rmining the effectiveness of the front deskùincluding the desk's ability to upsell services and amenitiesùthe property is faced with the challenge of creating a training program that can improve the situation (Buckingham & Vosburgh, 2001).
Ideally, the property should be conducting regular guest surveys regarding key departmentsùincluding front desk, food and beverage and back officeùand using the information to construct ongoing training. This is also important given the high turnover that the property currently has at the front desk level, although this turnover is not unusual in the hospitality industry. The turnover level is available from human resources for this property.
In addition to the above measures, there will be direct observation at the front desk, both through the use of "mystery shoppers" as well as through direct observation. "Mystery shoppers" pose as guests and go through the front desk process without the front desk personnel knowing they are being observed (Chitwood, 2000). Direct observers are known to the front desk personnel and observe the interaction and performance of the staff. The observers will be interested in the amount of time that front desk personnel spend with each guest for specific activities (check-in, check-out), and for the interaction that occurs. Do front desk personnel engage in upselling by asking why the visitor is staying at the hotel (convention, leisure, etc) and then match the reason for the visit with property amenities? When confronted with an angry or disappointed guest, do front desk personnel mirror that anger and frustration as evidenced by an increase in the speaker's volume or do personnel seek to calm the guest?
In each of the following questions, please use the following scale to enter your opinion:
1. The following describes my overall check-in experience:
____ Friendly and courteous front desk personnel
____ My reservation information was rea...