Imagine my shock and dismay when I checked out the cabin on board the cruise ship only to find the shower filled with mold, visible dust on most surfaces and a hair pin on the floor! And that was just the beginning. With more to come and a stomach for none of it I called housekeeping. Here I was, their worst nightmare about to do the white glove test.
Now accommodating as the housekeeping staff was and quick to respond to requests I might add, I should not have had to make those calls. This tells me a lot about the training, supervision and quality control of the housekeeping department. This is the weak link in the on board operation. In all fairness, the time allowed to turnover the rooms gives little room for inefficient or ineffective work. What this means is that supervision has to be increased to meet the demands of fast turnover of cabins.
Is this happening in your company? Increased demands for service and new customers rolling in often means a slacking off of what we know to do. For example, is quality checking taking a back seat to other “more pressing” issues? Are you relying on social media for feedback? Is your only way to measure quality leave behind comment cards?
How about the good old fashioned phone to actually speak to a client? Has this method of communication become a thing of the past? If that is the case in your company, watch for an increase in cancellations, a decrease in knowing and understanding what your customers really want and in the end, a loss of the quality standards you have worked so hard to attain. Don’t become complacent about quality and how it impacts your bottom line. If profitability is your main goal (and it should be) having a strong, consistent quality program in place will help you reach it. Without it, you are at risk of becoming just another cleaning company that can be replaced with “yet another cleaning company”. No matter if you have 5 or 500 clients, quality can remain constant with follow up and care.
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