ADM 510

FACULTY OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE AND POLICY

STUDIES BACHELOR OF CORPORATE ADMINISTRATION

(AM228) ADM510 – QUALITY MANAGEMENT

GROUP PROJECT – CASE STUDY REPORT

(10%) TOPIC 3.2 – THE CASE OF THE MISSING

RESERVATION

GROUP: SAMA3A

(GROUP 2)

PREPARED BY:

NO. NAME MATRIC NUMBER

1 SYUKRY BIN MD SYUKOR 2021992125

2 WINSTON WILLIAM SORIMPOK 2021337355
3 MOHD RACHDAN WARIDY B. ABD RAHMAN 2021112847

4 ANDYCA JELING 2021761443

PREPARED FOR:

MADAM FIONA EVELYN ANTHONY

DATE OF SUBMISSION:

11th June 2022

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 ARTICLE ATTACHED....................................................................................................3

2.0 ANSWER OF THE CASE STUDY .................................................................................4

2.1 WERE THE HOSTESS’S ACTIONS CONSISTENT WITH A CUSTOMER-FOCUSED

QUALITY PHILOSOPHY? WHAT MIGHT SHE HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY? ................... 4

2.2 HOW WOULD YOU HAVE REACTED TO THE LETTER THAT MARK RECEIVED?
COULD THE TOTAL QUALITY LEAD HAVE RESPONDED DIFFERENTLY? WHAT DOES
THE FACT THAT THE HOTEL MANAGER DID NOT PERSONALLY RESPOND TO THE
CUSTOMER TELL YOU? .........................................................................................................6

3.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION .................................................................. 9

4.0 REFERENCES..............................................................................................................10

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1.0 ARTICLE ATTACHED

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2.0 ANSWER OF THE CASE STUDY

2.1 Were the hostess’s actions consistent with a customer-focused quality

philosophy? What might she have done differently?

First of all, customer-focused philosophy consists of four key process which is the
customer commitments, customer contact and interaction, selecting and developing customer
contact employees and complaint management and service recovery. From the case study,
Donna have made an Easter brunch reservation three week early at a large downtown hotel
prior to Easter but when arrived at the hotel, the hostess told them that they did not have a
reservation. They have to wait for available table. Then when Mark asked for the manager,
the hostess said that she is the manager but then ignored them.

Apparently, the hostess actions are not consistent with the customer-focused
philosophy. First, the hotel fails to make a reservation to their customer which quite upsetting
because they have made it three weeks early, there should be a record somewhere, perhaps
a logbook for manual reservation or a good reservation system for online booking as the hotel
are one of the largest in downtown. Under the customer-focused and relationship
management, organization fosters customer satisfaction and engagement by developing trust,
communication, interaction and relationship with customer. The hostess already failed to build
the trust because the service is not satisfying.

Secondly, the hostess was fails in terms of communication skills where instead of
admitting their mistakes she told them that they can’t have a seat until all people on the
reservation list are seated and they have to wait for over forty minutes to have a seat. When
the hostess did that, she seem to be not sincere and not committed to the customer and that
makes her not consistent with the customer commitments.

Thirdly, the hostess did not solve the problem, after she claim to be the manager, she
abandons them and turn to another task which is quite rude. Under the customer-focused
organization key process, the hostess action is not consistent with the selecting and
developing customer contact employees where she doesn’t have the communication skill,
problem solving skills, analytical skill and also the listening skills.

The hostess should start with talking with the customer politely, show the customer
that she is sincere and committed in the conversations. Treat the customer nicely and makes
them feel easy to deal and communicate. It will lessen the customer upset feeling.

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Even though it is not her fault, she should responsible by apologizing on behalf of the
hotel. Listen carefully on the details given by customer and check with the telephone operator
for any miss recorded reservation. As a manager she should always have a back-up plan. For
example, if there are no records from telephone operator, she can ask her workers to
rearrange the restaurant and add another table for two family. She shouldn’t make the
customer waiting for too long.

Another thing that she should have done is, as a manager she should segregate the
task among the hotel workers. At the front desk, there should be a somebody assigned as a
hostess other than a manager. A manager should only be called when there is a problem that
cannot be solved by the hostess.

Last but not least, she should have followed the saying ‘customers always right’ where
the customer is important to any businesses. Customers the feel appreciated and satisfied
with the service or product will definitely return and became a loyal customer. Soon enough,
they will tell their friends and family about their good experience with the service which is
indirectly promote the hotel restaurant business.

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2.2 How would you have reacted to the letter that Mark received? Could the Total
Quality Lead have responded differently? What does the fact that the hotel manager did
not personally respond to the customer tell you?

If I were Mark, I would be upset with what the company had decided to do in its letter
and how it had evaluated and decided to address the situation. It was not enough to satisfy
Mark's unpleasant experience in the workplace. This situation has created a bad experience
for Mark’s and family especially when they booked the reservation three weeks earlier before
Easter party. Through the information that has been extract from the cases, this situation will
lead to customers dissatisfaction and bad reputation to the organization. Bad customer service
may have a significant influence on the health of our company. It can have an immediate
impact on sales, and it can have a long-term impact on our company in a variety of ways. As
an example, it can have a negative impact on our brand, our reputation, and much more.

Whether it's in the form of a bad review on Amazon or a ranting remark on Twitter,
angry customers aren't afraid to air their grievances online. Even after a pleasant encounter,
customers are more likely to post an online review than after a negative one. In this case of
Mark’s, he was the student who was in the MBA program at the local university and taking a
course on quality management. So, he knew the problem and how to counter the weak quality
customer service that occur in the hotel management. The top management should take this
case seriously as it could hurt the organization external and internal. Negative customer
service can have a negative impact on any company. Customer dissatisfaction makes it easier
for them to shop around for a better deal elsewhere. Understanding the implications of bad
customer service is critical to offering high-quality service.

As in the position of Mark’s, he obviously will not return again to that hotel as it shows
of lack quality service trough customers. Angry and disappointment is the reason why
sometimes lot of organization failed and operate in short-term only when their depends on
delivering of quality but not in customer services. One of the most common reasons customers
decide not to return to our business is because of the terrible customer service they provide.
It is no longer necessary for the modern consumer to put up with lousy service at a restaurant
when there are so many options out there. Their wait staff and greeters must be taught how
to go above and beyond for customers in this "Age of the Customer." It is their responsibility
to do so. Their company's success is directly tied to the quality of their customer service. Long
wait periods and missing of the reservation are included in the list of complaints about wait
staff's poor service. While high wait times may indicate a popular restaurant, they can also be

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a symptom of poor efficiency. Taking bookings or hiring more personnel will help alleviate long
lines.

Quality control may have been improved if a clear sense of responsibility for the
problem and some form of recompense given to keep the client alive had been communicated.
In this case, Mark’s and family has not receive an apology from the letter statement, it only
stated that the organization has deliver the right Quality Lead. This case has proved that the
organization feel that they’re always right and pointing the finger to the other department as
they not looking and list the reservation that has been made three weeks earlier. When the
right model of TQM is used in the right way in a supportive environment, it does lead to better
performance. The results of this letter show managers how to deal with the things that are
likely to make it hard to implement TQM.

Some of the most frequently cited reasons for TQM implementation failures include a
lack of adequate education and training for employees, a lack of top-level management
support, a lack of resources, a lack of effective leadership, an absence of a quality-oriented
culture, poor communication, an absence of a change strategy, and resistance from
employees to the program's new changes. In this case, the hotel lack of TQM implementation
has they not deliver the high standard and end-meets of customers need. The management
put a terrible decision where they ask Mark’s and family go to the lounge for complimentary
coffee and waiting for the others people on the reservation list are seated. Mark and Donna
were quite upset and insisted that they had made a reservation and expected to be seated
promptly

Related to the The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, a 1992 and 1999 Baldrige Award winner. The
organization didn’t meet Gold Standard of the services quality. In Credo statement, the
company promises to "offer the highest personal service and facilities for its visitors, who will
always enjoy a pleasant and casual, yet polished ambience. Today's customers are searching
for a true, authentic experience. When something in the service experience is perceived to be
fake, stilted, or unauthentic, people are quick to reject it. Here's everything they need to know:
If they want excellent customer service in their company, they need to establish simple written
instructions for how employees should conduct themselves when dealing with clients. Three
steps of service are used by Ritz-Carlton to greet guests by name, anticipate and satisfy the
needs of their guests, then bid them farewell by using the name they gave them. The Ritz-
Carlton Gold standard should be inspired by this organization to create a standard where they
should interact with customers face-to-face, by phone, and via email. Besides, creating the
communication, talk to everyone on the team and how to handle problems when they come
up.
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The hotel manager now appears to be saying that it doesn't truly care about how Mark
and his family felt throughout their experiences by not responding to him directly. This situation
occurs perhaps because she or he does not believe that any of their employees committed a
mistake. How would they should implement the Change-Promoting Strategies? Firstly, speak
to the staff let them know where the hostess made a mistake, fix the issues with reservation,
giving call back a day or two before to confirm the date, and time. Let your staff know that
even if the customer is wrong, their customers are also always right.

When our group looked at the situation again, they came to the conclusion that the
company had poor quality management for one simple reason, they didn't talk to each other.
In this case, it was clear that the customer had called three weeks ahead of time to make a
reservation, presumably because they knew that not making a reservation would cause
problems. For the day they want to eat out, there will be a lot going on. When the family called
ahead of time, the company should have put the dining experience of the family first. On the
contrary, it was clear that the reservation staff and the dining staff did not talk to each other
well. If we were in charge, we would have apologized for what went wrong, since it was clearly
our fault. The customer has good reason to be unhappy about the lack of communication.
Also, we would have asked the manager to write the response letter himself to show how sorry
we were for what happened. This could also show Sir Mark's family that we care enough to
make sure that other customers don't get the same kind of service.

Figure 1 The Ritz-Carlton has topped a new report that ranks the most popular luxury hotel brands.

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3.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

The problems with the hotel, which included a lack of customer attention, segregation
of duties, and a communication interaction with customers, were the factors that led to the
hotel losing the guests' reservation slots and causing them to be disappointed. It is likely that
the hotel's reputation among its clientele will suffer if it continues to operate in this manner,
which will result in increased levels of unhappiness among its clientele. The hotel should
concentrate on their shortcomings and provide ways on how to improve their services in order
to ensure that the incident does not occur again. For example, the hotel should strengthen
their customer focus in order to provide their customers' needs in a timely manner. This will
help the hotel avoid disappointing their customers and will prevent a negative impression from
being left on their guests.

Our team strongly suggests that the hotel should focus on the areas in which they
struggle and devise plans to address potential issues that may arise with regard to the quality
of their services. By soliciting feedback from customers, businesses can learn whether or not
the services they offer are meeting the needs of their clients. This information will be of great
use to the businesses in determining how they can improve the level of service they offer to
their clientele. The best solution for the hotel to avoid this situation and provide a quality
service for their visitors and will lead to having a positive image to the public is for the hotel to
review the feedback and reinforce the identified weaknesses of the customer.

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4.0 REFERENCES

DOYLE, S. (Sat May 20 2022). If You Want to Improve Your Customer Service, Take a Look
at How Ritz-Carlton Does It. Denver University: MANSUETO VENTURES.

Martins, F. (June 5, 2017). Guest experience in hotels: How to achieve complete customer
satisfaction. Sydney, Australia: SiteMinder 2022.

Masterson, K. (June 10, 2019). 4 Reasons Why the Customer Is Always Right. West Jordan,
Utah: Win the Customer, LLC.

Morgan, B. (Sep 24, 2018,06:45pm EDT). A Global View Of 'The Customer Is Always Right'.
Columbia University: CMO NETWORK.

MORIN, C. (FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2019). How the Ritz-Carlton Creates a 5 Star
Customer Experience. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: CRM.ORG.

Padhi, N. (September 08, 2015). THE EIGHT ELEMENTS OF TQM. Utah Valley University:
iSixSigma .

Williams, G. (June 4, 2020 at 9:35 am). 7 Reasons Customers Are Not Returning To Your
Restaurant. Blue Lagoon Seafood, USA: Restaurant Business.

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