Or are they? Who really believes the customer is always right? Is it those serving the customer? Or is it actually the customers themselves who have perpetuated this all pervading creed out of self interest? Whatever the truth may be, no service industry suffers more under this mantra's impossible weight of expectations than hospitality; or more specifically, hotels.
So when is the customer wrong and what can you do about it without damaging your goodwill? Here are five instances when the customer is definitely wrong.
When they are just plain wrong
Yes, when they are plainly, belligerently and defiantly wrong. We all know these people. They are often wealthy and used to getting their way no matter how wrong or out of line they are. They are spectacularly demanding of, and critical towards those they deem to be beneath them; namely anyone working in the hotel they happen to be staying in.
So how do you deal with such people? This largely depends on how important their ongoing patronage is to you. All hotel staff, especially managers, have a duty to their guests to remove disruptive people from the premises.
Abuse is abuse whatever the bank balance of the perpetrator. Deal with such people firmly, but politely. If their demands are as unreasonable as their behaviour, inform them of your duty to other guests, warn them of the consequences should they not behave, and then ask security to assist them in the initial stages of finding another hotel; that being leaving yours.
When they treat it like their own room
It's not their room and they can't do as they please. They are a guest in your hotel and are required to show the same respect to that room as they would if staying with friends. Guests can't rearrange the furniture without permission. They can't vandalise hotel property. And no smoking means no smoking.
When every complaint deserves a free room
Today's consumers are smart. They want free rooms and free meals and discounts on everything else. Worse, they know how to complain their way to these ends. Yes, some complaints are serious enough for serious compromise. But hotels survive on rooms filled at profitable rates, not just occupancy. Draw up a standard hotel policy outlining appropriate action for most potential complaints and stick to it.
When late checkouts aren't okay
Which, unfortunately, is pretty much all the time. Late checkouts disrupt housekeeping and cause dramas at reception if new arrivals turn up before their room is ready. Basically late checkouts are a bad idea and should only be for genuine reasons, such as flight connections, and not just because the guest wishes to sleep in.
When they show disrespect
We started with a mantra, and we'll finish with one – 'Treat others the way you wish to be treated yourself.' This applies as much to guests as it does to hotel staff. Whether it's the porter who carries their bags to the room, the waitress who serves their breakfast, or the concierge who arranges their recreation, guests can be offhand, discourteous and ungrateful. Don't lower yourself to their level. Keep your poise and your dignity will still be intact long after they are gone.
