20/20 Vision for 2010

20/20 Service Vision for 2010
Jan M. Smith

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce


My mom often used this axiom, “Shoulda, Coulda, Ifs Ands & Buts…” It was meant to describe what could have been, but wasn’t.

It’s a fitting description for a year that should have been different than it was. Don’t dismay though, because the second half of the adage was “there should be no regret for the past, instead, clarity to create the future.”

So we look backwards and say goodbye to a decade of mixed success, but more importantly, look forward with 20/20 vision for the New Year, and decade.

The upside to this year is you now have hindsight, which will help you move forward with:

• Hoteliers to consider how to be more innovative, efficient, and progressive with marketing, pricing, and reduced staff levels, and continue to keep high levels of RevPAR and service.


• Restaurateurs to evaluate how the customer wants to be served with friendly, courteous service, back-to-basics fresh and simple home-cooked style comfort food, and value pricing.


• Gaming industry to continue to look at effective techniques and approaches to obtain and retain customers through exceptional service, promotions, programs, shows, and an exciting and fresh atmosphere.


• Retail and Service companies to focus on product, pricing and service as alternatives to a diminished demand.

Interestingly, the operative word for a successful new decade in hospitality is: Service. It’s the one sustainable competitive advantage you can have over those who haven’t figured out how important service is to the success of their business.

The vision for 2010 should be filled with optimism and perseverance, and most importantly, elevated levels of customer service. Customers love those who love them. They sense a genuine and caring business. It’s fairly transparent to the customer if they are getting the type of service they expect (or feel they are entitled to), and let’s face it, they are the ones spending the money for your product or service, so there can’t be mistakes in service, not in 2010.

“Shoulda, Coulda, Ifs Ands & Buts…”, instead of using 20/20 hindsight to reflect on this difficult year, think of it as a tool to use for the future. Consider what you did right in 2009:

• Weathered the economic storm


• Likely streamlined your business operations


• Re-engineered your organization, product and/or service


• Tightened up your business practices

If you focus on what you did right to sustain your business through this year, and maximize your focus to look forward to 2010, you should have a good shot at hanging in there until this downturn shifts upwards once again.

Cheers, and Happy New Year!

Jan M. Smith is the Founder and Principal of Inland Management Group, a Human Resource Consultancy located in Temecula, specializing in the Hospitality and Entertainment industry. You can contact Jan at (951) 302-6483, www.inlandmgtgroup.com, or email at jsmith@inlandmgtgroup.com.

Thankful Hospitality


The leaves have finally turned a wild shade of sunset hues in Wine Country. Harvest is past and winter is around the corner. Thanksgiving hangs in the air. Another cycle of seasons is nearing an end.

For those associated with tourism and hospitality, applaud yourselves for hanging in there amidst the trying times of 2009. It hasn’t been easy, but still, there is much to be thankful for.

Consider the meaning of thanksgiving; the act of giving thanks, and a prayer expressing gratitude. Here are a few examples of gratefulness to add to your Thanksgiving feast:

1) We live in one of the most wonderful cities, centrally located between mountains, ocean, desert and major cities, making it perfectly situated for tourism.

2) Temecula’s tourism partners still enjoy visitors to their restaurants, lodging, casinos, wineries, and retail operations, albeit a lower number, visitors still come to Temecula!

3) Temecula was selected this year as one of “America’s Top 100 Places to live”, according to Relocate-America.com. Criteria included outlook for future growth and ability to rebound, as well as how local government and the business leadership supports the City.

4) The Convention and Visitor’s Bureau rolled out a new website for members, increasing opportunities to develop their brand and drive tourism to our region.

5) Old Town business associations have collaborated on the future of area business. Tourism partners have learned this year the “doing business as usual” business plan no longer works, and alternative strategies and creative game plans have been implemented.

6) 2009 had some of the best travel opportunities in recent history, prompting tourism partners to get creative and collaborative with travel packages.

7) Thirty plus Temecula wineries produce award-winning wines and varietals. Wine quality, mirrored by high awards in major wine competitions, shows that Temecula Valley has become one of the preeminent wine grape-growing areas in California. One of our very own captured the coveted and distinguished, “Best Winery in California” for a second straight year. (Congratulations South Coast!)

8) Growth continues in Temecula’s hospitality arena with new wineries, restaurants, lodging, and retail (and mall expansion) opening this year.

9) Most tourism partners now utilize Social Media to promote their brand (and wet our appetite for what their business has to offer).

10) Tourism partners worked hard to upgrade their customer service, as it’s a known fact service is an important differentiator between themselves and their competition. Lodging, restaurant, winery, casino, and retail service staff know their jobs depend on gaining and maintaining loyal customers.

For most, the past years of lucrative times in the hospitality business has allowed for growth or initial introduction of your brand to Temecula. We can’t forget we had these great times and remember they’ll come again. Consider looking occasionally in the rear view mirror, so the road ahead looks clearer.

More than likely, you follow the PKF report forecasts which report an exceptionally robust recovery will come in 2011 and 2012. This leaves you to spend time in 2010 refining your product, service, and brand, and better understanding your customer.

Weathering this year, and knowing the prosperity you once enjoyed will return again, should be enough to just hold on and be thankful for the things that did go right this year.

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!

Jan M. Smith is the Founder and Principal of Inland Management Group, a Human Resource Consultancy located in Temecula, specializing in the Hospitality and Entertainment industry. You can contact Jan at (951) 302-6483, http://www.inlandmgtgroup.com/, or email at jsmith@inlandmgtgroup.com.

Inland Management Group (IMG)
Human Resource Spotlight Program

Now more than ever companies must insure compliance to the myriad of ever changing Human Resource laws and legislation. One small oversight and it could cost the business owner in time, money and productivity, not to mention legal representation. It seems easier to ignore issues relating to HR policies and procedures, but it's critical to implement a strong HR infrastructure to eliminate HR issues.

The IMG Human Resource Spotlight Program provides an evaluation of the client’s current Human Resource practices and policies.

Human Resource Audit:
The Human Resource Spotlight includes: An in-house interview with client’s Human Resource representative or designated company representative to conduct an abbreviated Human Resource Audit, to review, evaluate, and identify areas of compliance deficiencies and potential liability exposure.

Evaluation of the audit/interview and a comprehensive evaluation will be forwarded to the Client.

The Audit assesses the areas of greatest Human Resource exposure:
· The Hiring Process
· Record Management
· Wage & Hour
· Harassment Policies
· Posting Requirements

Human Resource Phone Consultation:
Included in the audit is a one-hour phone consultation with IMG Principal to review comprehensive evaluation report and discuss recommendations.

Please contact Jan M. Smith, Principal, Inland Management Group, (951) 302-6483, or jsmith@inlandmgtgroup.com for additional information.

Follow me on Twitter: Temecula_HR

Fire It Up For Your Employees!

Fired-Up for Your Employees
Jan M. Smith


The familiar sound on my computer signals another email delivered to my inbox. I open, and view results of another survey. This one though peaks my interest. It imparts information about the current Fired-Up status of employees in the workplace.

Results are in:
· 41% very fired-up
· 45% of employees only marginally fired-up
· 14% are not fired-up at all

It’s no surprise the current work environment, with its lean and mean atmosphere is causing everyone to be a little on edge. Those employed are not immune to the concerns of job security, stress, increased workloads, and irritable co-workers and managers.

With less than half of the American worker today feeling fired-up or satisfied at work, companies might take a look at how to help ease this statistic in the workplace. There’s a reason business owners or managers may want to take notice because Job dissatisfaction can lead to multiple organizational problems, and has been associated with decreased levels of customer service.

Here’s a perfect example: I recently visited a local ice cream outlet and observed a supervisor harshly discipline an employee directly in front of customers. When I got to the front of the line, I asked the employee a question. I was met with a snarl and a coldness that matched the ice cream I was about to consume! It’s no wonder, the employee had been treated so badly minutes before by the supervisor, and the employee was redirecting the same behavior towards me, the customer.

When front line workers become dissatisfied with their positions, the end result is that their interactions with the customer become disconnected and unauthentic. This discontent with the job is very transparent to the customer, as in the example above.

Some managers have the outlook: “If they don’t like it here they can take a hike…” It’s a pervasive idea many business owners and managers share, considering there is a surplus of job seekers; if someone is unhappy at the workplace, “no big deal, we’ll just replace them with someone else.”

The trouble with this way of thinking is 1) it causes mistrust in the workplace, 2) there is a value in the employee who you have already invested in, and 3) the employee has a strong knowledge base of your organization’s product, processes and customer.

Sure, you replace the body, but it will take time and money to replace the knowledge.

If you can accept that your attitude towards your employees is a reflection of what your employees are going to be, it might help you to see how critical your behavior is on the outcome of your employee’s attitude towards the customer.

Everyone is walking the tightrope… owners are trying to keep their companies afloat, and employees are trying to keep their jobs. Working together during this time of business uncertainty is critical for everyone’s success.

October Service Tips:
· Look at the relationship between your supervisory staff and your employees. If it’s not

solid, the deficiency in the relationship can often become a catalyst to employee

dissatisfaction and ultimately, customer service issues.
· Listen to employee’s concerns.
· Understand you must give respect to get respect… it doesn’t come with a job title, it must

be earned.
· “Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly, and they will show

themselves great." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
· Listen to those who work for you, you might learn from them.
· Pay fairly, treat fairly, recognize fairly. All three hold critical status to employee morale.

Employees who are dissatisfied with their positions are a tremendous obstacle to developing customer loyalty and customer service. Get fired-up for your employees, and they’ll get fired-up for your organization!

Jan M. Smith is the Founder and Principal of Inland Management Group, a Human Resource Consultancy located in Temecula, specializing in the Hospitality and Entertainment industry. You can contact Jan at (951) 302-6483, www.inlandmgtgroup.com, or email at jsmith@inlandmgtgroup.com.

Temecula Offers Assistance for Job Seekers

Temecula Offers Assistance to Job Seekers

I am one of the fortunate who live and work in the beautiful city of Temecula, California, located in the Southern California Wine Country.

When I moved from Los Angeles to Temecula in the late 90’s, I was enamored with the charm of the then 47,000 populated area. Although Temecula has more than doubled in size, it still maintains the feel of a community-centered environment.

One such example is a brand new City-sponsored program to assist local unemployed refine their job seeking skills.

Following is a recent Press Release:

The City of Temecula has partnered with the Temecula Sr. Executive HR Roundtable to provide free career transition services to Temecula and surrounding area unemployed.

The Begin Again, Career Transition Services (BACTS), kicks off with a full spectrum of career transition assistance workshops, including:
· Creating and Crafting a Successful Resume and Cover Letter
· Using Social Networking Tools To Research and Find Your Next Job
· How to be Remarkable and Memorable in an Interview
· Networking to Find Your Next Job
· Marketing Plan: How to Professionally Brand Your Expertise
· Career Assessment: Identifying Your Marketable Skills

The BACTS program will provide the knowledge, skills, and tools, to help the unemployed in our community get back to work”, says Jan M. Smith of Inland Management Group and BACTS program director. “Our neighbors, friends, colleagues, or family who are out of work, regardless of position or industry, will benefit from this free City resource.”

All workshops are free to the public and will be facilitated by local senior Human Resource executives.

Workshops will be held at the Temecula Community Center conference room, located at 28816 Pujoi Street, beginning October 15, 2009, and run for six consecutive Thursday mornings, from 9:30 – 11:00am.

For more information or to register for any of the workshops, please email
Jan M. Smith at jsmith@inlandmgtgroup.com, (951) 302-6483.

Detailed information regarding workshops: http://tinyurl.com/yet74pg

Good is the Enemy of Great

GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT

Creating Exceptional Service
Jan Smith
Inland Management Group


Recently, a colleague of mine sent out a message on Twitter soliciting restaurant recommendations to celebrate her wedding anniversary. The criteria, simple: It must be in town and it must have exceptional customer service. Interestingly, there were very few responses. I tried to come up with a list of a couple of places to recommend, and kept getting stuck on the “exceptional” requirement.

If you were asked for a recommendation for any type of service organization that was:
· Exceptional
· Great
· Outstanding
· Remarkable
· Extraordinary
· Incomparable

Could you do it? Would your organization make the list?

If you haven’t recently done so, look online at the various social media sites where reviews are posted, (Twitter.com, Yelp.com, TripAdvisor.com, Dine.com, TemeculaRestaurants.com, and Boorah.com, etc.). See how your organization is being reviewed by guests. If the majority of comments state you operate a “good” or “mediocre” business, it’s time to step it up and turn things around. Providing only mediocre service will not give you the competitive edge, especially in this market.

As an owner or manager of a service organization, you should insist on exceptional service from your employee. The difference between mediocre and exceptional service is that exceptional service offers value to your guest, gives more than the guest expects, and often surprises them in the process!

General George Patton once said, “Always do more than is expected of you”. Treat your guest to exceptional service and they will return. Give them mediocre, or even worse, bad service, and they’ll continue on to one of your competitors.

In the book, A New Gold Standard, there’s a story about a gentleman who calls up to make a reservation at a Ritz Carlton Hotel. He states he is surprising his wife, who is pregnant, with a weekend away for their anniversary. When the couple checks in, they are greeted by the front desk representative with a warm welcome, and by name! Once they arrive in their room, they observe a beautiful bouquet of red roses and rose peddles spread across the bed. A bottle is chilling in a wine cooler with a note attached, “Mr. and Mrs. Jones, thank you for joining us for your anniversary”, signed by the General Manager.

The husband affirms his decision to stay at the Ritz Carlton. He lifts the bottle out of the wine cooler to open, and the two laugh when they look at the label. It’s sparkling water! The Ritz remembered the guest is pregnant!

Exceptional, Great, Outstanding, Remarkable, Extraordinary, and Incomparable service at its best! This type of exceptional service is why organizations like the Ritz Carlton thrive through the current economic climate.

Following are some tips to help create exceptional service….the type that keeps your guests loyal and committed to your organization.

Service Tips

1. Create a paradigm shift in service philosophy. Transform from mediocre to exceptional!
2. Talk with your service team and provide exceptional service standards. If you don’t have

them, create, and communicate them now.
3. Be passionate about serving your guest.
4. “Inspect what you expect” to insure your standards are being upheld.
5. Hold your service team accountable, and do not compromise on exceptional service

standards levels.
6. Anticipate your guest’s needs and expectations and give them a service experience they

will go away talking about in positive terms!

Many service workers think there is little reason to offer more than mediocre service. They know the guest tends to accept less than deserved, almost as if the guest has been conditioned and accustomed to bad service.

What would happen if every guest demands exceptional service? No tip unless exceptional service is given…I’d wager the service levels would rise. What if you only hired and retained staff who exhibited exceptional guest service? You’d likely see more tables and rooms filled, and more products purchased!

Don’t commit the sin of mediocrity, and remember that being good isn’t good enough. Good is the enemy of Great. It doesn’t take more effort to give exceptional service over mediocre service, yet the rewards are so much greater!

Jan M. Smith is the Founder and Principal of Inland Management Group, a Human Resource Consultancy located in Temecula, specializing in the Hospitality and Entertainment industry. You can contact Jan at (951) 302-6483, www.inlandmgtgroup.com, or email at jsmith@inlandmgtgroup.com.

Guest Experiences Gone Awry, What's Your Service Recovery Strategy?

Jan M. Smith
Inland Management Group

Have you ever thought to be thankful for guest service experiences gone awry? A less than perfect guest experience can be an opportunity for excellence. If you embrace your guest’s candidness, raw emotion, and pure honesty, you can actually learn enough to ensure the situation doesn’t happen again. You should be rejoicing the guest is actually communicating the problem with you!

Here’s why:
96% of your guests do not complain to anyone who can help them.
95% of your guests will return if they feel their complaint was resolved quickly.
90% of your guests with unresolved complaints will never return.
(White House Office of Consumer Affairs)
Social Media sites like Twitter, FaceBook, My Space and blogs capture the immediate pleasure or displeasure of the guest’s experience. Often time, the guest is communicating their experience through social media avenues even before they leave your company!

Service Tips

Practice service recovery strategies with your employees to ensure they are ready and empowered to handle a guest service issue.

Tip 1: Acknowledge that the guest has been inconvenienced and apologize for it.
Don’t be defensive, and don’t shift the blame to the guest or fellow employee.
Often times just a simple genuine apology will help neutralize the situation.
“I’m sorry about your experience today. Let me see how I can make this better for you.”

Tip 2: Listen and empathize with the guest.
Listen carefully, and let the guest explain their point of view. Let them vent their frustrations.
Stay calm as the guest verbalizes their issue. It is important for the guest to be heard. Somewhere along the line their expectation of what they wanted, and the reality of what they received, did not sync, and it’s your job to show genuine care during the complaint.
Try to understand the guest’s perspective of the situation.

Tip #3: Step up to the plate and take care of the problem.
Personally take care of the issue. Don’t push it off on someone else.
The guest wants to feel that you have the ability to handle the problem, without having to escalate it to another level of company hierarchy.
Resolve to fix the problem in a timely fashion.

Tip #4: Offer some value-added compensation for the inconvenience.
Offer a token of goodwill, or something that symbolizes you are sorry for the service breakdown.
Empower front line service workers to appropriately compensate the guest for their inconvenience in a service breakdown situation.
True empowerment is about giving employees the freedom to act both creatively and responsibly to meet service recovery needs.

A colleague of mine, who I’ll call Kay, recently shared a story of visiting a local restaurant. Kay ordered a beef brisket sandwich and was instead served pork. She informed the server of the mistake, and the meal was removed. The server promptly returned with the same meal, stating the chef has checked it, and said it was the right order. Kay asked to speak with the chef, and in their tableside conversation, the chef debated about the order, and insisted it was right. With more insistence, Kay convinced the chef that there was a mistake. The chef went back to the kitchen and then returned, stating there was an apparent switch in the meat trays and Kay’s assessment was correct. The right meal was offered, but declined because the situation took too long to resolve. There was a slight apology by the server, but other than that, no other offer of service recovery.

What was the outcome of this guest experience gone awry? This restaurant is off my colleague’s list of places to patronize, however, she is more than willing to share her experience with anyone who will listen, including the social media blogs. This could have been an easy resolve, but no one at this restaurant thought to implement a service recovery for the situation.

All service recovery begins with the expectation of fairness from the guest’s perspective. Nine times out of ten, the guest is only looking for a reasonable resolution to the problem. Consider service recovery an opportunity to keep guests satisfied after the worst happens.

Remarkable service recovery means handling the service breakdown in a way that makes the guest even more devoted to your establishment after the issue has been properly resolved. Consider service gone awry an opportunity for excellence!

Jan M. Smith is the Founder and Principal of Inland Management Group, a Human Resource Consultancy located in Temecula, specializing in the Hospitality and Entertainment industry. You can contact Jan at (951) 302-6483, http://www.inlandmgtgroup.com/, or email at jsmith@inlandmgtgroup.com.

THE POWER OF A SMILE

An estimated 1 billion people watched the recent Michael Jackson memorial. His brother Jermaine sang a compelling version of the well-known Charlie Chaplin song, “Smile”, which clearly, through the song’s title and lyrics, portrays a message of the absolute and defined power of a smile.

The business application of a smile can relate to front line employees and their potential impact with your customer. While most hospitality managers know the importance of first impressions, unfortunately, not all front line employees seriously consider this impact. Yet the truth is, the general consumer prefers to do business with friendly, open, accommodating, welcoming, and most importantly, smiling employees.

Previous experience working for The Walt Disney Company helped me to understand how all customer service positions work best when the employee understands they are “on-stage” when they are in front of the customer. Disney employees realize very quickly that regardless of how they are feeling, they must put all of their personal issues aside and get into “character”, appropriately representing the company with exceptional customer service. It’s not always easy to smile when you don’t feel like it…it’s just necessary, even critical, for a successful first impression of your company.

A smile can be seen as an invitation or a barrier. Greeted with a smile, you are being welcomed, greeted with a grin or scowl; you are being held at an arm’s distance.

What does your front line employee look like? Have you ever observed from the sidelines what type of greeting your customer first encounters? If you haven’t had the chance to do this, it’s a good time to think about this type of observation. The economy today dictates exceptional customer service in order to stay competitive and keep your customers loyal and engaged. If your front line employees do not connect to your customer (and this generally can be accomplished by greeting them with a smile), the potential sale may only be a one-time deal, or worse, no deal at all.

Consider observing potential candidates for your company. During the interview, take special note if they are smiling. If they aren’t during the interview, chances are they will not smile as a customer walks through your company’s door.

Hospitality managers should insist that all front line employees “wear” a smile. Remember, this simple gesture invites a relationship with the customer. Encourage this behavior with your employees. Create visual reminders to your employees such as something recently noticed at a local business. A small laminated card attached to the outside of a cash register, perfectly situated for both the employee and customer to see. It read:

JULY SERVICE TIP

A company’s front line employee often tells the customer exactly how they are feeling, by means of their non-verbal communication. What should be observed is something that reflects enthusiasm and appreciation that the customer has stepped in your front door.

The employee’s facial and body language should show excitement for the service, product or value your company has to offer. How can you expect a customer to shell out their hard earned (and closely kept) dollars if they are not connected through your front line service worker?

Consider observing your front line employees in an anonymous way; perhaps even contemplate using a shopping service to do this for you. Shopping services are used for a variety of reasons, including benchmarking service delivery levels prior to a training initiative. Additional information gained from a shopping service can help your company optimize operations, improve human resource management, develop and enhance brand image, and most importantly improve the customer experience.

When selecting a shopping service, be sure to:
• Carefully research the background and references of the shopping service.
• Ask to see sample reports and client/reference list.
• Speak with like-industry references and ask them what they found useful (and not useful) with the shopping service. Were they happy and confident with the service?
• Ensure the service understands your business processes well enough to critique your processes.
• Set the criteria to be observed and ensure the service watches for the initial first encounter they have with the employee…were they smiling?

I can see why Michael Jackson’s favorite song was ‘Smile.” The lyrics, “Smile though your heart is aching, smile even though it’s breaking…. Light up your face with gladness, Hide every trace of sadness…” are encouraging and necessary for all front line employees.

Remember, front line employees are continually “on-stage”, providing the most exceptional service necessary to retain your customers.

Jan M. Smith is the Founder and Principal of Inland Management Group, a Human Resource Consultancy located in Temecula, specializing in the Hospitality and Entertainment industry. You can contact Jan at (951) 302-6483, www.inlandmgtgroup.com, or email at jsmith@inlandmgtgroup.com.