I look at Guest Services every day.

 I look at "Guest Services" every day everywhere I go, obsessively.  Watching the interactions and reactions of service employees, the public and myself.  I feel that hospitality and guest services are a two sided road thats success and failures hang in the balance of interaction of the guest and the "host" or employees of the business.  Is an unhappy, unresponsive guest a total failure? Not necessarily but our reaction and further interaction with this person can be.

The act of being a great and memorable host is not an act to be given or delivered to the guest only.  Each interaction should be delivered in a manner that is strong and positive for both the one receiving and giving.  You don't have to be powerful, or better to deliver a memorable moment in time to someone else.  You do need to be interested in what you do. You do need to have the desire to create the great or perfect moment for that person in their experience of being your guest.

There will be times when the host plays all the right cards, a smooth and pleasant greeting, a brief interaction of interest in the person, (IE: asking guest how they are, commenting on the weather, an inquiry if they are visiting or a local) a highlight of any specials or points of interest in shop, information or history of the location.  The host gives the impression of warmth and welcome with a genuine effort, yet regardless of "all the right" stuff or moves the guest just isn't playing into it, they are difficult, unresponsive, not pleased or just distant.  It makes the job more difficult, challenging and demanding.  The service industry is an interpersonal communicative field.  It's how we respond as host or service providers that will make or break the experience.

People are people and we come from many influences, cultures, beliefs, opinions, strengths, weaknesses, experiences, faiths and any number of other factors.  Can everyone be pleased at any given time?  Absolutely NOT. But what counts is that the same amount of care, effort and interest is put into every interaction. Some will be well received and appreciated others will no be well received....but chances are, though now outwardly shown....the effort....somewhere is still appreciated.

Guest Sevices Simple

For well over a year now, I have considered blogging about guest services.  While my expertise is in the hospitality industry (Hotels & Restaurants) ranging from line positions to management, I started thinking about the expansiveness of being a "guest" (A.K.A "the customer") and I realized, one does not need to go to a restaurant or hotel to be a guest of a merchant. One goes to a grocery store, a gas station, a department store...etc...etc...you are paying for the service(s) of another, you are a guest in their place.

Guest services and being treated properly when we are out spending our money seems so simple, to me. 
I arrive somewhere and I expect:

• To be greeted in a welcoming manner, not a cheerleader, but with a smile and eye contact.
• To feel as though I am not interrupting or intruding their day.
• That my patronage is appreciated and my visit is valued.
• That I am not just another consumer walking through the door seen as a source of income or contribution to someone's pay.

I am not a notably demanding person but I do expect to be treated decently when spending my money.

Hospitality is nothing new and we all seem to expect it, we all have a vision of how it is we wish to be treated and accepted when we spend our money and more importantly, our time.  The "origins" of hospitality could be a blog and element of it's own, the symbols, the reasons but how much help would it be to dig and explain the past to move forward?

People in hospitality or service jobs often enter or encounter their positions out of need or necessity or inexperience. It's a last resort, a first resort, a necessary resort that is under appreciated, often and is not held as worthy.  It is a position seen as "in the trenches", that uneducated or non-motivated people hold. One either loves their job or hates it, feeling that their talents, passion or self investment is under appreciated and given it's due.

 People who invest in hospitality or guest services often see them as "sure money makers" that if they provide  a service that people will come and money will be made. The thing is, if we are not treated "right', we do not feel comfortable, we do not feel welcome or "at home" by giving our money to someone else for a service or experience, word will spread and there will be no sure anything.  Especially now with the power of the word and the expedited means a negative experience or positive can spread in the quick manner of jotting down our experience and pushing a button "share" for the whole world to see immediately.  Before, it was a letter to the editor, that may or may not be printed. A letter to the manager or offices where the experience could be controlled, either shared or "swept under the carpet."

Success and failure is gained and shared through experiences and words. Here I plan to give and receive some of those.  Not necessarily giving out business names but just sharing the encounters and what they mean to me, to the industry of giving and sharing to others.  Will be interested to see how it is seen and viewed.