Verified Document

Hms Host Customer Service Human Essay

The reinforcement power of this feedback loop strengthens the customer service culture to the point where it has become for HMS Host a source of competitive advantage. Another way in which HMSHost develops its customer service expertise is through its partnerships. The company utilizes these partnerships to institute a two-way transfer of a wide range of competencies, including technology, logistics and training (QSR Magazine, 2002). These partnerships allow partners like Starbucks and Burger King to contribute their own strong customer service values to HMS managers, who can in turn transfer this knowledge throughout the organization. This infusion of creativity allows for a wider range of ideas and best practices to be introduced into the organization, thereby enhancing organizational learning. The same occurred when HMSHost was taken over by Autogrill -- the parent company was able to influence customer service standards and bring in new ideas with regards to enhancing the customer service function.

Assessment and Recommendations. For the most part, HMSHost is able to live up to its standards. This is evidenced by the firm's profitability, its ability to win new contracts, and its ability to win customer service awards. There is little evidence available to indicate that HMSHost is having difficulty meeting and maintaining its high customer service standards.

This success, however, does not mean that there is not room for improvement. There are several steps that the company can take in order to improve its customer service function. One step is through the improved use of benchmarking. Currently, the company only benchmarks its service against its own standards. Customers, however, do not take this approach. A firm in the airline industry, Etihad, has revolutionized the concept of benchmarking in its corner of the hospitality industry by benchmarking not against itself or against other airlines, but against all hospitality firms, including luxury hotels and restaurants. This has enabled that company to achieve standards of service not previously achieved by an airline (Turner, 2009). The most direct benchmarking corollaries for HMSHost would be airlines -- including Etihad -- since HMSHost customers are traveling on airlines. Another direct benchmark would be food service operations -- all restaurants not just in the casual and fast food sectors. Customers have experience with all...

The company, therefore, can improve its customer service function through enhanced benchmarking, by expanding the firms against which it benchmarks its customer service.
Another way for HMSHost to improve its customer service function is to reduce its employee turnover rates. The company is not subject to abnormal rates for the industry, but the food service industry is noted for high turnover rates. New employees often have a lower capability to implement stringent customer service standards than do experienced employees. By reducing turnover, HMSHost has the opportunity to increase the amount of training each employee receives. In addition, the steps taken to reduce turnover would increase employee satisfaction, since there is a correlation between the two. By improving employee satisfaction, the company would improve customer service because satisfied employees are more likely to deliver a higher standard of service than employees who are dissatisfied.

HMSHost has enjoyed tremendous success in part because of its strong customer service orientation. This focus is backed up by a number of different, formalized systems within the company, including written customer service standards to which the company's associates are expected to adhere. In addition, HMS Host engages in active learning, in particular through its relationships with delivery partners like Burger King and Starbucks. Despite its successes in customer service, HMSHost could still improve by expanding its benchmarking program and by reducing turnover.

Works Cited:

HMS Host website. Various pages. (2010). Retrieved March 13, 2010 from http://www.hmshost.com

No author. (2010). Host/Hostess. Simply Hired. Retrieved March 13, 2010 from http://www.simplyhired.com/job-id/jv4ritjh67/host-hostess-jobs/

QSR Magazine. (2002). HMSHost and Burger King improve efficiency with a two-phase kitchen upgrade. QSR Magazine. Retrieved March 13, 2010 from http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/news/story.phtml?id=3641

Turner, C. (2009). How Etihad's marketing set new global airline standards. UTalkMarketing.com. Retrieved March 13, 2010 from http://www.utalkmarketing.com/Pages/Article.aspx?ArticleID=11214&Title=How_Etihad%27s_marketing_set_new_global_airline_standards

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited:

HMS Host website. Various pages. (2010). Retrieved March 13, 2010 from http://www.hmshost.com

No author. (2010). Host/Hostess. Simply Hired. Retrieved March 13, 2010 from http://www.simplyhired.com/job-id/jv4ritjh67/host-hostess-jobs/

QSR Magazine. (2002). HMSHost and Burger King improve efficiency with a two-phase kitchen upgrade. QSR Magazine. Retrieved March 13, 2010 from http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/news/story.phtml?id=3641

Turner, C. (2009). How Etihad's marketing set new global airline standards. UTalkMarketing.com. Retrieved March 13, 2010 from http://www.utalkmarketing.com/Pages/Article.aspx?ArticleID=11214&Title=How_Etihad%27s_marketing_set_new_global_airline_standards
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Customer Service
Words: 1317 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Customer Service Effectiveness of Employee Training Programs in Customer/Employee Satisfaction and Increased Profitability Customer service is an important part of keeping a business profitable. However, in a changing business and cultural environment, it is difficult to ascertain exactly what values or features will accomplish that mission. This research attempts to identify the new aspects of the customer service-profitability equation and describe a model for effective use of employee training in creating both

Customer Service Management
Words: 2471 Length: 8 Document Type: Essay

Customer Management Description of the Business I am going to work with a chain of sandwich shops specializing in banh mi. The concept is simple -- banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich on a baguette. They are usually quite affordable, often coming in a price point lower than the big sandwich chains. The name of the chain is going to be Uncle Ho's Banh Mi, with a tongue-in-cheek Uncle Ho as the

Customer Service Is a Fundamental Service That
Words: 1015 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Customer service is a fundamental service that a business should provide in order to increase sales and have a returning clientele. Customer service thus becomes a very important facet of a good business and of growing profits. In this paper various questions will be analyzed, such as what good customer service actually means, and what defines such service. A company will further be selected, and will be analyzed from the

Customer Service, Ethical Marketing Customer
Words: 1157 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

While this approach has been implemented by most of the economic agents, British retailer Marks and Spencer argues that the economic crisis is no excuse for the business institutions to postpone their green initiatives. They as such invested £200 million in their own ethical campaign, and they now implement it, while in the same time, criticizing other companies for having renounced their initiatives in the wake of the economic crisis.

Customer Service Website Marketing Plan
Words: 6464 Length: 18 Document Type: Term Paper

From a performance analysis perspective, costs of alternative support channels are first evaluated, followed by the key performance indicators (KPIs) typically used in financial services organizations to measure the performance of their online initiatives, most notably, websites. Following this discussion of performance analysis there is an analysis of resource availability and allocation of resources. Performance Analysis From a cost-per-incident analysis, the following table presents findings from Forrester Research specifically in measuring

Customer Service It Was During
Words: 4220 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

(Setting and Measuring Service Standards) The store then appointed supervisors to ensure that all employees were following the procedures properly and even used 'mystery shoppers 'to find out if all the measures were being implemented, and the reports showed that they were indeed being followed, about 90% of the time. Subsequently, the management of the Revco Drug Store measured the number of complaints, to find out whether there had been

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now