Mr Smith was a businessman who arrived at the hotel for the first time and the next morning, he called the butler to complain about the air conditioner that had failed to work all through the night.

He was very upset because he had not been able to sleep well and would have a very important meeting in his room that morning. The butler apologized for the inconvenience and called in a technician to have it repaired right away. He suggested the guest should have breakfast at the hotel restaurant. 

As the waiter brought him the service, he found that the milk was not hot enough and that the quality of the coffee did not live up to his expectations.

Half an hour later, he came back to the room only to find the technician, who had just arrived and would take at least fifteen minutes to finish the repair. He was very annoyed for all these inconveniences during his very few hours at the hotel.
 
In cases such as this, we wonder: How come a succession of inconveniencies could happen to the very same guest? This is when the famous MURPHY'S LAW comes to our mind:  "If something is going to turn out badly, it will do".  "Things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance".  There are some situations that could run away from the human will. Nevertheless, by being aware of them, we can prevent them from triggering off a chain of calamities. 

Once a guest has gone through a problem, it is very useful to classify him as a Sensitive Guest (SH). He will be more likely to expect the highest service quality given at any certain place. Therefore, to him any little inconvenience will turn into a huge one, which will eventually lead to him being less confident in the service or, even worse, utterly dissatisfied with it. 

The moment a guest CLAIMS OR COMPLAINS, an alert system should be activated immediately. This consists of informing all the guest contact departments so as to pay special attention to the service given, avoiding future objections and annulling the fateful Law of Murphy. 

Constant Information is the key to (or…instrumental in) the services control process. The BUTLER plays the main role in the distribution of this information. All the departments should be strongly communicated to deal successfully with the SH. The Butler must control all the services in order to neutralize (the possibly negative) first impression, being also responsible for monitoring the degree of guest satisfaction. 

For example, a complaint can be made because the room was not cleaned in due time). The BUTLER should bear in mind the remainder days of his stay, check that the room is cleaned by the time required, etc.

Not only this, but he should also supervise all the other services such as laundry orders and room service, which must be carried out with the required quality. 

By establishing the guest profile prior to his arrival, the Butler will be able to be ahead of the guest's wishes.

Osvaldo Torres.
Hotel Butler.
hotelps@gmail.com