SHIP/SHORE HOSPITALITY

 

Over the Christmas holidays I had the pleasure of cruising on the Carnival Spirit cruise ship. It sailed from San Diego to three cities in Mexico, La Paz, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. 

 

Ron Ness is the Director of Hotel Operations for the Carnival Spirit. Ron is the passionate and high-spirited leader who guides his hotel staff to provide some of the best customer service I have ever seen. 

 

Stark differences exist between land and sea based hotels when we talk about customer service.  The training received by the ship’s staff is stupendous.  Employees are trained to greet cruise guests with a smile and a friendly acknowledgment.  The dining staff is trained to remember guests name and their favorite foods - all after the first night of meeting the guest.

 

Even more impressive is the fact that there are 53 different languages spoken on the ship – yet ship staff is fully proficient in the English language and able to communicate with guest. 

 

The employees of the Carnival ship are familiar with the location of all restaurants, shops and decks.  I would ask a staff member for directions and would promptly be told exactly where to go. 

 

Hoteliers commonly talk about providing excellent service, but fail to train staff in providing such service.

 

Today’s traveler is smart and able to read between the lines when it comes to price and service rendered for monies paid. Providing exemplary customer service will help hotels recuperate a portion of the revenues lost during the last two years.  We ask our front line staff to deliver customer service to guests, yet underpay them. If properly trained, front line employees are a hotel’s most valuable asset. 

 

Take a lesson from a ship and make customer service your number one priority.  For those of you in the hospitality industry take a cruise and see if your property can measure up. Bon voyage!

 

Alan Campbell CHA, CMP, CHRM