Casinos Guilty of Putting Customers into Three of the Nine 'Customer Service Hells'

Have you ever subjected your customers to any of the ‘Nine Circles of Customer Service Hell’? Chances are you have. It's also probable that, as a customer, you've spent some time in a few of them.

The Nine Circles of Customer Service Hell were outlined in a popular Inc. magazine article written earlier this year by Jay Steinfeld, who provided an excellent categorization of the horrible things companies do to their customers. According to Steinfeld, these are the nine circles:

1. The never-ending voicemail phone tree
2. The requirement to repeat your name, account number, etc., ad infinitum
3. Hold, hold, hold
4. The ominous sound, mid-conversation, of the dial tone
5. The disappearing clerk
6. The line that's always 20 people deep
7. The agent who doesn’t understand your question
8. The “I’m sorry, but I don’t have the authority to do that” response
9. The clerk who's busy texting someone who's clearly more important than you

The truth is that not every lousy customer service organization is guilty of all of these things. (If they are, it might be time for some management consulting, stat.) Depending on the type of business, however, most industries and companies are guilty of at least a few of them.

Martin R. Baird, CEO of Robinson & Associates, a guest services consulting firm, said casinos are one of those industries that is perennially guilty for putting customers into at least three of the Customer Service Hells.

“Steinfeld’s article focused on retailers and other traditional businesses that have customers walking through the door and calling on the phone to buy products and services,” said Baird in a recent press release.“But there were lessons for casino management as well.”

Which three ‘hells’ do casinos typically put guests into? According to Baird, it's the Disappearing Clerk, the Agent Who Doesn’t Understand Your Question and I’m Sorry but I Don’t Have the Authority to Do That.

The Disappearing Clerk. “Let’s revise that to say the disappearing casino employee,” Baird says. “How frustrating can it be for a casino guest who’s expecting help from an employee only to discover that that person has vanished? The same goes for a guest who’s trying to get the attention of an employee and that staff member simply wanders off and is never seen again.”

The Agent Doesn’t Understand Your Question. This applies to the casino employee who doesn’t understand what the guest is saying, Baird explains. “The root of this problem is one simple thing – not listening,” Baird says. “Any casino employee who has worked the floor for a decent length of time has heard it all and it’s easy for him to assume he knows what the guest is saying and that he has the answer. Each guest is an individual with unique needs. That’s why employees must listen closely when guests speak. This also ties in with showing you care.”

I’m Sorry, but I Don’t Have the Authority to Do That. “I have no tolerance for this problem and neither does the typical casino guest,” says Baird. “Employees must never, ever say that what guests want is outside their responsibilities. It may, in fact, not be the employees’ job to fulfill the request, but employees are there to help, not hinder. Employees must have an ‘I can do that’ attitude at all times.”

So how do casinos help their customers out of the ‘three hells’?

Baird says staffing the right people is a great point to begin . Staffing and re-staffing when employees don't work out is too costly. Once you've hired the right people, it's probable that you require a better training program to turn them into the right people. Be sure your employees understand the casino's policies well so they can be knowledgeable when asked questions, and then can be consistent with their answers. Finally, set your customer service standards high and make it a priority that employees meet them as a condition of their employment.

Time to help your guests out of “Hell.”

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.