How To Deal With Unhappy And Angry Hotel Guests
Dealing with dissatisfied hotel guests is an essential element of any hotel manager’s job. A hotel visitor may become irritated for a variety of reasons, some of which are genuine, while others are not.
As a hotelier, you are in the business of dealing with different types of guests; some may be calm in their manner when expressing their discontent, whereas others may become angry throughout the complaint testing phase. Worse, they may complain elsewhere – on social media, resulting in a negative brand reputation. So dealing with unhappy clients in hotels may be a difficult task.
Here are some pointers to assist you to discover a solution that will defuse the situation:
- Maintain Calmness: A calm demeanor always puts the visitor at ease. An aggressive response to a guest’s fury can only harm the hotel’s image. Maintain your calm and allow time for the guest’s anger to subside. Offer sympathy in order to get to the bottom of the problem and take the necessary action. It is critical to avoid taking each criticism personally. If a customer is dissatisfied with the hotel service, he or she has every right to say so. The criticism is always directed at the service, not the person dealing with the upset clients, even though the front desk professional may be made to feel that way due to an angry outburst.
- Listen Carefully and Communicate Amicably: Your reaction to anxious visitors, particularly those within your hotel’s premises, will be observed by many other people. Always answer politely and courteously to your guests. Recognize what they want – empathy, apologies. An apology will calm down an irritated visitor, and once you understand the problem, you will be able to solve it effectively. Sentences like “I realize you have every right to be furious…” or “I will handle this matter immediately…” will reassure irritated hotel visitors.
- Respect Your Visitors: Your visitors might come from anywhere in the world. However, how you respond to the visitor complaint should not be influenced by this. Regardless of the customer’s language, look, or area, your demeanor must be respectful. Every member of the staff must be trained to treat all visitors with the same respect.
- Always Have a Positive Attitude: It’s normal to get irritated when visitors say unpleasant things that start the conversation off on the wrong foot. If dealing with an unhappy customer in person is one of your main worries, a good attitude that is reflected vocally and in your body language will effectively calm the visitor down. Negative remarks should not be used as a trigger to demotivate you. You must constantly remind yourself that this is a challenge for me to perform better, to work on the problem, and to transform the situation for our obvious benefit.
- Follow Up and Solicit Feedback: Make sure you touch in with the visitor frequently so she knows you haven’t forgotten about her. Keep her up to date on what you’re doing to remedy the situation and when it’s expected to be completed. Inquire if she has any further specific needs. Taking a feedback will help to resolve problems more quickly without escalating things.