Service Excellence in Food and Beverage Establishments

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key concepts in hospitality service excellence, guest satisfaction drivers, environmental assessment, and the management of guest experiences and service failures.

Service excellence

Delivering, meeting, and slightly exceeding guest’s expectations.

Service/product value

The relationship of the quality of the service/product to its cost.

Competitive advantage

The ability of a company to outperform its competitors.

Low-cost producer

A company that provides the same products and services as competitors but at a lower price through increased production and operational efficiency.

Product differentiation

A strategy where a company offers a product or service that is unique in its industry and widely valued by its target market.

Brand image

The general impression of a product held by real or potential consumers.

Market niche

Occurs when a company aims to differentiate itself within a narrow market, such as only one or few market segments.

External assessment

Identifying threats and opportunities that result in strategic premises about the environment in the future to determine key drivers of guest satisfaction.

Internal assessment

Evaluating the company’s strengths and weaknesses to renew or confirm core competencies.

Guest experience

Also known as service experience; the interaction between an organization and a guest involving physical performance, senses, and emotions.

Demographic breakdown

Categorization of guests based on age, gender, race, and other similar factors.

Psychographic breakdown

Categorization including the guest’s wants, needs, and values.

Capabilities

The guest's skills, knowledge, and abilities.

Guest experience management program

The art of controlling, tracking, and designing customer interactions at all touch points to meet or exceed guest demands.

Service culture

When employees are motivated in the organisation to take a customer’s need to their regular duties and work activities.

CIDER

An acronym for creating culture service: Communication, Identifying problems, Defining your vision, Empowering employees, and Rewarding employees.

Beliefs

Things which the business believes should and must be done when providing service, creating commitment and loyalty from staff.

Norms

What the customers know and expect to get from the business, often applied to regular customers.

Values

The things which the business believes are the priority in providing service, such as customer happiness.

Customer intelligence

A method of evaluating information on guests based on purchase history, geographical information, and spending preferences.

Inflection

The change in the pitch or tone of your voice at different times throughout a conversation.

Power phrases

Small sayings or convincing words unique to an establishment that show a guest you are listening and willing to assist.

Critical thinking

The ability to think rationally and clearly, with an understanding of the logical connection between certain ideas.

Service failure

Occurs when a guest is given poor service, such as a waiter providing the wrong item.

Product failure

Occurs when a food or beverage item is not what the guest expected in terms of taste or flavour.

Evangelists

Guests who are fond of the service an establishment offers and provide positive word of mouth.

Terrorists

Guests who despise a particular company or hotel service and spread bad service reviews to social networks.

Service recovery

Actions designed to resolve problems and alter customers’ negative perceptions to build loyalty.