Report on Service Quality Management at South Quay Hotel, TLH339

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of service quality management, focusing on the case study of South Quay Hotel. It begins with an introduction to the concept of service quality and its importance, followed by an exploration of the theories and principles that underpin effective service management. The main body delves into the practical application of these principles, assessing the management of service quality at the South Quay Hotel, a 4-star establishment in London. The report examines the hotel's strengths, such as its facilities and ambiance, while also highlighting areas for improvement, particularly in staff management and customer service. It analyzes the hotel's performance based on customer feedback, identifying issues such as long waiting times and rude staff behavior. The report also discusses the GAP model of service quality, outlining the gaps that can lead to service delivery failures. Furthermore, it proposes a customer feedback system framework to address these issues. The report concludes with recommendations for improving service quality at South Quay Hotel, emphasizing the importance of customer focus, leadership, employee involvement, and continuous improvement. References to relevant literature are included.

Service Quality- Report

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................2
Theories and principles of managing service quality.............................................................2
Assess the management of service quality in the hotel..........................................................5
Customer feedback system framework..................................................................................6
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
References:.....................................................................................................................................11
Books and Journals...............................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Service means the services which are provided by any organisation and this service which is
provided by the organisation are for the customers. Service quality on the other hand means the
quality which has to be provided to the customers in the services provided by
organisation(Abukhait, Bani-Melhem and Mohd Shamsudin, 2020). It basically means that
customers compares and differentiate the quality in the services provided by the organisations in
comparison with the performance. The customers are the only person who will judge the quality
of the services. The business who wants to succeed and grow in the market has to meet the
demands and needs of the customers in providing them the services. The business which are
providing high level of service quality to the individual are the ones who will grow while also
remaining economically competitive in the market. The service quality is used to describe the
subjective and objective perspective. The objective assessment of the customer reviews can be
made on particular way or criterion. The subjective assessment of the customers can be made on
benefits which they got out of their expectations. For the business who wants to achieve the
customer satisfaction can achieve this objective by changing and improving the operational
process, finding ways in identification of problems and issues, to provide valid and excellent
performance measure of service and doing the work on measuring the customer performance and
the other details about them. South Quay Hotel is a 4 star hotel which is located in Central
London close to Bond Street Station. The hotel is working from around 2005 AD and the
ambience and facilities provided by the hotel is excellent. This report will cover theories and
principles of managing service quality, appraisal of the service quality management and
Customer feedback system.
MAIN BODY
Theories and principles of managing service quality
Managing service quality means to provide the services according to the expectations and needs
of the customers and this is useful for the success of the business. The service quality
management is useful in identifying as how the service has been delivered to the customers and
what changes are required to be made in the future for providing the services(Ali and Anwar,
2021). South Quay hotel is excellent hotel which is having all the facilities from the excellent
dining to the standard rooms but what is lacking in the hotel is the proper management of the
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services in the hotel. The customers are not satisfied with the services being provided to them
apart from the facilities which are being provided by South Quay hotel. The staff is not good in
numbers so that they can divide the services between them which makes it very problematic for
the proper management of the hotel.
Importance of managing quality service-
 Adds value to the service- The importance of managing the quality in services and
products has been increased in the present time. It is because now the consumers are
aware of the things and they will not spend any penny of their money if they are not
getting the satisfactory facilities or services(Bertin and Schaeffer, 2020) If the business
will provide them the best facility then the customers will be ready to spend more for the
services as they also know that with the excellent services they will also enjoy. South
Quay hotel is good in providing the facilities but the inconvenience and long waiting
times which are being faced by the guests is creating trouble for the hotel.
 Customer retention- In the hotels the customers expects that the services which will be
provided by them will be excellent and amazing and for which the people spends there
money. Only in that hotels the guests will stay and the chances of the guest to come again
will be increased only when the services provided by the hotel management is great. No
guest would like to spend their money in those hotels where the quality in providing the
services is not present. South quay hotel is excellent in providing the services to the
people but they lack in the proper management of these services which is guests are
raising issues.
 Develops brand image- The brand image of any business will be developed when the
services provided by them to the customers will be good (Ban and et. al., 2019).
Developing the brand image is not easy and that too in the hotels. South quay hotel is
unable to provide the services in a better way which is why the brand image of the hotel
will become low in the coming time.
Theory of service quality management-
The GAP model- This model was developed in the year 1985 and it aims to provide the high
quality service to the people with the help of knowing the five gaps which can make to
unsuccessful delivery of services.
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 Gap between management perception and consumer expectation- It means that the
management of the hotel is unable to identify what the guest wants and is not matching
with the expectations of the customers. South Quay hotel management is also unable to
identify the things which is required by the consumers and which is why they are unable
to meet the demands of the customers.
 Gap between management perception and service quality specification- It means when
the management of the hotel is able to perceive what is actually required by the guest but
still they are unable to meet that thing with the standard (Tuan and et. al., 2019). South
Quay hotel is knows everything what the guest want but still they are unable to meet.
 Gap between service quality specification and service delivery- It means the standards
which are required for the delivery of the service but still the workers who are employed
for the delivery of the service are unable to provide it due to lack of training or the level
of understanding. South Quay hotel workers who have to provide the services to the
people are unable to do it as the lack of proper coordination and the wrong behaviour of
the employees with the guests.
 Gap between service delivery and external communication- Consumers are usually
influenced with the advertisement or the external communication which are delivered to
them about any business. In case of hotels the external communication which is provided
to them is about the services which are provided by them and other things but if all such
things are not provided by them then the guests might be unsatisfied. South Quay hotel
also delivers the same thing but in reality the service quality of the hotel is not up to the
mark.
 Gap between expected service and experienced service- This means that what the guest
is actually expecting as the services which they will receive in the hotel but in reality it is
all opposite(Syam and Sharma, 2018). South Quay hotel has done the same and because
of which the consumers are writing bad reviews about them.
Principles of managing service quality
 Customer focus- The major focus in managing the service quality must be on customers.
It is because the services are provided according to the demands and needs of the
customers and when the business identifies it easily then the services are also managed in
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a proper way. South Quay hotel has to focus on the customers who visit there hotel and
after which they have to manage their services accordingly.
 Leadership- For the effective management of the services it is equally important to have
the effective leader that can focus on providing the best and productive service in the
hotels (Roy and et. al., 2018). South Quay hotel must replace the leader and has to
employ the effective leader which can make the efficient changes.
 People involvement- For the success of the business it is equally important to have
employees who are involved in the business. South Quay hotel employees basically lacks
in coordination which is the main reason why they are unable to deliver the best services.
 Process approach- The approach which has to be used for the service quality must be
based on a way to process. The process approach ensures that all the steps which are
required in the service quality management is done.
 Systematic approach to management- With the above which is mentioned this one is
also similar and relates to use the systematic approach in the management. The main
thing which is lacking in South Quay is that the effective approach which is not used in
the managing the employees.
 Continual improvement- To make the improvement which needs to be in a continuous
way has to be done by the hotels. The South Quay hotel has to first identify that where
they are lacking in providing the effective quality service after which they need to make
the improvement in the services at all levels.
 Factual approach to decision making- The decisions are made on the data which is
provided by continuously managing the things. For making any decisions it is important
that the availability of facts are present so that no decision is made in a wrong way.
Assess the management of service quality in the hotel
Management of the service quality in the hotels is very important because the hospitality sectors
can increases their profits or the revenue only by the customer retention and providing them
satisfaction in providing the services(Noamani and et. al., 2020). It is because the service are the
important factor which can be helpful for the hotels in increasing the brand image an d can be
able to gain competitive advantage in the market. South Quay hotel is a 4 star hotel which is
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based in London and the facilities provided by them are excellent. The ambience, rooms and the
other sport facility are provided by the hotel which is mainly for the enjoyment of the people and
in which guest can spend their quality time. But the things in which the hotel is lacking is the
providing and cooperating the quality in the services to the guest(Smirnova and et. al., 2019).
The people who visit does not make any bad feedback about the facility and the food but the
thing in which the hotel is lacking is the proper management of the staff and not providing them
adequate training which is why they are not able to handle the guest perfectly. The guest are
providing the feedback about the bad services of the South Quay hotel they are providing the
review on the website of the hotel and the other websites in which the booking of the hotels is
made. They are writing about the long waiting hours to get the rooms and they have to wait for
the long time for availing any facility. The behaviour of the staff members of the hotel is also not
proper and they are talking with the guest in a rude and in attitude manner. The competition is
increasing in the market and if the services are not up to the mark then it might create problem to
the hotel.
The impact on the staff members of the company on the basis of the current service practices are
very bad. The employees are demotivated and the management has reduces their productivity as
well. Some of the problems that are faced by the employees that are affecting the performance of
the hotel are given below along with their solutions:
No reward scheme: The company is not providing any rewards or encouragement to the
employees which is not a good thing. The reward system and the empowerment system not only
motivate the employees but will also help the employee in increasing their productivity (Davis,
G. and Rhodes, R.A., 2020.). It will enhance the ability of the employees and make them willing
to learn new tasks which is for the benefit of the company. In order to increase the efficiency in
the workings of the employees the management have to make sure that they are offering
attractive rewards. It will help the company in boosting the performance of the employees and
also make sure that the workers are satisfied with their jobs.
Majority of Part time employees: More than 50% of the employees of the company are
part time worker which means that they are on the temporary basis. It is important for all the
staff and employees to have at least job security which makes them loyal towards their job. It is
important for the company to understand that job security is an important part of optimum
productivity and job satisfaction. As the part time employees are not the part of the team of the
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hotel they will not work on the optimum capacity and will provide services according to their
own will. This will hinder the growth of the company and will also make sure that the company
will not be able to have a pool of talented and loyal workforce (Sun and et. al., 2019.). The
company is understaffed and it is important for the company to hire right amount of employees
so that they can serve the customers well and will be able to make sure that the customers is
satisfied with the services of the hotel.
High employee turnover: The increase in the turnover rate is extremely bad for the
organization as it can ruin the reputation of the company and also the company will not be able
to retain or attract talented employees. Talented employees help the company in achieving their
goals and objectives an without them the company will not be able to survive. It is important for
the company to decrease their employee turnover rates as the company have to incur high cost in
recruiting and employees and giving them training and if the employees leaves the organization
without providing any benefit to the company it will be a loss for the company. By providing job
satisfaction to the employees and by understanding the needs of the employees the company will
be able to retain their employees and will also be able to attract new talent in the organization
which can help the company in achieving their goals and objectives efficiently and effectively.
Bureaucratic management: This type of management is suitable for government
organizations and not for private organization. One of the major principle of this management
style is that the company must select and promote on the basis of their qualifications and not on
the basis of their performance (Cavallone and et. al., 2021.). It is important for the organizations
to understand that by providing promotion on the basis of qualification, employees will not
increase their productivity as the less qualification holder thinks that they will not get promoted
even after working hard and the good qualification holders will not perform as they are sure that
they will get promoted on the basis of their qualification. In this way the company will not be
able to have a workforce with optimum productivity and good performance.
Low wages: Every company must provide wages that can provide their employees a safe
and secure environment as well as can fulfil the basic needs of the employees. It is important for
employees to make sure that they are earning enough amount so that they can fulfil their needs
and desires. If a company fails to provide enough wages to their employees, it will demotivate
them and also will affect their productivity and performance. The company must understand that
they need to provide enough wages to their employees so that they can retain them and make
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them loyal towards the company which will help the company in achieving their goals and
objectives efficiently and effectively. It will also help the company in creating a loyal customers
base which is essential for the hotel in order to have competitors advantage in the market.
No authority : In order to make employees take their responsibility of their work it is
important for the company to provide authority to their employees (Atkin and et. al., 2020.). By
providing authority to their employees the company builds a sense of responsibility in their
employees and the employees also feel valued in the organization which will increase the job
satisfaction of the employees. The lack of empowerment looses the sense of responsibility
among the employees which will result in bad performance or ignorant behaviour of employees.
In context to The South Quay Hotels, by handling the above given issues and making changes in
the management of the company they will be able to attract talented employees and will be able
to make sure that they retain the employees that the company wants. Not only that it will also
enhance the workings and the behaviour of the staff that can help the company in providing
satisfaction to their customers and will also make sure that the reputation of the company is
increased. The main motive or aim of the company is to provide delightful experiences to their
customers and it is not possible without the cooperation of the staff of the hotel. The most
important resource in the hospitality industry is human resource and without this resource the
company will not be able to survive.
Customer feedback system framework
Customer feedback means the reviews which is provided by the customers about the service and
facilities which they get from any hotel which they have visited. These reviews are at present
time are provided on the official website of the hotel or some website which are developed for
making the bookings of the hotel. In this way, the other people who might think for visiting the
hotel must read it and now a times whenever the people make bookings for their stay in the hotel
first checks the reviews which are provided by those who have visited it already. But in South
Quay hotel the required services which needs to be there in the hotel is lacking in a numerous
ways.
Customer feedback system strategy-
 Ask for customer feedback- Without asking for the right feedback no consumer will
provide the feedback to the management. This will help in getting the things which are
most likely liked by the people and things which needs to be taken into consideration for
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providing the services(Solanki and Nayyar, 2019). South Quay lacks in getting the
feedback which will help them in providing the things which are not liked by the guests.
The most common type of survey which can be used by South Quay is-
Net promoter score (NPS)- It is on a scale rate which determines the rate from 0-10 for
providing the recommendation to the friends or family members.
Customer satisfaction (CSAT)- It is the most common and used survey for getting the
quick response from the customers. In this survey the information is provided on the
basis of satisfaction which the customer gets from taking the services of the hotel.
 Categorize the data- When the hotel will take the review and feedbacks from the
customers it will now become important to categorize and divide the data according to
the feedback and response which have been received from the customer(Lumbis, 2018).
In South Quay hotel the division of data will be important as there are many things in
which guests are not satisfied but in which facility the guest are facing the issue has to be
recognised by the management and for that division or categorizing the data becomes
important. The category of the services is divided into many parts which involves- the
behaviour of the employees, facilities and many other things.
 Act on the feedback- Collecting the feedback and then categorising it to know that
which is the highest among all is important and which needs only minor changes. But not
just this, what is equally important is to act on the feedback which has been provided by
the people for the proper value and brand image of the hotel. Making proper changes is
important which the South Quay has to do in all the things in which the guest of the hotel
is facing the issue(Sahoo and et. al., 2019). It includes to provide better services to people
and for that they have to make proper coordination of the employees and the staff which
are working, the management of the guest so that they don’t have to wait for long
standing in a queue, developing good behaviour of the staff by providing them effective
and proper training.
 Follow up with customers who have shared the feedback- Follow up with customers
means to make them feel important by sharing their review on the issues which they have
faced in the hotel. This is the most important step which needs to be taken into
consideration by nay business. Customers feel delighted when they get the importance
and for that the person who is managing the feedbacks must provide the reply on the
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feedback reassuring that guest as the thing will not happen again so that other people who
are checking the reviews might considers the same from the side of the hotel.
Characteristics of customer feedback system-
 Comprehensive- It means to cover all the things in the system so that the hotel owner
gets to know about the things which are important and productive. In the customer
feedback system some are those systems which only includes the survey of the customers
and nothing else. While some are those which involves the social media reviews,
monitoring of the feedback regularly and other key points (Biemans and Griffin, 2018).
South Quay hotel has to develop the similar feedback system which taken into
consideration all the things for the betterment of the hotel.
 Timely- The competition in the market is high and also the market environment is
dynamic which keeps on changing with time and demands of the people and the market.
Getting the information on the timely basis becomes very important so that the hotel
manager can make the changes according to the issues which are faced by the customers.
For the South Quay hotel the timely getting of information is very important as the hotel
lacks in many things and for improving the things they need to capture the reviews of the
customers.
 Engaging- The customer feedback is important as it helps in providing the information as
to the things in which the customers faced the issue and the things which are more liked
by the customers (Gindhe, 2021). For this the departments of the hotel needs to get
engaged in the providing the same value to the customers. The main difficulty which is
faced by the South Quay hotel is that the departments in the hotel are not coordinated
properly which is why the hotel is not able to provide the service quality to the guests.
 Insights driven- The customer feedback system must not be able to provide the data
which has been collected from the customers but also such systems should be able to
provide the insights about the customer which the consumer have been provided in the
comments or the feedback (Ma and Ma, 2020). Such type of system will be useful for the
South Quay hotel to get the accurate information.
Importance of customer feedback system- Helps in improving the services- The system which will be created and developed by
the South Quay hotel will be helpful to them in variety of ways. The system will provide
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the hotel management the keen information as to what changes they are required to make
on the services which are not liked by the guests and what is required to be removed.
Guests who have come up in the hotel for the stay have faced the lot of difficulties which
becomes very important to take the feedback into consideration and make the required
changes.
 Helps in measuring customer satisfaction- When the customers rights or mentions the
good things about the places they have visited then this provides the straight cut
information as how much the customers are satisfied with the place. But if anything bad
is written or mentioned in the website or they provide some bad review on the service of
the hotel then it straight indicates that the customers are not satisfied and they are
required to make some changes(Yu and et. al., 2018). South Quay hotel is required to
make some changes which are not liked by the guest and if the changes will not be made
then the image of the hotel will go down. Helps in providing better customer experience- The customer feedback system is
important is telling the things about the issues which are faced by the people and also the
good reviews which have been experienced by the people. The main thing which the
South Quay hotel will be helpful with the customer feedback system is that they will get
the whole information about the services which are required to be changed and the
changes which is required to be made in an early time.
 Helps in improving customer retention- The best service in the hotel will lead to make
the best review of the hotel(Konuk, 2018). South Quay will be benefited from this system
and if the changes will be made in the hotel then the customers will come and will also
give recommendation to other people to visit hotel.
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