4 Steps to Creating The Most Amazing Guest Services Experience (PART 1: Establish a Clear Vision)

In my sport event venues career, I have had the opportunity to create three different guest services programs for three different event venues in San Diego, Chula Vista and Long Beach. Each venue was unique in terms of venue operations, guest expectations and staff culture. Despite their differences, I used a similar approach to create best- in- class guest services programs in each venue.

4 Steps to Exceptional Guest Services for Sport Event Venues:

1. Establish a clear vision
2. Define desired staff characteristics
3. Develop a clear decision matrix
4. Articulate specific guidelines for guest interaction

To keep it digestible, I am breaking the discussion into parts. This is the first of four articles. The sum of these four sections will result in a functional guide for creating an effective guest services program.

Use the guidelines here to initiate higher level conversation with your leadership team. Guest Services is an applied discipline. It cannot be created in a vacuum and then dictated to staff. Seek input and foster collaboration throughout this process.

Part 1: Establish a Clear Vision

The aim of a guest services program is to deliver service in the most effective manner possible. More specifically, we must:

1. Show- Foster a fun and memorable environment.
2. Courtesy- Treat each and every guest, participant, employee and performer with the utmost respect.
3. Efficiency- Maximize efficiencies to create a seamless and consistent experience.
4. Safety- Accept responsibility to ensure the safety and security of each guest.

These four concepts are elemental to a great guest services program. The policy then, is simply the prioritization, communication and execution of these ordered concepts.

Define what the expected level of service is for your venue.

It is impossible to meet or exceed service expectations if you never define what they are.

It is easy to see how different people might prioritize these elemental guest services concepts differently (and conditionally). Therefore, service expectations must be understood internally and prioritized. This is intended to be a collaborative process that is intradepartmental and involves thought leaders in all levels of the organization. A powerful construct to define service expectations is the Statement of Common Purpose. This is an inspirational and motivational tool used to set up both short term and long term goals.

A statement of common purpose is an inspirational and motivational tool used to set up both short and long term goals.

The Statement of Common Purpose fulfills these three objectives:

1. Defines the organization’s purpose.
2. Aligns that purpose with its customers’ expectations.
3. Communicates that alignment to its employees.

This statement must be known and understood by ALL in the organization- it is meaningful. The Statement of Common Purpose almost functions as a department slogan that staff could recite on command out of familiarity (rather than obligation). This is the foundation of the policy that conceptually ties procedure to purpose. The details laid out in the Statement of Common Purpose must be realistically achievable. It speaks to what you are and considers the strengths and weaknesses inherent to the venue.

In one of the venues I worked in, I frequently asked the leadership team…

“Are we the Motel 6 or the Four Seasons?”

Neither is right or wrong (simply a different prioritization model based on values). The answer though, tells you a lot about your service proposition and how to respond accordingly. For example, a burned out light bulb might go a day or two before being replaced in a Motel 6 whereas the Four Seasons responds immediately… or more likely, has a maintenance plan in place to change bulbs preemptively before they burn out.

The Statement of Common Purpose is not a BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal), the BHAG would more likely, be your Visioning Statement. A Visioning Statement describes the organization as it would appear in a future, successful state. The Visioning Statement answers, “what would the organization look like in 10 years if it were to achieve all of its strategic goals.” The Visioning Statement is important to creating a powerful guest services program because it is aspirational. It creates a mental picture of a future, ideal state while challenging and inspiring staff to accept their individual contributions to achieving that organizational goal.

A Visioning Statement describes the organization as it would appear in a future successful state.

Guest services is human. It is amazing to realize that most organizations rely on their lowest paid and least experienced staff (i.e. least skin in the game) to deliver on the company’s mission and vision. For this model to work, effective guest services requires front- of- house staff to:

Front- of- House Staff Expectations:

• Be understanding of the service promise the organization is making.
• Be trained on how the organization delivers on that promise.
• Be empowered and trusted to make decisions that meet or exceed the service promise.
• Be supported in unique and challenging situations that require escalation.

Venue staffing is one of the critical dimensions of an ideal events venue. Good front- of- house staff are incredible people with strong internal motivation. They are ambassadors who represent the organization in the most direct way and often in challenging conditions. In exchange for their dedication, guest services professionals deserve involved leaders who respect, appreciate and support their contributions.

Effective guest services programs for a sports event venue starts with the establishment of a clear vision. Service expectations must be defined, aligned with the expectations of the guests and communicated to the staff. An accepted and consistent model that orders elemental service concepts (show, courtesy, efficiency & safety). A Statement of Common Purpose and Visioning Statement are powerful tools venues can create to develop the guest services vision. This early work requires massive collaboration, buy in from leadership and a commitment to the process.

Please let us know if we can help you get started on the visioning process. We can provide templates for visioning exercises and sample Statements of Common Purposes. We can also help moderate discussion panels to facilitate high level buy in.

?This article was originally published on 7.17.18 @ Is Your Events Venue Providing World Class Guest Services? The 1st Step to Exceptional Service.