Page 13 - GBC spring 2015

“People want guidance, not rhetoric. They need to know what the plan of action is, and how it will be implemented. They want to be given responsibility to help solve the problem and authority to act on it.”
Howard Schultz, Starbucks
Every time you receive negative service feedback, the first question you should ask yourself is: Did “I” train my staff on this scenario or do “I” empower them to make decisions to solve this challenge? The answers to these questions can be crucial in delivering quality customer service.
TRAINING mUST BE oNGoING
The majority of golf course operators spend the first day or so of their staff training on customer service, however fail to follow-up and/or review the progress of their training. This is usually due to the lack of data or tracking. Who is in charge of collecting that feedback? What is your club’s response time? How is it reconciled? When is it shared with your team in a constructive manner?
Pre-shift meetings are excellent opportunities to share feedback with your team members. This is an ideal time to introduce real-life scenarios and ask them for examples of how to deal with the situation. Listen carefully to the dialogue that
“Remember, they are investing 5+ hours of their time and money at your club. Give them every opportunity to share their experiences.”
your team is having and reinforce your service values. Roll playing is a great way to make sure that your team understands and believes in your values.
Data from Lee Resources shows that up to 95% of customers will give you a second chance if you handle their initial complaint successfully and in a timely manner.
“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” - Aristotle
You can’t afford not to focus time and resources in your staff training. Your reputation and survival depends on it. Delivering what you promise, when you promise is crucial.
ASK ANd LISTEN
Do you interact with each and every one of your golfers and ask them about their experience? This can be done before, during and/or after their round. If you answered “no” to this question, then why not? Remember, they are investing 5+ hours of their time and money at your club. Give them every opportunity to share their experiences.
To become a customer obsessed golf club you must ask for service feedback at every touch-point. The information can come from direct/ indirect feedback from your golfers but also from listening on all social media platforms such as:
• Feedback survey cards
• Twitter feed
• Facebook comments
• Trip Advisor reviews
• Google search results
• Yelp...
Feedback will help you grow your “relationship” with your clients and as we know; everything is built on relationships. The quality of your relationship is directly related to the amount of time spent on that relationship.
If these words sound familiar, then you have read Mark Sanborn’s book “The Fred Factor.” In it, he outlines the 7 B’s of relationships: • Be real
• Be interested
• Be a better listener
• Be empathetic
• Be honest
• Be helpful
• Be prompt
Put these key points to action when you receive feedback.
Golf Business Canada 13