Time and again research confirms that customer encounters in which a problem is resolved quickly and efficiently receive higher satisfaction scores than situations in which there was no problem reported.

Obviously, each customer is different with respect to his temperament and tolerance for mistakes. But dropping the ball here or there can turn out to be a good thing if the problem is properly resolved.

Using a hotel example, imagine you’ve just been asked to answer a satisfaction survey about a recent hotel experience. As you reflect on how satisfied you were with different elements of your stay, you consider all the touch points in which you experienced the facility and interacted with the hotel staff:

• The friendliness of the hotel employees
• The timeliness of check-in
• The ambiance of the hotel (interior design and décor)
• The amenities offered in the guest room
• The value for price paid

According to analysis by J.D. Power and Associates, hotel guests who experienced one or more problems during their stay rate their overall experience lower than those that did not report having any problems (74.9 vs. 61.2 percent). This may seem obvious. Poor television reception, a noisy A/C unit, or a missed wakeup call are certain to have a negative impact on how you feel about your stay when you respond to the survey.

But not everyone who has a problem is destined to give a low rating. The determining factor is not whether you had the problem, but how the hotel’s staff made you feel about how the problem was addressed and resolved.

For example, if the hotel scores a “perfect 10” for problem resolution, overall satisfaction for the entire stay is higher than for guests who never experienced a problem to begin with. Do a poor job fixing the problem, however, and overall satisfaction drops below 60 percent!

So, while it pays to resolve guest complaints quickly and efficiently, according to research only 15 percent of guests felt that their hotel’s staff had resolved the problem perfectly, compared to nearly half who expressed outright displeasure at the staff’s problem resolution skills.

How well-prepared are your employees to effectively address and resolve the inevitable problems that your customers will encounter?

The results are in from the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study. According to the study, hotels are feeling the double economic pinch of less leisure travel and higher operating expenses costs. They are trying to manage their costs at the same time they meet ever-higher customer expectations, but that effort hasn’t been totally successful. In 2008, overall satisfaction with hotels is down notably in four of the six segments measured by the study.

In my own 2008 survey regarding factors contributing to the decline in customer service industry-wide, the number one contributor to the decline was workforce optimization—which is just a fancy way of saying that operators are keeping a close eye on labor costs which account for roughly half of all total operating expenses in the hospitality industry.

Presumably, operators are faced with the dilemma of reduced guest satisfaction resulting from lean scheduling during these difficult economic times that reduces the ratio of employees to guests—leading to longer waits in line, on hold, etc. There’s no doubt that this becomes a balancing act as lines begin to form and guests grow impatient…

That said, I’m frequently reminded that it doesn’t cost any more for a guest-facing employee to smile, make eye contact, and have some “life” in her voice. These basics cost nothing at all and, regardless of staffing levels, may mean the difference between mediocre and stellar service from the guest’s perspective.

A penny for your thoughts? (I used to offer a nickel but times are tough!)