However, a rising tide floats all boats and some of your boats will be beached come the end of September.   The answers to the following three questions will give you an indication of how well you are really doing and where you will be positioned in the fourth quarter:
 

With reference to the ‘fog the mirror’ issue, whose fault is that?  YOURS, THAT’S WHO!  Generations X and Y are different from the others in that theirs is the first generation not to know unemployment.  Their motivations may be different but once you understand them you can motivate them and you need to motivate them to retain them.  Studies show that these employees remain at jobs that engage them, where they feel that they have input, that their efforts are appreciated working with people that they like and respect. (American Management Association, Generations at Work, 1999) 

First of all you have to provide training that gives them the tools to do their jobs.  It is a chicken and egg question – should you invest in training them when they are just going to leave in six months or will they leave in six months if you don’t train them?    Lack of training is rarely cited by the employee in an exit interview (its hard to know the value of what you didn’t receive when you don’t know what it looks like), but job satisfaction is increased by knowing how to do the job that you are asked to perform.  Think about it.  Furthermore, can you estimate how many guests you may have lost or will lose over untrained and unresponsive staff?  This is one of the factors driving our customers to alternate distribution channels such as those available on the Internet.  What are your franchise guest service scores telling you?

These are some questions to ponder while you are so busy servicing incoming guests and enjoying watching the revenue roll in.  

I am having an enjoyable summer.  I expect this fall, when the tourists leave, one or more of these three issues may come back to haunt you.  That certainly occurred last year when my phone lit up around September.

In the spirit of mellow camaraderie induced by sipping gin and tonics on my patio, I’d like to offer you, my readers, a complimentary 30-minute consultation.  Please respond via email carol.verret@worldnet.att.net so we can schedule a telephone appointment." 

Carol Verret and Associates Consulting and Training offers training and consulting services to the hospitality industry in the areas of sales and customer service.   For a complete description of their services, log onto the web site at http://www.carolverret.com/.    

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