Casino Connection Nevada

Keeping It Real

Here's one New Year's resolution worth keeping

by Martin R. Baird

Many of us started 2007 with the best of intentions. Countless people vowed to quit smoking, to start exercising and to lose 15 pounds. Some of you may have resolved to improve the service you provide to your casino’s guests so that you can turn them into advocates for your property.

Now that we’re into March, it’s likely most of these resolutions are long gone. I can’t help you with the smoking or the weight loss, but I can show you how to stick to that promise of improved service and pursuing your quest for guest advocacy.

Review service standards.
Take a hard look at your guests’ service standards, not your own. For you to improve your customer service and your guests’ gaming experience, you need know where you are today in this important area and where your patrons want you to be. Too often, casino employees think they know what’s best for a guest without taking the customer’s desires into account.

All aboard, middle managers!
Outstanding service rolls downhill. In other words, it starts with managers who expect their employees to provide nothing less than stellar service. Managers not only need to endorse the concept; they must support its execution on a daily basis. I’ve worked with casinos worldwide and only once did this idea of management commitment to service fail to generate the outcome we expected. What was the reason? Managers did not truly back the program. When customer service training sessions were held, none of the middle managers attended. I don’t know if they felt they didn’t need the training or if they thought it was beneath them. But they succeeded in sending a very clear message to the troops: great guest service is not important!

Sharpen those skills.
Managers must be sure their employees have the skills they need to provide great service, and staff members should eagerly seek training. Not many people are born with the customer service gene. Few people are naturals at providing stellar service. Just because your employees know how to deal cards, fill a slot machine or make an amazing dinner doesn’t mean they know how to treat a guest. The way people learn new skills is through organized training. And training can actually be fun when it’s done properly and employees are fully engaged. That’s right—learning can be enjoyable.

Training should be seen as a reward.
Those on the receiving end should view training as a way to improve themselves, make more money and, by the way, help the guest have a great time. I know casino employees care a great deal about what goes into their pockets. Training leads to better service that can create guest advocates, and advocates give better tips.

Create a reason for using skills.
My final suggestion is critical, and it falls on the shoulders of middle managers. They need to give their employees a reason to use their newly acquired customer service skills. Provide rewards when learned skills are actually used. Having a reward and incentive program that employees understand makes it easier for them to do what is expected of them. And it makes it easier for managers to do the right thing for their employees.

Too often, we focus on the negative and forget about the positive. We make examples of the mistakes but miss the wonderful opportunities we have to celebrate outstanding service. One of the most common complaints I hear in working with casinos is that no one ever tells the staff they’re doing a good job. An effective reward and incentive program solves that problem.

Many New Year’s resolutions end up forgotten on the shelf of good intentions. But if casino managers and employees are truly committed to providing better service in 2007 and turning their guests into advocates, they can use my suggestions to dust that resolution off and make it a reality.