Self-Service Success

Carlin, Mary L. (2007). Self-Service Success. Hospitality Technology Magazine. 10/28/07.

http://www.htmagazine.com/HT/archive/1007/1007_03.html

Mary Carlin says, “According to the 2007 Hospitality Technology Self-Service study, there is a growing demand from consumers for self-service options in both lodging and food service.” However, in this article she claims that consumers are more ready to use kiosks than operators are to use them. Therefore this article lays out ten implementation strategies to help operators begin to take advantage of these self service kiosks.

The first strategy is 1. Have a strategic business plan, meaning make sure it is easy and accessible to everyone from consumers to front desk to management. With the increased throughput comes increased responsibility so make sure you know how to work the system as well as service the system. Darrin White recommends using as few vendors as possible to manage the project and work on all the kinks before going live to consumers. The ROI is difficult to assume due to the wide range that these kiosks can provide in terms of services and capabilities. 2. Capitalize on upselling, which means it is proven that kiosks increase the amount of upselling done, because with staff members in person guests are likely to become irritated and are less likely to say yes. 3. Train staff to encourage self-service, instead of letting the staff do the work let them teach the consumer/guest how to work the new technology. This shows a shift in job requirements and may help in the long run. 4. Include creative marketing and promotions, with kiosks people do not always know that this is a service you offer so make sure you advertise this feature. 5. Communicate with customers, the most successful implementations include “greeters” to introduce the new kiosks. This is important so that customers are not alienated by the kiosks but adopt the new form of technology. 6. Location, location, location, the kiosks should always be located where the check-in or ordering would normally be done. There should also be more than one to avoid guests thinking it is an ATM or waiting in lines. 7. Reward customer loyalty, provide memory of orders that have previously been taken by the swipe of a reward card or credit/debit card to speed the process and make the consumer feel valued. 8. Line busting, makes the ordering process a lot faster. 9. Killer applications, may include room selection and upgrades with floor plans. 10. Invest for the future, self service right now compliments hospitality staff but that is expected to change in the next five to ten years. Self service may dominate much of customer service.

I remember first seeing check-in kiosks for the first time in airports and I was always inhibited about using them because they were so new and not what I was used to. For a long time I just wanted to give all my information to the guest services agent, making sure it was done correctly and moving on to the gate. Now they make the programs almost the exact same as what the clerk is seeing on their computer screen behind the desk. This way the clerks are just there to help you if you run into difficulty. It is very nice to be able to swipe your credit card see all your information click on the flight and print the ticket and go! It makes for a very speedy process. My mother who is so scared of technology is opening up slowly to these new technologies, all it takes is a little coaching and she can go from there the next time around. For example she just sent an E-card to my brother’s E-mail for his birthday tonight. With these new advances all it takes is a little coaching and knowledge given to consumers to show them how much easier things can be with a little technology.

Plastic Never Looked So Good

Kasavana, Michael L. (2007). Plastic Never Looked So Good. Hospitality Upgrade Magazine, 118-128. 10/14/2007.

http://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/_files/File_Articles/HUspr07_Kasavana_GiftCardTechnology.pdf

This article talked all about the use and technology of gift cards. The industry has increased sales in gift cards in the past couple years and is predicted that it will only continue growing. Most people claim to get at least one gift card a year. As some might say it is or can be looked to as impersonal many say they would rather receive a gift card as a gift. There are many ways the gift certificate has advanced from what it used to be. The magnetic stripe saves retailers and hospitality operations time and money. The old paper gift certificates required bookkeeping and manual authorization. Now gift cards are saved and redeemed by computers and can even be dealt with online. When a consumer receives a gift card they can check the balance online and also some stores allow you to purchase online. There are two card types, open looped and closed looped networks. The open looped are ones like MasterCard, Visa, and American Express. This means they can be used in many different locations. Closed looped are restricted to certain restaurants or stores only. Breakage is the key term used to explain the gift cards that are never redeemed. When a gift card is purchased it is not counted as revenue to the establishment but as a liability until the card is redeemed. The breakage funds are given to the gift card processor not the retailer. Next upspending is when someone buys more than the gift card amount causing them to have to pay the extra amount in cash. Technology is advancing with POS based on premise, ASP online, off premise at places like drug stores, and self service kiosk outside of restaurants or stores that can distribute cards even after the store is closed. Security to prevent gift card fraud/theft is also advancing with things like password protection and scratch off security codes on cards.

I enjoy receiving gift cards for presents, especially from that aunt that gives you red leopard print pleather pants for Christmas and oversized wool sweaters from 1980. The ability to pick the gift you want is more than accommodating to this day and age. However, I do feel as though gift cards do seem impersonal for the most part, because it is easy for someone to just run into a store and go right to the check out line and pay for a gift card, boom shopping is done! They are convenient and that is the point. Some gift cards do however offer a customization feature that allows you to add the name of the recipient like on American Express gift/debit cards and Wal-Mart with the ability to upload a picture to the card to make it more personalized. Where I work they just updated to the plastic electronic gift cards and they have a completely separate system that we use to activate and redeem the gift cards but I guess the advancement will come little by little. The security features will also continue to advance, especially since they have already started. Places like drug stores where you can purchase gift cards to all kinds of places and they can only be activated when scanned at the register. From paper to plastic, technology always amazes me, what will they think of next?!