Advice On Time of delivery

Keys to agreeing on a timeline

The time frame for meeting any guest request must be reasonable and achievable.

It is best if the guest agrees that the time given by you is agreed to by them, but sometimes they place unrealistic timelines that simply can‟t be met. Obtain agreement where possible and where you can‟t, do your best and be as quick as you can.

Remember you will probably have other tasks to do and other guest needs to provide so the Golden Rule is Under-promise and over- deliver.

For example, if you tell the guest the item or service they have requested will be there in 5 minutes and it actually takes 10 minutes they will be disappointed and annoyed. If you promise the item in 10 minutes and have it there in 5 minutes, they will tend to be impressed with your fast response.

Never allow yourself to be forced or intimidated into a timeline that you know can‟t be met. It is far better to politely explain this time frame cannot be met, explaining the reasons why, where applicable, and re-assuring the guest you will act as quickly as possible

Sometimes you don't need agreement

In many cases where a guest makes a request for additional room servicing requirements, they are happy to be informed “Certainly, Ms Lopez. That‟s half-a-dozen extra teas, coffees, sugars and milk for Room 332. I‟ll be there in 5 minutes with those for you. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

By supplying this time frame, the room attendant is showing that the request has been taken seriously, and is giving the guest an expectation about the service to be provided. The 5 minute time frame may also take into account other things the room attendant has to do both to finish their allocated work and meet the unexpected guest request.

However, should this time frame change for any reason, the room attendant must inform the guest of the progress being made with their request and supply the guest with a new revised time frame, and the reason for the change in time.

By doing this, the guest will then be able to adjust their expectations: they may not like the revised time frame but at least they are aware of it (and can plan accordingly) and know that something is being done to satisfy them.

This will help ensure greater customer satisfaction.

If you personally are unable to action a request for guest service that you agreed to, make an attempt to see if someone else can assist. This may mean asking another room attendant, a porter or a room service person.

Time delays

Despite your best efforts there will probably be times when a breakdown arises in relation to services provided by the housekeeping department.

In all instances the guest should receive an apology for this lapse in service and appropriate remedial action should be taken immediately, where appropriate, to try to retrieve the situation to the best extent possible.

Examples of breakdown in providing housekeeping services to rooms

This breakdown in service provision may result from:

• • Sub-standard servicing of the guest room when the room was prepared – someone may have missed cleaning an item, an area or item may not have been properly cleaned, guest supplies may not have been re-stocked

  • A previous promise to deliver a service may not have been fulfilled – a guest who was promised a replacement hair dryer may not have been supplied with one. The task could have been forgotten or a message for another staff member may have been misplaced

  • A room displaying a Do Not Disturb sign and the room attendant responsible for that room not notifying the Floor Housekeeper that, at the end of the shift the sign was still in place and the room had not been serviced

  • A promise to deliver something to a room by a certain time may not be able to be met – perhaps the item required is out-of-stock or there are insufficient staff to meet the promised timeline

  • An item that was promised to a guest turns out to be unavailable and can‟t be supplied as promised.

In essence, anything that:

• • Fails to deliver the service that either we promised

  • Fails to deliver the service the guest expected

  • Fails to meet house service delivery standards.

It can be said to be a breakdown in service delivery and should be apologized for.