Dont Let Guests Slip Away to Other Entertainment Venues. Follow These 7 Steps for An Effective Guest-Service Plan

With competition for the consumers entertainment dollar growing exponentially, its more important than ever for casino operators to protect their business by emphasizing top-notch guest service.

Dont Let Guests Slip Away to Other Entertainment Venues. Follow These 7 Steps for An Effective Guest-Service Plan

Aug. 18, 2003
Contact: Tom Ellis
Ellis Communications, L.L.C.
Phone (417) 881-5635
E-Mail tellis@casinocustomerservice.com
August, 2003 -- With competition for the consumers entertainment dollar growing exponentially, its more important than ever for casino operators to protect their business by emphasizing top-notch guest service.

Consumers have only so much money available to spend on entertainment and casinos are not the only venue in town," says Martin R. Baird, president of Phoenix, Ariz.-based Robinson & Associates, Inc., a guest service consulting firm for the gaming industry. If they want to move forward and succeed, casinos must place an emphasis on the guest. One way to do that is to have a guest-service plan."

Following are seven keys from Baird for an excellent guest-service plan.

Number 1 -- Short and Sweet. A one-page plan is sufficient for most casinos. It should identify who you are, your target market and what you are going to do for that market," Baird says.

Number 2 -- Turnkey. You need supporting documents for your one-page plan. Organize these materials so that everything you need to do during the next year is in view. You can look at these materials at the beginning of the year, or any other time of the year, and you will know what is happening next week or even next month," Baird notes.

Number 3 -- Delegate. Once the one-page plan is written and the supporting pieces are developed, decide who will do what. Decide which activities will be performed and who will carry them out.

Number 4 -- Accountability. One of the reasons more guest-service plans dont succeed is because people dont work the plan," Baird says. For the plan to work, it must have specific activities that happen by specific times. If people are not accountable for making them happen, they wont."

Number 5 -- Grade It. Look over all your guest service efforts at the end of each quarter and give them a grade. What worked? What didnt? What paid for itself? See which efforts were As and which were Cs or less, ones that you need to improve or drop," Baird suggests.

Number 6 -- Hold Team Meetings. Team meetings with all the key people involved in implementing your plan are very important and should happen early and often. The team will realize that guest service is a priority.

Number 7 -- Changes Are OK. If you come up with new guest-service ideas during the year, go ahead and plug them into your plan. Your plan is a living document, and it needs to be altered from time to time," Baird says. But you must have the strength to stay the course and not jump from one idea to another."

Owned by Lydia and Martin Baird, Robinson & Associates, Inc., is a guest service consulting firm that provides specialty guest service training, management skills training, presentation skills training, team building programs and employee incentive and recognition programs for the gaming industry. The Bairds have a Web site, www.casinocustomerservice.com, thats devoted to helping casinos improve their guest service so they can compete and increase revenues. Robinson & Associates may be reached by contacting Lydia at 480-991-6421 or at lbaird@casinocustomerservice.com. Robinson & Associates is a member of the Casino Management Association and an associate member of the National Indian Gaming Association.
                                                        
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