Improve the customer relationship Legacy

This standard is about building and improving relationships with customers. These may be internal customers or members of the public. This standard is for hospitality team leaders, first line managers or supervisors.

Organisations are dependent upon their customers. Repeat business is the backbone of selling. Customers that return help to provide revenue and certainty for the business. Building customer loyalty should therefore be a priority.

Internal customers should also be treated with priority. As part of the wider team, it's important to anticipate their needs and preferred communication styles and engage with them clearly and professionally, just as you would with an external customer.

The key is to make customers feel that you genuinely want to give them high levels of service and that you will make every possible effort to meet or exceed their expectations.  This encourages loyalty from external or good working relationships with internal customers.

When you have completed this standard you will be able to demonstrate your understanding of and your ability to:

• ​Improve the customer relationship

1. Select and use the best method of communication to meet your customers' expectations
2. Take the initiative to contact your customers to update them when things are not going to plan or when you require further information
3. Adapt your communication to respond to individual customer's feelings
4. Meet your customers' expectations within your organisation's service offer
5. Explain the reasons to your customers sensitively and positively when their expectations cannot be met
6. Identify alternative solutions for your customers either within or outside the organisation
7. Identify the costs and benefits of these solutions to your organisation and to your customers
8. Negotiate and agree solutions with your customers which satisfy them and are acceptable to your organisation
9. Take action to satisfy your customers with the agreed solution
10. Make extra efforts to improve your relationship with your customers
11. Recognise opportunities to exceed your customers' expectations
12. Take action to exceed your customers' expectations within the limits of your own authority
13. Gain the help and support of others to exceed your customers' expectations​

1. ​How to make best use of the method of communication chosen for dealing with your customers
2. How to negotiate effectively with your customers
3. How to assess the costs and benefits to your customer and your organisation of any unusual agreement you make
4. The importance of customer loyalty and / or improved internal customer relationships to your organisation

*The following behaviours are provided as guidance to underpin effective performance of a hospitality supervisor​*

1. You identify people's preferred communication media and styles and adopt media and styles appropriate to different people and situations
2. You demonstrate a clear understanding of different customers and their real and perceived needs
3. You keep people informed of plans and developments
4. You generate and recognise imaginative and innovative solutions
5. You recognise the limits of your own authority​

​This unit is linked to all other units in the Hospitality Supervision & Leadership suite of standards​