Customer Care In The Hospitality Industry: A Case Study

Introduction One central issue in the hospitality industry is how to establish good relationships between customers and service providers. The success of any business establishment depends largely on the customers’ patronage of the services or goods of the said establishment. Thus, the need to make the customer appreciate the service of the establishment is of prime consideration. Ngahu (2001) stated that customer care is defined as any good service rendered to the client in the process of selling a product or service so that clients would keep coming back to the establishment.

Otal (1990) also cited that customer satisfaction helps gain new customers and retains old customers of the establishment. It also enhances the image of the organization.

Ngahu cites that any good service rendered to a customer in the process of selling a product or service keeps the customers keep coming back to the establishment. Customers share their good experiences in the establishment through the words of mouth. After they visit an establishment, specifically a restaurant, they tell others about their dining experience with the restaurant. They share their positive and negative experience and this make others visit the restaurant, too.

When customers visit restaurants, they may give compliments or complaints based on their dining experience. These are then handled by the customer care area of the restaurant. Customer care refers to how customer complaints are handled by the staff of an establishment. Levit (1990) proposed different ways on how to deal with customer complaints. First, he cited about supply refunds. This process is applied when the guest is unsatisfied from the service and complains vigorously concerning the food. Second, Levit mentioned that to avoid customer complaints about staff and crew grooming, physical appearance or proper grooming must be done by any staff. This makes them look smart and efficiently able to respond