South Quay Hotel: A Comprehensive Service Quality Management Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of service quality management at South Quay Hotel, located in Central London. The hotel, recently refurbished and experiencing increased bookings, faces challenges in effectively managing its services. The report discusses theories and principles of service quality management, including the GAP model, which identifies discrepancies between customer expectations and service delivery. It emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs, enhancing brand reputation, and retaining customers through quality service. The report also covers principles such as people involvement, systematic management, factual decision-making, leadership, process approach, customer focus, and continual improvement. An assessment of South Quay Hotel's service quality management highlights issues like staff shortages and customer dissatisfaction, suggesting the need for strategic improvements to maintain its reputation and ensure customer loyalty. Desklib provides access to this report along with numerous other resources for students.

Service Quality- Report

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................2
Theories and principles of managing service quality.............................................................2
Assess the management of service quality in the hotel..........................................................6
Customer feedback system framework..................................................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
References:.....................................................................................................................................12
Books and Journals...............................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
Managing the service quality is one of the most important task that the company have to do in
order to make sure that the services of the company are according to the needs and expectations
of the customers. It will also help the company in making sure that the customers of the
company are satisfied and are having delightful experience (Ali and et. al., 2018.). The customer
satisfaction is one o the major goals of any service industry and it is important for the company
to make sure that they are coping efficiently with the dynamic environment of the industry. If the
company fails to manage their service quality then they will not be able to retain their customers
and will surely have to face losses. Service quality management is enhances the reputation of the
company and helps them in attracting large amount of audiences as well. In case of South Quay
Hotels, the hotel is situated in Central London since 2005 AD. The hotel has recently been
refurbished and because of this development activity the company is having 100% increase in
room and events booking. The company is facing problem in their management and are not being
able to work efficiently and effectively.
MAIN BODY
Theories and principles of managing service quality
Managing the quality of the services that the company is providing is utmost important part in
the management of the company. It is important for the company to make sure that their services
are providing satisfaction to their customers and the customers are willing to spent their money
on the services that are offered by the company as it is serving value to them. The services of the
company must be according to the needs and wants of the customers so that the services of the
company can attract potential customers and can retain the customers. In context to South Quay
Hotel, they are engaged in hospitality sectors and the most essential part of this industry is the
services that the companies are providing (Binh and et. al., 2020, November.) . From the case
study it is analysed that the management of the company is not very goods and the customers as
well as staff members are suffering from the problems. The company must make sure that they
make their management effective and efficient so that they will be able to retain their customers
and can also provide job satisfaction to their employees.
Importance of managing quality service-
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 Increases the value of the service- Managing service quality will help the company in
making sure that their services are providing some value to the customers which is
essential for the company as if the services does not include or provide any value addition
to the customers then the customer will not take interest in the services and will not be
willing to spent even a penny on those services (Brazeau, G.A., 2018.). In case of South
Quay Hotel, it is important for the hotel to understand that in order to make their services
successful it is important to provide them with convenience to the customers as if their is
inconvenience then the customers will not get attracted.
 Customer retention- The utmost important factor that correct management of services
quality includes is that it will help the company in retaining the customers. For every
business in the industry it is important to retain customers and make sure that the
customers are satisfied with the services of the company. If the services of the company
is up to the mark then it will help the company in attracting more potential customers
with the help of good word of mouth and will also help the company in creating a loyal
customer base which is essential for every business. The loyal customer base will help
the company in making profits and in getting constructive feedback as well. In case of
South Quay Hotel, the customers of the company are not satisfied with the services and
are raising issues such as shortage of staff, misbehavior of staff, improper management
which is not good for the reputation of the company as well.
 Increases and enhances brand reputation- When the service quality of a company is
up to the mark or are beyond the expectations of the customers it will create a positive
image of the company in the minds of the customers (El-Adly, M.I., 2019.). Delightful
experience will help the company in building their reputation and will also help the
company in marketing their services without spending high amounts on the marketing
activities. In context to South Quay Hotels, the hotel has a very good reputation which is
why they opt for increase in the building but it is the time when the hotel must start
taking strict actions otherwise the reputation of the company will go down.
Theory of service quality management-
The GAP model- It was a model which was developed in the year 1985 and the model helps the
company in identifying the five gaps which can make the services of the company unsuccessful
or can make it difficult for the company to deliver the services because of the mismanagement.
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 Gap between management perception and consumer expectation- It refers to the gap
that occurred in the management and the expectations of the customers. It is important for
the hotel to analyse the expectations of the customers correctly so that they can modify
their services accordingly (Fatansa, B.H., 2018.). It will hep the company in making sure
that they are working and providing services according to the needs and expectations of
the customers so that the customers are willing to pay high amount of prices for the given
services.
 Gap between management perception and service quality specification- It refers to the
gap where the management has correctly analysed the expectations of the customers with
the services as well as what the customers actually wants but are unable to implement the
specification in the services that they are providing. It can also be a case of in effective
management where even after knowing the needs, the company is unable to provide
accurate services to the customers.
 Gap between service quality specification and service delivery- It refers to the gap
where the company has added the specification in the services according to the needs and
expectations of the customer but are not able to deliver the same services to the
customers (García-Fernández and et. al., 2018.). As the services sector depends up on the
type of services that they are able to provide and their is no set standard for it, it is highly
possible that one services in good for a customer but bad for the other one based on their
experience and their expectations.
 Gap between service delivery and external communication- External communication
refers to the activities which influence the customers to buy the service. It can be made
by the hotel itself such as advertisement, etc or through other sources such as word of
mouth. Both the activities creates an image of the service in the minds of the customers
and if the customer does not feel satisfied according to their expectations then it will
create a negative impact. The gap between service delivery and external communication
highly depends up on the expectations of the customers.
 Gap between expected service and experienced service- It refers to the gap where the
expectations of the customers does not match to their experience (Gawron and et. al.,
2018.). The expectations of the customers verifies whether the customer is satisfied or
not. If the experience of the customers are below the expectations then the customer will
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be unsatisfied and will not spend money on the same services again. In this gap it is
important for the customers as well to understand that they must have realistic
expectations so that the hotel will be able to provide beyond expectations services.
Principles of managing service quality
 People involvement- It is important for the company to understand that they must have
involvement of people while managing their services as well as while providing the
services to the customers (Gunasekaran and et. al., 2019.). Employees of the company
plays a major role in this factor and in case of South Quay Hotel, the majority of the staff
of the company is on the part time basis which is not good for the company.
 Systematic approach to management- It is important for the company to make sure that
the company is having a systematic approach towards the management of the company. It
is the most beneficial activity for the company if they manage the management of the
company according to the workings of the company and according to the steps which are
helping the company. In case of South Quay Hotels, the management of the company are
not working effectively which is why the customers of the company are not satisfied with
the services of the company.
 Factual approach to decision making- it is important for the company to make sure
that their decisions are according to the facts that are collected by the company and not
on the basis of past decisions (Kanzaki and et. al., 2018.). It will help the company in
improving the workings of the company and will also enhance the workings of the
company according to the needs and wants of the customers.
 Leadership- It refers to the fact that it is extremely important for any organisation to
make sure that they have capable leaders that can effectively and efficiency guide their
teams. The teams are influenced by the leaders and if the leaders are not effective then
they will not be able to guide the teams and will not be able to influence them in order to
fulfil the goals and objectives of the company. It is important for the company to have
talented leaders so that they can lead the company towards success.
 Process approach- It refers to the approach where the company has to apply a specific
process to the management of the service quality (Keall, R. and Lovell, M., 2020.). It
ensure that all the necessary steps have been taken and the details that they must have in
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their minds. It will help he company in managing their service quality effectively and
efficiently.
 Customer focus- The prime motive of all the business is to provide satisfaction to their
customers. It is important for the company to make their services according to the needs
and requirement of the customers (Lebreton, P. and Yamagishi, K., 2021, June.). If the
services fulfil the expectations of the customers then the company will be able to become
successful. It is the essential feature that the company have to keep in mind while
managing their services.
 Continual improvement- it is important for the company to understand that the
environment of the industry is dynamic. The taste and the preferences of the customers
are constantly changing and the company have to make sure that they are coping with
those trends in order to have high customer retention rate. The improvement in the
services will make sure that the company is heading according to the needs and wants of
the customers and will also enhances the service quality of the company as they will be
able to serve better to the customers.
Assess the management of service quality in the hotel
In context to South Quay Hotel, as the management of the company is suffering and the feedback
for the services provided by the company are not really it is essential for the company to make
some decisions regarding the management of the company so that they can enhance the quality
of the services that the company is providing (Lin, Z., 2020.). The correct problems that are
faced by the employees and the staff of the company are creating a bad impact on the
productivity of the employees. The employees of the company are not having job satisfaction
which leads to de motivation and will have a direct impact on the success of the company. It is
important for the company to male sure that they are making correct decisions regarding the
benefits of the employees so that they can work on optimum capacity and cam lead the company
towards the success. Some of the major problem that are faced by the hotel as well as their
employees are given below:
No incentives: Their is no incentives or reward schemes in the management of the
company. The first and foremost motivation for the employee is reward which makes them work
hard and increases their productivity. No rewards lowers the job satisfaction of the employees as
well as they feel less valued and that their hard work is not paying off. Rewards will help the
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company in making sure that the employee is working efficiently and effectively along with
optimum productivity.
High rate of employee turnover: As the company is not providing job satisfaction to
their employees it makes it difficult for the company to retain talented employee which in turns
increases the turnover rates of employees (Merkert and et. al., 2018). The increment in the
turnover rate is not good for the reputation as well as for the finances of the company. It will also
make sure that company is unable to attract any talented employee.
Lack of control over ownership: The employees of the company feels that their is no
ownership and that the company is not valuing their hard work. It is important for the company
to make sure that they have someone who has authority as well as responsibility of decision
making. Also a person who can guide the employees in the situation which is difficult. It will
also make sure that the employee feel free to do their job as someone is making sure that their
hard work will pay off.
Majority of part time employees: The majority of the staff of the company is on the
part time basis which is not good. The employee must have job security and then only they will
give heir 100% in the workings of the company (Mosadeghrad and et. al., 2018.). The part time
workers are not the actual employees of the company and they are not affected by and
dissatisfaction that they are providing to the customers of the hotel.
Bureaucratic style of management: this type of management believes in high level of
division of labour and specialization and a well defined chain of command. It refers to the
management style where the work of the company must be divided according to the skills that
the individual have. It follows the principle of objectivity, consistency and rationality. The
management of the company is attached by strict rules and regulations and the top level
management of the company clearly defines the expectations that they have from their
employees.
Customer feedback system framework
Customer feedback system is an online and offline platform that helps the visitors in expressing
the good and the bad feedback about the company and will also help those who are willing to
visit the hotel (Nguyen, T.H.N., 2019.). These online platform are the review sites through which
people or the guests can give reviews to the services of the hotel. These reviews are essential
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nowadays as people before visiting any hotel will look for these reviews first and then decide
whether they want to stay or leave. Good reviews will help the company in attracting large
amount of audiences and will make sure that the company is having a good reputation in the
market. These reviews contains problems as well which are needed to be resolved as quickly as
possible from the side of hotel’s management so that they can change the impression of the hotel
and can make the guest satisfied. In context to South Quay Hotel, the company is not receiving
good feedback and their are lots of changes that are needed to be done by the company in their
management.
Customer feedback system strategy-
 Ask for customer feedback- The company needs to encourage the customer to give
feedback to the hotel regarding the services of the hotel. It is important for the company
to make sure that they are encouraging customers in the right way as no customer will do
it by themselves (Okumus and et. al., 2020.). The customer does not want to waste their
time on this type of activity but when the company asks for their opinion they feel valued
which also provide them greater satisfaction.
 Categorize the data- It is essential for the company to categorize the data that they have
collected from the feedback of the customers so that they can analyse the changes that
have been suggested by most of the customer. The changes in the management of the
company cannot be made just by getting a feedback of a single customer. In order to
make changes it is essential for the company to collect large amount of feedback and
analyse them.
 Act on the feedback- The company must after analyzing the feedback and after
collecting all the information about the changes must start acting on the changes as soon
as possible so that they can get maximum benefit of those changes (Pacios, A.R. and
Serna, I., 2020.). The action that the company take will decide whether the change is
going to be successful or not.
 Follow up with customers who have shared the feedback- The last step that the
company must follow is to make sure that they follow up the customers that have given
feedback and try to deliver them the changes that the company have made in their
services. It will help the company in encouraging the customers to take the services again
in order to see the difference and to get better experience.
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Characteristics of customer feedback system-
 Timely- The feedback that the company is providing must be short and simple, most
probably tick the correct answer where the options are already given (Rajendran, S. and
Fennewald, J., 2021.). The feedback must not take more than two minutes of the
customers as it can make the customers avoid question that require big answers and will
not provide accurate feedback to the hotel and its management.
 Engaging- the feedback must not be too serious for the customers it must engaging and
must include fun so that the customers ca take interest in it and will provide better
information to the customers. It will also help the company in making sure that the
customers are taking part in the feedback and are enjoying it. It is important for the
company to make sure that the questions in the feedback are not too boring otherwise the
customers will not take them seriously.
 Comprehensive- It is important for the hotel to make sure that the feedback forms that
they are providing to the customers are relevant and covers all the necessary information
about the services that the customers have (Raskin and et. al., 2019.). It is important for
the company to have constructive feedback so that the company can make changes
accordingly and will make sure that these changes are increasing the productivity and the
efficiency of the company.
 Insights driven- In order to get accurate information it is important for the company to
make sure that the information they get through the feedback is including some of the
questions about the insights of the hotels which makes it even more effective for the hotel
and will also help the hotel in making decisions that are actually beneficial for them.
Importance of customer feedback system- Helps in improving the services- The feedback that are provided by the customers to the
company helps the company in improving their services as the feedback serves as the
experience that the customer have from the services of the hotel (Shepherd, J. and
Beswetherick, N., 2018.). The feedback will help the company in making changes in the
services and modify them according to the needs and wants of the customers so that they
can provide greater satisfaction and delightful experience to the customer which is
beneficial for the business. It is important for the hotel to create services according to the
needs and requirement of the customers as they are going to be the ultimate users of those
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services and they are the one that are going to spend their hard earn money on those
services.
 Helps in measuring customer satisfaction- the feedback are essential for the company
if they want to measure the level of satisfaction that the customers have. The satisfaction
can be in the measurable terms as the customers can provide star ratings to the company
according to the experiences that they have (Song and et. al., 2018.). If the have a
wonderful experience then they can go for five stars and if they have poor experience
then they can go for one star. It will help the company in analyzing whether the
customers are satisfied with the workings of the company or not.
 Helps in providing better customer experience- When the company provide services
according to the requirements of the customers which they have mentioned in the
feedback then it is natural then these services will be able to provide better satisfaction to
the customers and will be able to make sure that the company is able to create a positive
impact on the customers which will help the company in retaining the customers and in
creating a loyal customer base (Stanley, J. and Stanley, J., 2020.). The delightful
experience that the customers have will make sure that the company is having benefits of
good word of mouth in the industry and will help in increasing and enhancing the
reputation of the company.
 Helps in improving customer retention- the major benefit of the feedback is that the
company will be able to retain the customers and will be able to capture a bigger market
share in the industry. It is important for the company to make sure that they are giving
attention to each and every feedback that they are getting whether it is good or bad and
make changes according (Xie, S., Shang, H. and Wang, C., 2021, July.). It will make the
customer feel that they and their opinions are valued by the company and the company is
making efforts n context to those reviews. The customer retention will make the company
successful and will also make sure that the company is having high profits along with
good reputation.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that one of the most important activity that service industry
must do is managing their service quality. The quality of the services that the hotel is providing
will make sure that whether they will be able to retain the customers or not. The profits and
success of the company also depends on the quality of the services that the company is
providing. The feedback plays an important role in quality of the services that the company is
providing as it will make sure that the company is working according to the taste and preferences
of the customers.
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