation can promote their products through various
channels such as televisions, print media, online etc. It is very helpful in generating huge
amount of profit and sales of the company and also aids in creating goodwill in the
market.
 Price and personal needs- It also affect the perception of buyers so an enterprise should
set their price as per their target market's requirements so that they can afford it. If
Marriott hotel will set high prices then its services will also be good so that consumers
will not regret after taking facilitates it. There is direct relation between prices and
facilities. It is assumed that high price lead to best quality and vice versa.
SERVQUAL model is helpful in measuring the quality of services and has main
objective is to identify the gap between customer expectation and the actual services that are
provided by company at different stages of service delivery.
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 Gap 1- It is occurred when consumers are expecting something but management of
company is perceiving other thing then it creates gap (Hulley and et. al., 2013).
 Gap 2- It is arise when there is poor service design and absence of customer defined
service standards.
 Gap 3- It arises when service design is properly but delivery of facilities is not
effectively and efficiently due to having unskilled or unknowledgeable manpower.
 Gap 4- It is occurred when company is not serving the customers as per their promise
which has done by it through advertisement.
 Gap 5- This difference occurs when expected service is different from experienced
service.
If people will not receive services according to their requirements then it will affect the
perception of individuals in which they will be dissatisfied and will also not purchase their goods
or services again in future.
TASK B (1)
3.1 Sources of information on customer requirements and satisfaction level
Marriott hotel can collect information on consumer's requirement as well as their
satisfaction level from the following sources which are given below-
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Internal source- In this type of source, organisation gathers information about their
target market inside the business which includes the following things by which firm can collect
data on customers-
 Guest feedbacks- Every hotel has policy to take feedback from their clients at the time of
checkout. This strategy is very helpful in knowing about the consumers requirements and
drives the firm towards its decided destination. After collecting all feedbacks from the
users, Marriott hotel can change accordingly so that it can satisfy the requirements of the
guest and can convert to them into loyal clients.
 Guest record- At the time of check-in of consumers, hotels record the information about
the clients such as from where they are coming, their name etc. which can be used in
future for knowing about the requirements and their satisfaction level. From this collected
data, organisation can know about their target market easily and accurately (Wilson and
et. al., 2012).
 Guest complaints and compliments- Marriott hotel has a department which handles only
complaints of the consumers. From these complaints, corporation can know easily that
what consumers want in actual or what things gives more satisfaction to them and then
accordingly it can change itself that assists in achieving vision and mission statement. If
complaints of users will be sought out as soon as possible then it will give more pleasure
to them and will convert to them into loyal.
External source- In this, Marriott international hotel collects information outside the
business which includes the following things by which it can gather data about customers'
requirements and satisfaction level-
 Research agencies- For collecting data about the consumer's requirements and
satisfaction level, Organisations can hire a agency which will have main responsibility to
identify the needs and wants of guest so that firm can deliver services as per their
demand. It will assist the company in capturing large market share (Soteriou and
Stavrinides, 2013). Agency can collect information from the two technique which are
given below-
◦ Primary research- In this type of investigation, researcher collects the data for the
first time. It is carried out to solve a specific problems which is creating hindrances in
business activities. In this, collected data is more reliable because investigator do not
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