10 Things you should never do during a checkin

If you missed Part 1 you can read it here

6) Turn your back on guests

Turn one's back on = ignore (someone) by turning away from them. 

When you turn your back on someone, you’re silently stating you are not interested in that person.

“That’s definitely not me!”  - you may say. Keep reading.

You may do it without even realising, so stop for a minute and think about all the times you turned your back  to scan documents, make photocopies, or pick up room keys. 

Your workplace itself might be set up in a way that you must turn away from your customers when doing a particular task, and that unfortunately shouts “poor customer service”

The bar of the hotel I was working at during my first year in London had the computer, where food and drinks orders were entered, situated against the wall across from the bar counter. When the waiting staff had to enter an order, or print a receipt, turning their back on customers could not be avoided!

A simple solution to that could be repositioning your equipment or reorganising your work stations.

Where the above is not possible, due to space restrictions for instance, you might be able to stand or sit to the side, and occasionally look toward your guests, or at least apologise for turning your back on them, so they won’t feel ignored or disrespected.

7) Be on the phone with someone else

If you are on the phone while a guest comes to check in, don’t let your guest wait while you finish the conversation. 

You can transfer the phone call to one of your colleagues, or kindly take the caller name and phone number (if you haven’t already), and tell them you will call back.

If you promised your customer to call her/ him back, make sure you do before the end of your shift, or during the time frame you agreed over the phone.

8) Say guests room numbers

The standard procedure is not to mention room numbers because other people in the reception or lobby area could hear them. Room numbers are very much confidential and mentioning them, especially out loud, will make most of your guests uncomfortable, or feel they have no privacy.

It is your responsibility to provide a safe and secure environment for your guests, so always be conscious of that.

You can tell guests on which floor they are, and show the room number directly from the key wallet or, even better, you can escort them directly to their room.

<<I'm a young female who travels solo for work. Tonight I checked into a hotel and had the check-in person say my room number out loud, and very LOUDLY, in front of a lobby full of people, including a bunch of people drinking at the nearby lobby bar.

This is really frustrating to me. I'm staying in a full-service city hotel, with lots of interesting "characters" around, and I don't like my room number shouted in the lobby.>> - Lefleur

9) Abandon the desk with no explanation

Sometimes it’s inevitable to leave the desk during a check in: to take an extra pen, to get more paper, to pick up a city map. While to you it seems totally normal to leave your desk,  guests have no idea of where you are, and are left wondering what you’re doing, and how long they will have to wait.

In my previous hotel we pre-printed registration cards and stored them in our back office, so at every check in we had to leave the reception desk to pick them up. Sometimes I could hear receptionists saying things like “I will be right back” or “Just give me a moment” to our guests, leaving guests quite confused on why the reception agent was leaving.

So, before going away from the desk, give a full explanation to your guests, saying for example “I’m going to take a city map so I can show you where we are Ms. Hill”. 

If you have magazines or newspapers in your reception, offer them to your guests, they will be more patient and happier to wait.

10) Not use guests names

As you already read in tip N.1, people want to feel important and the best way to make your guests feel that way is to remember their name, and mention it during the interaction. Calling your guests by name will not only help you build loyalty, but also make you appear more competent in their eyes.

You gain extra points if you can remember your guests name easily and pronounce them correctly!

However, don’t make the mistake of using your guests name too often. If overused, it can come across as insincere and condescending, and the last thing you want to do is to irritate your guests. 

There is no rule for the exact number of times you should use your guests name during a conversation, but 2 to 3 times will sound natural and professional.

When checking-in guests you have your only chance to make a good first impression and win their heart, so don't leave it to chance!

Now you know how to stand out and get the relationship with your guests started on the right track.

#hotels #check-in #customer service