Analysis of Service Quality and Management at Canary Wharf Hotel

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of service quality management at the Canary Wharf Hotel. It begins with an introduction to quality management, its history, and different schools of thought, specifically in the context of the hotel industry. The report then examines the importance of measuring and managing service quality, focusing on customer satisfaction, profitability, and business development. It delves into the dimensions of service quality, including reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles, and compares the Canary Wharf Hotel's service standards to those of standard hotels, highlighting areas of concern such as slow check-in processes, inadequate staff training, and inconsistent customer service. Furthermore, the report explores various quality management and measurement methods, such as service design processes and service encounters, and discusses customer feedback systems like comment cards and online feedback. The report aims to provide insights into improving service quality to enhance customer satisfaction and overall business performance at Canary Wharf Hotel.

Service Quality

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
Importance of Quality Management.......................................................................................1
Why service quality should be measured and managed.........................................................3
Quality management and measurement methods...................................................................5
PART 2............................................................................................................................................7
Service Quality Impact on Canary Wharf Hotel....................................................................7
PART 3............................................................................................................................................9
Customer feedback system (CFS) frameworks......................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Quality management is a function an organisation performs which deals with looking out
for tasks that are required to maintain quality at a specific level. There are various steps involved
which include quality planning and assurance. Managers utilise analytical techniques that are
based on principles and norms that have been set by an organisation. Quality control and
improvement is also done once plans are made and implemented (Casidy, 2014). These focus on
long term goals and generally implement actions that are for short term. Canary Wharf Hotel is
situated in East London since 2000 AD. It has a 3 star rating and has stylish rooms and
restaurants with banquet and conference halls. They have been recently refurbished which led to
an increase in bookings that have resulted in raising their profits. But they have been receiving
many complaints of customers that are not satisfied with their services for the past 6 months.
This report will cover importance of quality management at Canary Wharf Hotel. It will
understand the history of service quality and its evolution. It will compare different schools of
thoughts and examine why measuring and managing service quality is important with regard to
business development, profitability and customer satisfaction. It will also enlist their methods
and impact on Canary Wharf hotel such as employee's empowerment, service quality culture,
understaffing and recruitment practices. It will also cover their customer feedback system
framework that includes comment cards, online feedbacks and personal interviews.
PART 1
Importance of Quality Management
History of Service Quality
Quality management deals with making quality plans, assurance, controlling and
improving of services so that a standard is maintained. It was introduced in 1920s and was
noticed in statistical theory was applied to product quality control. Its evolution started in 1942,
when Shewhart proceeded towards making a method for quality control in production (Liu and
Lee, 2016). Various managers started utilising and applying this in their companies to promote
zero defects which led to improvement in products during the 1950s. In 1960s, Japanese
companies noticed that they produced cheap and low quality products, but later applied quality
control. This led them to achieve excellent quality of their production in 1970s. Customers
started recognising that it was necessary for products to be durable and made of proper raw
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materials. Organisations across the globe started application of Total Quality Control in 1980s.
Suppliers too came into realisation that they had to sell high end goods that companies require in
order to create standardised products. As of 2018, customer satisfaction is key in quality
management and organisations prefer to look after their wants in order to be successful in the
industry and generate high revenue (Kennedy and et.al., 2015). It has become a philosophy and
is considered to be a systematic approach for management in various industries. There are
quality standards award programs that reward brans and companies for maintaining their
products and services according to principles and processes that come under quality
management.
Different schools of thoughts
A 3 star hotel generally offers great facilities along with excellent service. Check in and
clearing of doubts are done systematically and efficiently so that guests feel comfortable during
the process as they feel tired of long hours of travel. It is the duty of the staff to accommodate
and cater to them. But customers of Canary Wharf Hotel mentioned that they do not have proper
services although their facilities are great and they are taken proper care of as the receptionist
does not give much importance to them (Trivellas and Santouridis, 2016). They have extremely
slow check in for guests that have come to stay in the hotel and have to wait for a long time
before all formalities are completed. This has made it extremely tiring for their customers.
Comparison in services of Canary Wharf Hotel and standard services of Hotels
Hotels are supposed to have top notch customer service and have to take care of their
guests by assisting them at all times. But as compared to a standard hotel, Canary Wharf Hotel
does not have a proper feedback service and generally take months to reply to guests regarding
issues about compensations. They are least bothered about the opinions and suggestions of their
customers which is a disadvantage for them as they will not be able to improve facilities that
they offer to public.
Successful hotels have skilled and trained staff that are able to completely take care and
cater to needs of their guests. But as seen at Canary Wharf Hotel, there is lack of competent staff
at front desk which creates problems for visitors as they do not get the help required (Kallweit,
Spreer and Toporowski, 2014). They do not have the proper training and development needed to
run business successfully.
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Good hotels require large amount of employees so that work can be delegated
accordingly. This is done to ease and divide tasks accordingly, so that management can be done
in a proper method and work can be completed efficiently (Hawkins and et.al., 2015). But when
compared to standard hotels, there is shortage of staff at Canary Wharf Hotel which makes it
difficult for them to cope and they work for long hours which decreases their concentration while
working. As stated by one of the guests, they felt that workers tried very hard to accommodate
their wedding guests but they were falling short of workers, which made it difficult for them to
cope up. 3 star hotels train their waiters to be respectful, polite, assist and attend to anyone that
requires help (Sultan and Yin Wong, 2014).
Standard hotels have waiters that are respectful and treat guests with utmost care. But
when Canary Wharf Hotel was compared, it was seen that a customer said that some waiters
were not humble and when asked for assistance, they behaved rudely with the guests. One of
them behaved like it wasn't his problem, when asked about something and simply told them to
talk to the manager if they were facing some sort of issue. Facebook allows hotels to gain
reviews and cater to customers online, but when Canary Wharf Hotel was compared, it was
observed that the manager did not regularly check complaints made on trip advisor and asks
employees to directly handle them which is making it tough for them to cope with. The increase
in bookings of conference and banquet events has created delays as management has started to
struggle in handling the heavy workload.
Why service quality should be measured and managed
Service Quality Dimensions
Service quality requires management and measurement as it is important for hotels to
provide exceptional services to their customers. It ensures that there is consistency in the
facilities that are provided to guests that stay at Canary Wharf Hotel. They consist of various
dimensions which include reliability, where in management has to stay true to what they say and
provide their guests with services that can be valued by them, because they count on it. Staff has
to ensure responsiveness in a quick and prompt manner. They have to provide assurance to their
guests that they will be given the right services through communicating with them in a proper
manner (Lu and et.al., 2015). Employees have to be empathetic towards customers by showing
care and being careful of not hurting their sentiments. The last service quality dimension
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includes tangibles in which employees have to look presentable to their customers so that they
feel comfortable and have confidence in them. These factors leads to an increase reliability and
loyalty of the organisation as well as give them an upper hand in tough competition that is
present in this industry.
Customer Satisfaction
Canary Wharf Hotel generates its revenue from customers and they have to work
towards attaining customer satisfaction. This is important because it helps build trust even during
tough competitions. Measurement of service quality will ensure that customers are satisfied and
come back to enjoy their services again. It helps in maintaining customer satisfaction as their
demands keep increasing and they prefer only high standardised services (Rauch and et.al.,
2015). Without this, Canary Wharf Hotel management will not be able to analyse the
requirements of changes that have to be done in order to keep their guests happy and retain them
for the future as well. It decreases the chances of problems that may arise in business. Satisfied
customers generally tend to come back time and again. They would not be bothered about the
prices that Canary Wharf hotel offers, but rather how they treat their customers throughout their
stay.
Benefits
Managing and measuring of service quality will be beneficial for both hotel and
customers as it helps in maintaining the services that are offered and make certain that standards
followed accordingly and to customers as their desires get fulfilled. It will also aid in providing
Canary Wharf Hotel with information they require in order to improve their services and increase
their brand name and reputation (Kasiri and et.al., 2017). Customers can attain overall
satisfaction of their wants and needs, in return company will be able to achieve their targets and
earn profits, reduce the risk of service quality failure. It will benefit Canary Wharf hotel in
enhancing brand image as well as reduce unnecessary costs that have to be paid as fines if their
quality is not up to mark.
Profitability and Business development
Adapting to dynamic conditions of hospitality industry will be easy for Canary Wharf
Hotel if they manage their service quality properly. This will eventually lead to high profitability
in company. Even though company has seen an increase in their profits, guests are not
particularly satisfied with services that they offer. If measurement and management are done
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accordingly, there will be good service profit chain for Canary Wharf Hotel through which they
can retain and gather more customers (Gummesson, 2014). Managers can introduce techniques
and strategies which can help company to work towards developing and growing for future
business operations. They can hire new personnel and train them to become competent enough to
handle tasks that have to be performed in Canary Wharf hotel so that services can be improved
and provided to customers efficiently.
Quality management and measurement methods
Canary Wharf Hotel can utilise different methods of quality management and
measurement methods. This will help them in correcting issues that they are currently facing
with their services towards guests and customers. These include:
Service Design Process
Service design process is a method of measuring service quality management in which
services of Canary Wharf Hotel has to follow principles of designing their services in a genuine
manner on the basis of needs of customers and not solely on goals of business. They should
design their facilities service in such a way that it creates value for their guests (The Principles of
Service Design Thinking - Building Better Services, 2018). This process is structured in such a
way that work is done with focus and control. They keep delays, variations and dependencies
low and measure things that are necessary. Canary Wharf Hotel is measured according to the
work groups and data between their organisation and customers. This helps in understanding and
determining areas that need a design restructure so that high quality services can be provided to
guests when they arrive to stay.
Service Encounter
There are various types of service encounters that can be used by Canary Wharf Hotel to
measure their quality management. It helps to analyse customer satisfaction as well as value and
loyalty towards their company. These can consist of: Remote encounters: This does not need any direct contact with customers and generally
consists of gathering information through different sources such as emails, letters or
subscriptions (Casidy, 2014). It can help Canary Wharf Hotel to measure their service
quality but not in an efficient and effective method.
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 Phone encounters: Canary Wharf Hotel can call guests that have visited and ask them
how they felt about the services provided during their visit. This is more reliable as
compared to remote encounters as there is an oral interaction between the hotel
management and customer (Mardani and et.al., 2015). They can measure their service
quality which can help them make improvements and changes accordingly. Face to face encounters: This encounter involves direct contact between Canary Wharf
Hotel managers and their customers. It will be easy for management to assess their
quality of service that they have provided and is an effective method for measuring issues
that may be present and rectifying them to meet up to standards of their hotel.
Surveys
Canary Wharf Hotel can create surveys through online or offline methods. It is the most
common method and is reliable. It will help them to measure their service quality and determine
areas that require improvements (The 4 Main Reasons to Conduct Surveys, 2012). Customers
generally find it easy and fun to fill up surveys which provides a proper overview of services
offered by company. No personal information of guests is required and information can be taken
for measurement purposes. It aids in taking decisions and comparing results to find best methods
of implementing changes in service quality.
Post service rating
In this method, customers are asked to rate their experience right before they leave. This
can be done while guests are checking out of Canary Wharf Hotel. It can help company is
quickly determining how their services were towards customers and how they can fix them
(Kallweit, Spreer and Toporowski, 2014). This include making a scale of rating from 1 to 10, so
that individuals can choose how they felt of services that were provided to them by the staff of
hotel.
Customer effort score
This method consists of a metric in which Canary Wharf Hotel asks customers how much
effort was required to be put by them in order to fulfil their needs. This helps company assess
how they provide their service and where improvements are required (Chua and et.al., 2015). In
this, lower scores are considered to be better and measurements of managing quality can be done
accordingly.
Control Charts
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Charts are vital for measuring and analysing services of Canary Wharf Hotel. The various
statistical data can help in determining areas of concern and where improvements are required,
so that they can attain customer satisfaction (Sultan and Yin Wong, 2014). This method of
measurement is beneficial as prioritizing of service quality can be done in a proper manner.
Management can collect data that can help in monitoring and analysing these control charts in
such a way that solutions for weak areas can be addressed.
Service quality management can set goals that align with Canary Wharf hotel and
establish a structure and resources that are required to attain proper quality services. They have
to make policies and tools that can help them define standards for their facilities that are made
available to their guests (Hawkins and et.al., 2015). They are required to make reports so that
they can measure and manage their service quality accordingly and maintain them for future
guests as well.
PART 2
Service Quality Impact on Canary Wharf Hotel
Canary Wharf hotel is 3 start hotel and has long term experience of working in the
hospitality industry. Company provides great facilities to its guests but still services quality of
the firm is very poor (Dedeoğlu and Demirer, 2015). This has decreased satisfaction of
consumers to great extent. Front desk officers do not give immediate response to clients that
makes them negative towards the brand. Employees of hotel are unaware with actual service
standard that is why its workers are unable to satisfy guests and making them loyal towards
brand. Managers of firm do not receive calls on time and ignore issues. All these things impact
on overall service quality of business to great extent. If entity is unable to offer high quality
services to consumers then it will decrease profitability and brand image of the firm to great
extent.
Impact of employee empowerment on service quality
Empowerment of workers play significant role in hospitality industry. If staff members
are given power to make their decision and share their views then employees will feel motivated
and they perform their duties well. Involvement of workers assists in increasing their moral and
raising satisfaction level (Jain and Choudhary, 2015). Empowerment via autonomy makes them
feel good in the firm and they pay more attention towards their jobs. Recently company is unable
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to empower their staff and people are not allowed to make their decision. They do not get
involved in decision making process and they have to perform as per the instruction of higher
authorities. This impacts on their working performance and they don’t provide quality services to
guests.
Canary Wharf hotel should enhance engagement of people and need to involve them in
decision making process. Inabilities of management create issue for business and hamper its
quality as well (Lu and et.al, 2015). Empowerment of workers increases responsibility and
enhance professionalism in the workplace. Thus, employees will treat their guests so that their
satisfaction level can be increased. Customers are ready to pay high prices to get satisfactory
services, if employees of Canary Wharf hotel are being empowered then they will offer excellent
services to consumers that will impact positive on business unit.
Impact of service quality culture on service quality
Culture plays significant role in organisation, healthy values and believes impact positive
on firm, whereas negative culture makes employees negative towards brand by this way they do
not offer satisfactory services to guests (Chen and Chen, 2014). Employees of Canary Wharf
hotel work under huge pressure, due to understaffed issue existing employees have to work for
longer duration in the company. In the season time, they get frustrated due to heavy workload.
Managers are required to improve culture of the firm, they have to motivate people by giving
rewards and recognition. Higher authorities of Canary Wharf hotel should address needs of staff
members and have to fulfil their desires. This will help enterprise in satisfying workers and
raising their performance level (Melián-González and Bulchand-Gidumal, 2016).
Rewards encourage workers and they will give immediate response to the consumers.
This will enhance their contribution in accomplishing goal of organisation. Entity should treat its
employees well, recently it does not offer them flexibility that is the main reason that people feel
over burden. Manger of the firm has to develop strong relationship with its staff members so that
they can share their feeling with them, this will assist in improving team spirit and will support in
retaining skilled people in the workplace for longer duration (Dedeoğlu and Demirer, 2015).
Healthy culture, strong communication and good relationship can support Canary Wharf hotel in
increasing satisfaction level of staff, by this way they will offer quality services to consumers.
Impact of understaffing/recruitment practices on service quality
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Understaffing is the major issue in Canary Wharf hotel, people have to work extra
because of availability of poor human resources. Limited staff members cannot treat all guests
well, thus, sometimes complains of client cannot be addressed on time. Furthermore, recruitment
practices of firm are not good. It hires inexperienced people in workplace and these candidates
are unable to perform well in organisation. Both these issues create problem in Canary Wharf
hotel and affect its service quality as well (Lu and et.al, 2015). If enterprise recruits skilled and
experienced people who can serve consumers well then it will be beneficial for company to
satisfy its guests. These people have good knowledge about hospitality industry and its
standards. Thus, they will be able to provide satisfactory services to them. This will assist in
raising confidence of consumers and will make them satisfied towards the brand. Firm should
give training to its employees so that they can handle consumers and give immediate response to
them. This will support in improving the service quality of hotel to a great extent (Melián-
González and Bulchand-Gidumal, 2016).
PART 3
Customer feedback system (CFS) frameworks
For the purpose of maintaining service quality, Canary Wharf hotel can utilise numerous
customer feedback system frameworks for their organisation. This will help them to measure,
analyse and determine various aspects of the services that they provide as well as develop plans
in such a way that they are able to achieve their main goal of customer satisfaction. It is
considered an important system as it will aid Canary Wharf hotel in building a relationship with
their customers and makes them understand that their opinions are valued, which helps at
retaining them as well (Kallweit, Spreer and Toporowski, 2014). Feedbacks are considered
reliable sources though which information can be attained and those data can help in making
decisions for the welfare of business. This can increase profits and stay ahead of other
competitors present in industry. Canary Wharf hotel can also gain a good reputation through
proper implementation of methods of feedback and increase their guest’s value as well.
Customer feedback system frameworks include the following:
Comment Cards:
This is an effective method that can be used by Canary Wharf Hotel. It will help ensure
that both negative and positive opinions are taken into consideration so that improvements can be
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made accordingly. Establishing loyalty among customers will help retain them and build a
relationship as well. Comment cards consist of name, number, address and email ID of
customers, which is kept confidential and management can update them with new events, offers
and discounts that can be availed. It has to be prepared carefully, so that it is easy for individuals
to understand and mark comments in correct manner (Dedeoğlu and Demirer, 2015). This is a
tool that can help employees in gathering information directly as people do not trust online
feedbacks as much.
For example, if a guest of Canary Wharf Hotel mark comments for slow service and
improper treatment, quality management can take note and discuss with managers to implement
training and development programs for the staff. It is important to take criticism so that company
can expand and grow to earn good profits in the future. It will reduce the risk of customer
turnover as well. These can be given when guests check out from hotel or kept in the rooms in
which they will be going stay (Kasiri and et.al., 2017). Comment cards can be placed in the
restaurant tables as well and waiters can give them a brief introduction and ask them to fill it.
Customers too, will feel interested in providing feedback so that they can enjoy the services and
facilities of Canary Wharf Hotel.
Online Feedbacks:
Online method of customer feedback is new and can be very beneficial for Canary Wharf
Hotel. It involves asking for reviews from guests through online platforms such as their website,
Facebook and Instagram page. It will help develop a relationship with their customers as social
media is trending and everyone searches for online reviews before going to visit a place. It is a
quick way for getting both positive and negative feedback (The 5 Service Dimensions All
Customers Care About, 2008). Modifications can be done efficiently as well because company is
interested in hearing opinions of customers. It is a good opportunity for Canary Wharf Hotel to
resolve problems that arise and take corrective measures to improve business practices. People
can provide suggestions through online feedbacks which can benefit company in numerous
ways. Moreover, online system provides free advertising of the business as these reviews are
posted on a platform where everyone can see it and exposure of business occurs, in a cost
effective manner.
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