Casino Customer Service

Casinos compete with other entertainment venues and must provide a superior experience to attract customers.  Outstanding service contributes to that experience.

Casinos that understand they need to improve their customer service will be more successful in reaching that goal if they have a better understanding of their customers and competitors in the entertainment industry.  Casinos need to understand that they cannot just talk about being in the entertainment business.  They must provide a high-level experience to each and every customer that comes through their door.  And that level of service must be better than the experience customers can get at any other entertainment choice.

Martin R. Baird

Robinson & Associates, Inc.

mbaird@casinocustomerservice.com

www.casinocustomerservice.com

480-991-6420

The Casino Customer Service War Can Be Won

My company has just launched a new customer service assessment program that gives casinos a professional overview of how effectively they are helping employees provide outstanding guest service.

Nobody realizes what little they know about a particular subject until they call in an expert and casinos are no different when it comes to evaluating their own customer service.  They can't do the evaluation properly because they literally don't know what they don't know.  This program provides the expertise.

The assessment evaluates the casino's employee orientation, customer service training, and employee reward and incentive program.  We then present the assessment to the casino, along with feedback on where improvements are needed.

Casinos interested in providing only the best in customer service first must be aware of how their own internal programs are impacting the service their employees provide.  Once they have an unbiased snapshot of where they are today, properties can begin taking steps to improve their internal processes and boost customer service to a higher level.

We review a video tape of one of the casino's employee orientation programs and evaluate printed materials to see what information is given about customer service and how it is presented.  This is a critical first step.  The orientation meeting sets the tone for what is expected regarding customer service.

Training materials and a video of an employee training session also are reviewed.  Not everyone is a natural at providing service and that is why training is an important part of the process.  For people to excel, they need to know exactly what service skills are expected of them.

We examine the casino's employee reward and recognition program to see if it's easy to understand and conducted in an unbiased manner.  Once employees learn the skills, they need to be given a reason for using them and that's where effective reward and recognition comes into play. 

Martin R. Baird

Robinson & Associates, Inc.

mbaird@casinocustomerservice.com

www.casinocustomerservice.com

480-991-6420

Casinos must provide service that is superior to other entertainment venues because people spend more money at casinos.  Customers who spend $15 for tickets and popcorn at a movie theater only to experience dirty premises and a lousy show will be disappointed, but they will return because the expense was minimal.  Chances are casino customers will spend far more than $15 and they will need an outstanding experience to make up for the money they will not be taking home.  Stellar customer service and an enjoyable experience will convince guests to come back.

Martin R. Baird

Robinson & Associates, Inc.

mbaird@casinocustomerservice.com

www.casinocustomerservice.com

480-991-6420

Four More Keys to Improving Casino Customer Service

Last week, I told you how outstanding customer service leads to a great customer experience and explained that a combination of these two factors can create more play at a casino and increase profits.

That was followed by a description of three of seven keys to improving casino customer service, including the importance of customer service training.  This week, I explore the remaining keys.

Let’s get started!

Key # 4:  The Fun Factor

In Key No. 3, I mentioned that you are in the entertainment business.  It’s important to realize that your customer service training needs to be entertaining, too.  Most people think training is a form of torture.  It doesn’t have to be that way.  If people are not having fun, it’s very difficult to get them to listen and pay attention.

Think for a moment about children and their ability to watch cartoons for hours.  They smile and laugh.  They’re riveted to the TV.  If you asked them to tell you about the cartoons, they would remember them in vivid detail. 

The reason these children remember is because of the fun factor.

Several years ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with a gentleman who had invested a good part of his life helping the people who produce the Sesame Street children’s show.  He showed them how to develop lessons and taught them about the child’s learning process.  He focused on accelerated learning, a technique that makes training so interesting and fun that people can’t help but learn.

Learning IS fun and if you start customer service training with that premise, you will increase both retention and application.  If you learn only one thing from reading what I have to say this week, make it this – add more fun to your training.

Key #5:  It’s An Investment

I know training can cost a significant amount of money.  It can be the equivalent of several salaries.  But you need to view training as an investment.  With training, you’re investing in your people and in the opportunity to generate more revenue for your property.  If you invest in your people, it helps both them and you.

Studies show that most employees want to be recognized and appreciated and that they rank these two items much higher than pay.  By investing in your employees with training, you’re recognizing them and showing appreciation.  You’re telling them and showing them that they are important to your success and that you want to enhance their value.  If done correctly, you’re also giving them tools they can use to make more money the next time they start their shift.

There’s another investment to consider, the fact that improved service and a better customer experience can increase your property’s play and, ultimately, its profits because those factors encourage customers to come back.  It can be eight to 10 times more expensive to get a customer to visit once than it is to get them to return.  Many properties use frequent player cards because they know they’re building a habit for some of their customers.  The sooner that happens, the sooner they can save a little on marketing and increase profits.

I hate to say this, but all the wonderful marketing in the world will not and cannot make up for poor customer service.  People have too many entertainment choices.  They don’t need to come to your property.  Even if you’re the only game in town, people now have the choice of online gaming.  They don’t even have to leave the comforts of home.

If you could improve your customer service and get 10 percent of your visitors to play one hour longer, how much would that contribute to your bottom line?  If you could invest $100 and generate $200, would you do it?

Improving your people and improving your customer experience is a simple investment.  You add hotel rooms or restaurants so customers will stay and play longer.  That is the same as a wise investment in great training.

Key #6:  You Need to Start With An Accurate Perspective

I’m disappointed by the number of gaming venues that really don’t know what their customers want.  Management will tell you they understand their customers, but all their information is second-hand or biased by their experiences.  For example, some people in management think employees always smile.  Of course they smile when a boss walks by.  Or they see only the negative because that’s what they hear from customers.  They get feedback from customers who are upset and hear nothing from those who have a great time.

Creating a customer service culture at your casino involves change and in order to start that very challenging process of change, you need to have an accurate, unbiased view of where you are today.  You need to know what your customers really see and think.  An insider’s point of view is not nearly enough.  Do a 360-degree evaluation so you see things from the customer’s perspective, from management’s viewpoint and from the employees’ standpoint.  When you do this, you have a clear view of what is really happening.

If you don’t start with this perspective, you are doing training or trying to improve service based on fiction.  If I were going to invest a significant portion of my budget on improving service, I would want to base my investment on honest, unbiased observations.

Key # 7:  People Are Not Born With the Customer Service Gene

Wouldn’t it be great if you could do a simple test to find out if the person you’re about to hire has a great customer service gene?  It could save all of us some big hassles.

Unfortunately, there is no such gene. Good customer service is not born, it’s built over time with great training. 

The few people who do it naturally simply see how great service works, and they like the way it makes them feel when they help a customer.  But most people are not so blessed.  Most people don’t see how service affects them.  They don’t see that they can keep their job and make more money if they provide better service.  I’m surprised at the number of gaming staff members who don’t understand that they’re commission-based employees.  They live for tokes and the higher the level of service they provide, the better the chances they have of getting great tips.

So if they’re not born with the gene, you need to provide training that’s fun and interactive.  You need to offer training that shows them that they and your company will be rewarded if they adopt these new, better behaviors. I’m talking about learned skills that are an investment in your employees’ future.

Now you have the seven keys to improving customer service.  Customer service is an unending battle that your property faces every day.  There will always be a newer, bigger gaming venue, so how will you compete?  Will you try to fight the never-ending battle of outspending your competition or will you outservice them and win customers that way?

This article also appeared in Gaming Products & Services

Martin R. Baird

Robinson & Associates, Inc.

mbaird@casinocustomerservice.com

www.casinocustomerservice.com

480-991-6420

Seven Keys to Improving Casino Customer Service

I can't walk into a casino without encountering a stream of management questions related to customer service.

How do we improve our customer service?  How do we make our customer service training work?  How can we build a long-term customer service solution?  We can't outspend the competition, so how do we outservice them?

Casino executives who ask these questions are on to something.  They know that no matter what else is going on in the world, their customers always want one thing:  a great casino experience.  Customers want an experience that is so wonderful and memorable that it keeps them coming back even if they have less money in their pockets when they leave.

Guess what?  Good customer service and the outstanding customer experience that comes from that also have an effect on your bottom line.  Customers who enjoy themselves will come back and play again.

Having said that, I want to pass along seven keys to improving customer service that I've learned from years of helping the gaming industry.  These seven keys will set you on the right path to creating a customer service culture at your property and reaping the rewards.

Key #1:  Change is Difficult

For some reason, people in the gaming industry lose sight of the fact that change is difficult.  When I ask executives about getting players to try new games, they tell me how hard that is to do.  They give examples of how slowly players get around to doing something new. 

Players and employees are the same when it comes to change.  Human beings do not quickly accept change unless they experience a major event or have some other good reason to change.  Therefore, when you're trying to develop a customer service culture among your employees, you'll find it won't happen quickly or easily. 

Some casinos think they can "change" their people by marching them through a three-hour orientation or training session.  Wrong!  Change takes a high level of repetition and it needs to be of interest to those on the receiving end.  You must identify what will motivate your people to perform the desired behaviors you're looking for.  Yes, a very small percentage of your staff members will change just because you ask them to.  The challenge is getting a critical mass of employees to see that this change, this customer service culture, is in their best interest.  If it's not important to them, most will not invest the effort needed to change.

Developing a customer service culture is an evolutionary process.

Key # 2:  It Starts With Hiring, But That Is Not Enough

All casinos work hard to hire the very best candidates to fill job openings at their property.  Unfortunately, that's just the beginning.  Hiring the very best is a great place to start, but it simply isn't enough.  If hiring the "right" person was all it took, there would not be a multibillion-dollar training industry.  A company invests in training because it needs and wants more out of its people.

All of us face budget crunches on an ongoing basis, but what is your budget's alternative to training?  If you're like most properties, you don't have a choice.  You find and hire the best of the best and they still need improvement.

Just for fun, take a day and look at the amount of time and energy you spend hiring people.  Now look at what it would take to turn your employees into truly great customer service ambassadors.  It's much better to invest in training than it is to throw money out the window hiring people and then firing them for not providing the level of customer service that will allow you to compete.

Key #3:  All Training Is Not Created Equal

Isn't it odd that people will spend $30,000 for a specific automobile because they recognize the quality of the brand but when it comes to investing in the growth of their employees through training, they shop it based on price alone?

Don't get me wrong.  I have no problem with going to a discount store and buying paper towels and napkins.  That, to me, is good business sense.  But I would not buy something as critical to my overall success as the customer experience and purchase it on price alone.

Automobiles are not created equal and the same goes for training.  I've attended training sessions that did not use the principles of accelerated learning and within 10 minutes I was looking for the escape hatch.  I couldn't stand it.  It was boring and slow and those were the good points.

Learning 101 dictates that people learn when they say it and do it.  Unless you're trying to teach your employees how to sleep, the training needs to have more interest.  People retain new information the least when all they do is listen to a lecture.

You need to invest in training that makes the experience fun, that encourages participation.  The trainers also need to know the industry.  They should understand that most gaming employees only make money when they offer their customers a great experience.  I've heard hundreds of stories about casino employees getting tokes from people who were losing money.  Employees know that they will not always be compensated for their efforts.  But they know they will win over time if they put in a consistent effort.  Good training gives them the skills they need to make that effort.

After all, this is the entertainment business and if your employees are not part of the entertainment, your customers will make the choice to spend their dollars elsewhere.

You should also hire a company that specializes in customer service training for the gaming industry.  Some casinos say they have one of their other vendors provide customer service training.  That's shocking because these are the same people who would never consider opening a window with a brick. 

Companies that don't specialize in customer service training can help you reach an outcome.  It may not be the exact outcome you desire but they will help you to a point.  The problem is they don't always leave things in the best condition.  A brick will open a window.  The cleanup may not make it worthwhile, but the window will now be open. 

So why would you trust your customer service needs to a company that doesn't specialize in customer service consulting for the gaming industry?  If you need to improve customer service, don't grab the closest tool or hire the most available company.  Invest a little time auditioning to make sure you find the best solution for your customer service needs.

Coming up next week:  keys four through seven (The Fun Factor, It's An Investment, You Need to Start With An Accurate Perspective and People Are Not Born With the Customer Service Gene).

This article also appeared in Gaming Products & Services

Martin R. Baird

Robinson & Associates, Inc.

mbaird@casinocustomerservice.com

www.casinocustomerservice.com

480-991-6420

Employee Reward, Recognition Program Works Wonders

A reward-and-recognition program can work wonders when it comes to motivating casino employees to provide great customer service.  Following are seven tips on how to create an employee reward-and-recognition program.

Tip Number 1 – Hire a third party to observe or “mystery shop” employees and evaluate the behavior you want reinforced.  Shoppers should base their findings on interactions with staff members.

Tip Number 2 – Mystery shoppers have no interest in who is rewarded.  Their job is to pay a visit to the casino, obtain a certain number of interactions and report their findings.

Tip Number 3 – Mystery shopping removes managers from the equation, further eliminating any perception of bias.  They don’t have to justify why a particular employee was rewarded.

Tip Number 4 – Before you hire a mystery shopping company, determine exactly what you want to be evaluated.  Invest time in planning the shop so you know what you’re shopping for.

Tip Number 5 – Once the context of the mystery shop is determined, hold off until you’ve given your employees some training.  Give them the skills they need to do the job right, the skills that shoppers will look for.

Tip Number 6 – Before the first mystery shop reports arrive, be sure to have a system in place to actually give rewards and recognition.

Tip Number 7 – When you know which employees deserve recognition, reward them as quickly as possible so they can mentally make a connection between what they did right and the reward they received for doing it.  This is simple behavior modification but it works.

Martin R. Baird

Robinson & Associates, Inc.

mbaird@casinocustomerservice.com

www.casinocustomerservice.com

480-991-6420

Casino Employees Feel Good About Themselves When They Provide Outstanding Guest Service

Casino employees with low self-esteem have difficulty providing good guest service because they simply don't feel up to it.  However, they may discover that they feel better about themselves when they go the extra mile for guests.  It's not easy smiling for guests and providing other forms of good service when your heart isn't in it.  But the act of offering great service can be uplifting.

Following are helpful tips for providing exceptional casino guest service from my new book "Gaming Guest Service from A to Z."  These tips come from the book's section on the letter S.

Self-Esteem.  "I don't provide great service because I have low self-esteem.  I don't want to say hi to the guests.  I don't want to smile."  Do you feel that way or know someone who does?  That's all the more reason to provide good service.  You'll find that your self-esteem will actually improve as you provide a higher level of service and have fun with the guests.  You'll discover that you're just like a guest, that you want to enjoy yourself and be treated with respect.  Providing great guest service will help you feel better about yourself.

Service.  Those who serve others are held in high esteem.  When you understand that you can reap great rewards by serving others, you'll find a way to do it and enjoy it.  Service is an important part of a successful life.  The rewards for great service are not limited to monetary rewards either.

Special.  Each and every guest should feel special.  They're all individuals and they all want to be treated with respect, but they want to feel special in their own specific way.  Get to know your guests and find out how you can make each of them feel special.

Satisfaction.  It's difficult for a guest to feel satisfaction when they may not be winning.  They may be hard pressed to find the fun in that and shrug it off.  But it's your duty to make sure that they do have a good time.  Great service is the key to an outstanding, fun-filled gaming experience, win or lose.  When you provide stellar service, guests will have that satisfaction and feel like a winner.  That will keep them coming back.

Stupendous.  That's it.  Your guests should feel like they had a stupendous time.  Show you care about them and make them feel important.  Help them feel like winners during every visit.

Star.  People want to feel like a star or celebrity.  They want to feel as though they're the most important person on your property at any given moment and they should be treated that way.

Smile.  The simple act of smiling is the one thing you can give and get in return.  It's the one thing that can make you and others feel better.  If you see somebody who doesn't have a smile, share yours because you can always create a new one.

Martin R. Baird

Robinson & Associates, Inc.

mbaird@casinocustomerservice.com

www.casinocustomerservice.com

480-991-6420

Casino Employees Must Be Dependable In All Ways

Casino employees must be dependable in all ways for both guests and co-workers.  Dependable is a word that is important for two reasons.  First, you need to be dependable.  You must show up for work on time and prepared every day.  Your co-workers, your managers and your guests are all counting on you to be there and give 110 percent of yourself.  The words dependable and consistency go hand in hand.  Guests want a dependable experience.  They want to know they will be taken care of in a similar way each and every time they come to your property.  Guests expect that level of dependability from you.  They want their experience to be like the old chair at home – familiar, comfortable and a pleasant experience every time.  That's being dependable.

Martin R. Baird

Robinson & Associates, Inc.

mbaird@casinocustomerservice.com

www.casinocustomerservice.com

480-991-6420