customer experience report

8/18/2019 Customer Experience Report

1/27

The Customer Experience in the

Hospitality Industry

Part

1

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Forward

“A vital piece of intelligence for all hospitality leaders.

Whether in preparation to welcome the world as hosts of the Olympic Games 2012 or

simply to grow sales and profit in the most competitive economic conditions for a

generation this report based on robust “actual” visit data identifies the challenges and

opportunities ahead.

The

report

presents

compelling

evidence

for

a

shift

in

focus

-

to

engage

existing

guests

and leave them with a desire to return and tell their friends. Peer to peer

recommendation has always been the most powerful marketing vehicle and in a

social media rich environment the opportunities and risks are even greater.

Such customer centric intelligence; vital for competitive advantage; was not previously

available but Customer Service Benchmarking now provides an accessible tool for all

leaders

to

assess

where

they

currently

are

and

to

identify

the

scale

of

their

opportunity

gap by measuring and benchmarking performance in areas that matter.

The report raises some important questions and challenges.”

Bob Cotton

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Introduction

This

is

the

first

in

a

series

of

three

reports

which

unpick

the

reality

of

the

customer

experience

in

the

hospitality

industry,

initially

considering the sector perspective, subsequent reports “mine” the wealth of data at our disposal to consider the sub sector and

competitive set performance before providing insight and intelligence gleaned from the performance of the best of the best.

We benchmark Experiences because It is the delivery of experiences; the added value, memories and emotions that matter,

rather than the provision of customer service or goods.

We will demonstrate that many fail to deliver even consistently excellent goods, most simply transact customers leaving competitive

advantage for those who genuinely value guests and provide them with experiences that cause them to leave with a burning desire

to return and bring their friends! What business are you in?

A great burger or pizza is not enough, good customer service and customer satisfaction are not enough and we will demonstrate

why! We will also identify critical metrics and customer “profiles” to help drive growth. Honestly appraising the experience you a! ord

guests is critical because average is not good enough, the competition for consumers time and money is intense and coming from

all quarters. Insight and Intelligence is key to supporting your goal of delivering memorable experiences which develop advocacy

and competitive advantage and we hope these reports help you shape your goals. These reports are a starting point, as you review

them consider the following questions:

What do your target market expect?

What do your target market want?

Who

are

your

competitors? What do you do better than your competitors?

What do they do better than you?

How are you going to excite your guests to become advocates and help you grow your business?

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Apple have alwa ys understood

and continue to understand that

they are not in the business ofbuilding computers!

4


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• Average cannot be the extent of your aspirations!

• 34% of all experiences diminish future sales!

• Grasp the competitive advantage opportunity

• Be In the business of delivering experiences

• Who

cares

wins!• The training isn’t working!

• Don’t allow brand standards to inhibit your team!

• Guests need to feel enthusiasm, a! ection and kindness!

• Think lifetime value!

• Most hospitality guests would not recommend!• Stuck in the mentality of delivering goods!

• Cardinal Sin - Recruiting personality then training it out!

The Hospitality Sector

Performance

C

o n

t e n

t s

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Skills

Perceived Value

Pace

Warmth

Interest

Training

Willingness to

Recommend

Confidence

Knowledge

PersonalityReflections

Welcome

Our questions have been carefully

designed

and

robustly

tested .

They aggregate into the three

categories above.

We use SUBJECTIVE

questions to explore

the guest experience

NOT

the

adherence

to

brand standards

Our

Questions

assess

the

following

aspects of the guest experience:

Measuring Experiences

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Over

3000

guest

centric

mystery

visits

inform

our

unique

benchmark

insight

o! ering competitive advantage for those who care!

From the data we provide performance benchmarks so that clients know where

they are on their journey to delivering experiences that engage & excite guests

generating competitive advantage and increasing guest advocacy

We

can

benchmark

performance

against

the

appropriate

industry

benchmark

averages

derived

from our ongoing “uninvited visits”

Most importantly we can benchmark performance against the best of the best from all available

visit data - with monthly reports identifying performance gaps and actionable recommendations

Benchmarking Performance

Hospitality Sector Casual Dining Budget Hotels Community Pubs

Drink Sub Sector Fast Food 5* Hotels High Street

Accommodation Sub Sector Coffee + B&B’s Destination Pubs

Food Sub Sector Fine Dining 3-4* Gastro Pubs

Ancillary Boutique Hotels

Eclectic Benchmark - “The best of the best”

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Hospitality Sector Benchmark

75.42%

74

74.5

75

75.5

76

Feb 11 Sept 11 Jan 12

Guest experiences

have

improved but it remains a

mixed bag with visit scores

ranging from 18% - 100%

Evidence of belt tightening in

inflationary

times

served

up

diminished performance in

October & November

75.42% is Average - the

target is 90%

Productivity

improvements

can not be at the expense of

guest experiences

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0

10

20

30

40

0-10% 11-20% 21-30% 31-40% 41-50% 51-60% 61-70% 71-80% 81-90% 91-100%

Only 13% are gaining

recommendations

Only

13%

of

businesses

scored

"

90%

the

level

required

for

recommendation - 87% of businesses are not delivering experiences

worthy of recommendation

34% of businesses scored # 60%

The graph describes the % of average scores achieved in each percentile and isbased on over 1400 “uninvited visits” across the hospitality sector.

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0

10

20

30

40

0-10% 11-20% 21-30% 31-40% 41-50% 51-60% 61-70% 71-80% 81-90% 91-100%

A different perspective reveals

a substantial Opportunity.....

With the correct focus 30% could readily transform their business and convert existing

guests into their most powerful marketing vehicle - peer to peer recommendations.

This would not only transform their business but the dominant view of the sector.

Enticing ever more potential guests away from their streamed HD film, M&S meal and

wine deal, 50p bottles of lager and very comfy couch.

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Michael Porter

The basis of above-average

performance within an industry is

sustainable competitive advantage.

There are 2 basic types of

competitive

advantage:Cost Leadership

Di! erentiation

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Short on Personality and

short of the Target!

73

74.25

75.5

76.75

78

Personality Skills Reflections

Personality

is

the

worst

performing category,

depressed by a failure to:

welcome, be interested in

the guest and demonstrate

warmth.

Reflections is limited by

ambivalence and guests

unwillingness to

recommend dragged down

by a lack of personality and

guest engagement

Target

90%

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What a year 2011 was! High debt burdens - spiralling fuel & food costs, squeezed profit margins, falling sales

or sales propped up by discount fuelled guests - labour cost controls - fearful teams dominated by part time

transient

workers.

Result

-

Too

much

debt

-

not

enough

personality!

Indeed many businesses closed as UK PLC fights for the available leisure spend in the face of ever more

discerning and value conscious guests who have more choice than ever before.

“Shall I go out to my local restaurant or relax in my comfortable sofa watching a streamed HD film washing

down a M&S £10 Meal for 2 and bottle of wine with a few 50p bottles of beer or lager?”

Hospitality businesses should be in the business of delivering experiences not selling goods or services!

The

reality

for

guests

is

somewhat

di! erent:Some sell Goods - burgers, pizzas, flat whites, cask ales, bottles of wine, steaks or beds

Some sell Services - they transact or process goods to guests - they simply get the job done

The best provide Experiences - delivering goods and service with the enthusiasm, expertise and style that

elevates the delivery of basic guest needs so as to create memorable moments - transforming a process into

an experience.

Too many customers are given goods for a price, most are simply transacted leaving the majority of guests

su$ciently disgruntled to share their thoughts on twitter and facebook thereby accelerating the demise of

operators who will certainly get what they deserve - faster than ever before.

Meanwhile the best continue to deliver and focus on team and guest experiences, growing the gap between

themselves and the rest while warmly, welcoming new friends with huge smiles, an open heart and many kind

words - delivering experiences guests pass on peer to peer.

“Experiences are as distinct from services as services are

from goods” - Tom Peters

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The Ownership factorIndependent hospitality businesses outperform Branded or Chain operations.

While

both

groups

fail

to

attain

the

target

90%

the

6.

28%

gap

is

significant.

Do owners care more than managers? The independent v chain data reveals a

significant challenge for sector chain owners - how to get corporate managers

thinking and behaving like owners.

50

60

70

80

90

73.6671.6 71.89

76.6 76.97 78.17

WarmthPersonality

Average ScoreChains Independent

“Most independents are best o! , I

think doing what I prided myself on

doing

for

so

many

years

as

a

storekeeper: getting out on the

floor and meeting every one of the

customers. Let them know how

much you appreciate them, and

ring that cash register yourself .

That little personal touch is so

important for an independent

merchant

because

no

matter

how

hard Walmart tries to duplicate it -

and we try awfully hard - we can’t

really do it.”

Sam Walton,Walmart

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71

73

75

77

79

72.66

73.57

71.71

77.31

77.92

78.91

74.49

77.28

74.43

75.42

Welcome Warmth Interest Confidence Pace Training Knowledge Value Recommend Average Score

No business needs to be exceptional in every area but it certainly needs to be exceptional

in some and particularly those that matter to their target audience.

The 4 weakest areas are the most important: Welcome, Warmth, Interest and Knowledge

The sector is below target on every measure!

Its time to review your slice of the reported

£4,242 million spent annually on training - Are

you getting a ROI?

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Take the leap

Start Engaging and exciting

your guests before they find

your competitors

Stop training process, and

transacting guests, release the

personality and measure what

matters rather than brand

standards

According to a recent Square Meal survey

45% of complaints are due to bad service....

and

65% of employers report a need to improve

customer service skills according to The

National

Employer

Skills

Survey

According to the National Employment

Survey the sector spends £4,242 million on

training

each

year....

yet:

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photo credit: Vinoth Chandar

Have you ever recommended a restaurant

on the basis of “its world class table

checks”?

While conducting another unnecessary

table check within the required timeframe,

are

your

team

missing

opportunities

to

engage guests in a way that would grow

sales for today and tomorrow!

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7%

30%

9%

4%

31%

9%

3%4%

4%

Welcome Warmth Interest Confidence Value

Pace Training Knowledge Problems

Warmth @ 30% is the most

cited positive driver of

recommendation

Value @ 31% is a prominent

driver but most frequently

cited for negative reasons

Training is the least influential

factor @ 3%

Emotions drive value,

connection, willingness to

recommend

and

advocacy.

Most Valuable Driver: Warmth

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Introducing Net Promoter90%+ or you are nowhere

There is clear evidence that for anyone considering their

satisfaction, loyalty and the willingness to recommend performance

a

score

in

the

realms

of

7

or

8/10

(which

might

get

you

an

A*

at

school) cuts no mustard with consumers in the real world.

If guests are not rating 9/10+ they are not going to recommend

you!

Net Promoter® developed by Satmetrix, Bain & Company, and Fred

Reichheld, is a useful measure of customer loyalty. It polarises your

promoters and detractors and is calculated as:

(The percentage of guests scoring !90% on willingness to recommend) -

Disney’s own research has found that advocates - those scoring "90% are worth 4 times as much to

the company over their life than other guests.

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Hospitality Industry Net

Promoter Score - 12.4Unit Welcome Warmth Interest Confidence Pace Training Knowledge Value Recommend Average Personali ty Skil ls Reflections

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

1213

14

77.45% 73.02% 69.73% 74.85% 76.22% 76.46% 73.64% 75.46% 73.68% 74.13% 72.63% 75.44% 74.57%

80.00% 77.50% 82.50% 87.50% 82.50% 85.00% 90.00% 92.50% 97.50% 86.11% 81.88% 85.83% 95.00%

66.28% 68.02% 66.64% 73.10% 75.10% 77.70% 67.62% 70.90% 67.10% 70.48% 69.03% 73.47% 69.00%

78.89% 80.91% 83.64% 83.64% 83.64% 85.00% 83.64% 83.64% 82.27% 82.97% 82.12% 84.09% 82.95%

90.00% 70.00% 75.00% 75.00% 70.00% 90.00% 67.50% 67.50% 72.50% 75.28% 77.71% 75.83% 70.00%

75.95% 72.79% 72.31% 75.67% 78.17% 77.79% 75.77% 78.65% 74.62% 75.45% 73.21% 77.24% 76.63%

74.48% 76.57% 73.78% 78.74% 78.13% 79.86% 76.32% 78.71% 76.50% 77.08% 76.06% 78.10% 77.61%

69.43% 71.24% 68.94% 77.24% 79.73% 80.48% 74.76% 77.06% 73.76% 74.93% 72.01% 78.32% 75.41%

68.52% 70.21% 69.69% 75.46% 75.67% 75.15% 71.08% 75.67% 72.22% 72.71% 71.13% 73.97% 73.94%

77.11% 80.20% 78.24% 82.35% 80.98% 82.55% 79.02% 79.80% 81.37% 80.37% 79.95% 80.85% 80.59%

70.14% 68.69% 66.97% 75.25% 78.74% 75.86% 69.49% 77.27% 69.29% 72.38% 69.99% 74.70% 73.28%

84.07% 85.00% 82.65% 86.18% 78.53% 88.53% 87.94% 79.71% 81.76% 83.66% 84.29% 85.00% 80.74%75.33% 81.30% 83.48% 84.35% 83.04% 83.04% 80.87% 74.35% 86.52% 81.63% 81.92% 82.32% 80.43%

68.91% 70.00% 69.09% 74.24% 75.61% 74.09% 72.58% 80.76% 72.42% 73.23% 70.69% 74.09% 76.59%

In the example above only Unit 2 guests would act as advocates while in the case of Units 3 and 11 the

guests would leave su$ciently dissatisfied to act as detractors. Unit 2 guests would advocate and would

likely include the knowledge of the team and the value for money when recommending to colleagues or

friends.

The hospitality sector net promoter score (based on our “uninvited visits”) is 12.4

Definition: In every 100 guests there are only 12 more promoters than detractors. More guests are

ambivalent while 61% of guests would not be willing to recommend.

While this compares favourably with certain sectors of UK PLC such as Utilities @ -35 it is best put in

context by considering Apple 78.35 and Amazon 70.33 as reported by Satmetrix 17/2/2011

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Food & Drink Rating 78.45%

In the most recent 100

“uninvited

visits”

we

have

included the question:

Please rate the food and

drink

While the sector is

substantially below

the

90%

target on both experience and

F&B metrics guests rate the

food and drink more highly.

Better

at

delivering

goods

and

a long way from delivering

experiences.

70

75

80

%

Experience Food & Drink

Target

90%

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• The hospitality benchmark is 75.42% - 14.58% below the 90% target level.

Average is not competitive advantage.

• 13% of businesses act as sector assassins - creating “hospitality detractors”

• 30% of businesses could transform their business with focus. A shift of less than 10% in current performance levels is all that is required.

• Personality is the weakest performing area for the Hospitality Sector

• Welcome, Warmth, Interest and Knowledge are of most concern• All areas are well below the 90% target that is required to assure

recommendation

• Warmth is the most cited positive driver of recommendation

• Training scores best - What was the ROI on the £4,242m investment? A well

trained

team

does

not

of

itself

drive

guest

recommendation.

• The industry has a Net Promoter of 12.4 - another indication of guest ambivalence, unwillingness to recommend and competitive opportunity

Sector Headlines

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ConclusionsHaving excellent products or goods available is not enough.

Processing guests through your service system leaves future sales in jeopardy in

the face of better operators and social media.

The sector performance is average - the majority do not deliver experiences that

develop advocacy and growth

The sector is significantly below the 90% benchmark level which promotes growth.

The

sector

is

better

at

providing

food,

beverage

and

accommodation

goods.

The sector is better at systems and processes.

Without personality hospitality businesses are simply expensive vending

machines. Personality drives connection and feelings of warmth yet this remains

the weakest area.

“To deliver

better

and

learn

faster

than

your

competitors

is

the

only

truly

sustainable competitive advantage” M. Porter

Yet the majority are fighting on the battlefield of goods and e$ciency.

23

LET US DEVELOP YOUR COMPETITIVE

mailto:[email protected]


24/27

LET US DEV ELOP YOUR COMPETITIVE

ADVANTAGE

WHAT YOU GET

A service dedicated to help provide you with the insight, intelligence and support to grow competitive

advantage. We will arrange independent mystery visitors who will appraise the experience against our

“fixed” benchmark questions as well as your 6 custom questions.

Each visit generates a PDF visit report - distributed to you by e mail within 48 hours of the visit.

Why we are different!No internal analysis is necessary as we provide you with a performance report after each wave of visits

comprising:

• Internal benchmarking - you against you as you expect of any mystery guest program

• Benchmarking your performance against the sector, sub sector and competitive set benchmarks

• Benchmarking your performance against the best of the best using our Eclectic Benchmark

• Net Promoter Score indicator and benchmarking

• Certification for sites who achieve 3 or 6 consecutive 90% visits

• Draft press releases produced for your circulation - as appropriate

• Best practice INSIGHTS & RECOMMENDATIONS to support improvement

• Social

media

highlighting

We will also be pleased to attend one team meeting per annum to help focus and motivate the team as

an external and independent voice. Additional sessions can be arranged but will be charged.

No Annual Contracts | No Set Up Fees | No Hidden Costs

24

I h d h i h i i d d f i l

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


25/27

COSTSOur costs are based on a per visit cost

of £95 plus VAT - this price is based on

our minimum requirement of one site

asking for three visits.The only other cost will be the amount agreed to

cover guest expenses - this is your choice and

can range from nil in the case of a telephone

enquiry

to

hundreds

of

pounds

if

a

5*

hotel

requires guests to stay and sample the

restaurant, bar and breakfast in the morning.

These are entirely your decision and you can be

as prescriptive as you wish - most restaurant

operators simply settle on - a meal for 2 capped

at £50 - or similar.

In our hands the right questions + independent professional

mystery guests produce pragmatic, operator centric intelligence

reports that drive focus & improved customer service and

advocacy.

Take15% offuntil 30th June 2011

Limited

OFFER

Flexibility

as

StandardYou decide the frequency:

For a single site operator insight based on 3 visits may be

su$cient and all that the budget can stretch to.

For larger organisations or collections of sites you may wish to

arrange weekly, monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly visits to develop

robust benchmarking data by site, by collection or brand.

Medium or larger PLC organisations; with one or multiple brands;

may decide that one or two visits per site over the course of the

year is appropriate - visiting & reporting on one brand or region

per quarter. Or simply ask that a quarter of all sites are visited and

benchmarked per quarter Your business your choice.

Focussing the team on what matters

Gather su$cient data to identify development opportunities

Acting upon the insights and recommendations

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P a r t 2

coming soon....• Food, Drink or Accommodation? Which sub sector is leading the way?

• The

value

of

a

receptionist

-

is

it

su$cient?

• The issues facing the pub industry

• Which accommodation competitive set is setting the bar for the rest?

• Unpicking the food led competitive sets

• Are co! ee shops doing a better job than fine dining?

• Fast Food or Casual Dining? Budget or 5*?

• Guest migration patterns

• Going out of business in blissful ignorance

• Avoid Developing Negative Emotions!

Delving into Sub

Sector & Competitive

Set Comparisons

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P a r t 3

coming soon....• Why some businesses prosper and others fail

• The genius of Steve Jobs

• Which businesses are setting the pace - the Eclectic Benchmark Contributors

• Case 1: Knowledge = confidence and growth

• Case 2: The power of personality and pace

• Case 3: Engaging guests drives promotion

• Case 4: Budget Hotels - Better than you imagined?

What can we

learn from the

best of the best?

Differentiated, better and prospering!

customer experience report

Documents