CUSTOMER SERVICE CYCLE: IN BUSINESS, HOTEL AND HEALTH - DUDAS - 2025

The customer service cycle is the complete sequence of experiences that a customer or user has with an organization, during the acquisition of a service to satisfy a need.

It starts from the moment the user requests a service and continues through a series of contacts between the user and the provider. The cycle closes when the user is satisfied and ready to return.

These contacts between the user and the service provider are called "moments of truth". This means that there can be many moments of truth such as duty cycles during the same day.

These moments of truth can be positive or negative. In the same way, the user can experience many positive and negative moments of truth during the provision of the requested service.

But sometimes, it is enough that a negative moment of truth occurs to collapse all the effort of the organization. For this reason, it should be seen as an effort of quality of service with a criterion of totality.

Service cycle in a company

The service cycle in a company cannot be seen as a set of tasks and responsibilities simply by the organization. Its true essence lies in what the user or client sees or experiences during the process, since it will be he who values ​​it in its entirety.

The customer service cycle helps companies to self-assess and interact with users. This is how they improve their opinion about the organization during the provision of a service.

To determine the service cycle, companies or organizations draw up a map with the sequence of stages and moments of truth that occur during the provision of a service.

The real value of this map is that it allows you to look at the process from the customer's perspective. But at the same time, it contributes to sensitize workers about improving the service they provide and to clearly identify critical moments.

Steps to develop a service map

The steps that every company must follow to develop an optimal map of the customer service cycle are:

• Identify the moments of truth, which can be classified as critical and non-critical.
• Establish the necessary requirements to improve the quality of customer service.
• Define a strategy and action plans (the way to attend) to correct errors and add value to the service.
• Prioritize service areas (priority areas). Critical areas that require more attention to achieve the stated goal must be identified.
• Prepare a customer satisfaction survey to evaluate the service. This allows the company to provide feedback on its strategies and action plans.

Service cycle in a hotel

The cycle of service to a guest in a hotel is a process that begins the moment the guest decides to stay and calls the hotel to make the reservation. This cycle ends when the guest leaves the hotel establishment.

The stages of the hosting service cycle are as follows:

Reservation

The sale may or may not go through. This will depend on the availability of rooms, the type of rooms, the services offered, the rates and of course the customer service at the time of booking.

Transport

Then comes the transfer service if the hotel offers it. This is a critical moment of truth because it is the first direct contact between the customer and the hotel staff.

This consists of searching the guest at the airport or land terminal for their convenience. The information of the arrival time, transport company and other data are offered by the client to the hotel.

Registration and accommodation

Upon arrival at the hotel, the client enters a new phase (another moment of truth) for their registration and accommodation. During the moment of the welcome the client will have the first direct impression of the hotel service.

The way it is received, the treatment, the care provided, the waiting time, etc., also count.

This stage begins with the check-in that verifies and determines the conditions of the reservation. It also includes the purchase specifically, in case the client does not have a reservation. It is the so-called front desk, where the hotel also sells.

Once the client fills out the registration card, the room requested by the guest is assigned. The form of payment is established, if the previous payment has not been made, and other guarantees.

Here aspects such as the quality of the room come into play, so that the client determines the cost-benefit ratio.

Stay

Then comes the stage of the stay itself, where the guest will experience many moments of truth with the hotel employees: waitresses, waiters, bellboys, administrative employees, among others.

The customer makes use of the hotel's facilities and checks the quality of the service he has purchased. This phase includes everything the guest does inside the hotel: sleep, eat, recreate, request information and satisfy or not their purchase expectations.

Departure

Check-out is the last stage of the customer's cycle at the hotel. It is when the guest is presented with their statement of account for their final payment. This stage represents another critical moment, as the customer will verify that their consumption has been charged and charged correctly, according to what is offered by the establishment.

Here, not only the correct billing but also the customer's waiting time plays a very important role. And finally your transfer back to the airport or land terminal.

Health service cycle

As in other types of institutions or companies, this technique helps to identify and graph the moments of truth that the health organization has with the user of the service. Through it, the procedures followed for patient care are analyzed.

The aspects most valued by a client / user in emergency services, for example, are related to the waiting time to receive the requested medical attention.

These waiting times range from the telephone attention to request the ambulance or transfer service, to the correct diagnosis and cure of the patient.

The health service cycle that is followed for user care is as follows:

• Request for the ambulance service (promptness in taking the call, agility in the data collection process of the applicant / patient). This is a crucial moment.
• Transfer to the hospital / clinic and application of first aid (waiting time between telephone contact and transfer). Critical moment of truth.
• Reception in emergencies (speed of mobilization to the emergency care unit, available personnel, treatment of the patient).
• Administrative procedures (Patient registration, verification of medical insurance, advance payment, treatment of the applicant, etc.).
• Hospitalization - stabilization (quality of medical care, diagnosis, treatment) Critical moment of truth.
• Patient discharge - recovery.
• Result - cure (comprehensive evaluation of the service by the patient).

Example of a customer service cycle in a real company

There are several examples of the customer service cycle in daily life when visiting a bank, going to eat at a restaurant or buying a tour package.

A bank will be taken as an example to determine all the steps to be taken to cash a check:

1- The client decides to go to the bank to change a check.

2- Take your means of transport and find where to park it to enter the bank.

3- Once inside the bank, observe the internal process for cashing the check.

4- Ask the employee what to do. The employee tells you that you must request a number on a computer to be served on a first-come, first-served basis.

5- The customer waits for his turn to cash the check. This step can be very long or fast depending on the number of clients there are.

6- The customer is called by the system through a loudspeaker or screen.

7- The client greets or not and presents the check to the cashier. This responds.

8- The cashier verifies the issue, consults on the screen the details of the check and the available funds of the drawer.

9- The cashier asks the customer the denomination of the banknotes he prefers.

10- The customer responds and the cashier hands him the tickets and says goodbye.

11- The customer counts the bills and leaves the bank.

12- The client looks for his means of transport in the parking lot.

13- Get in the car and leave the bank.

Throughout this process or service cycle there are critical moments of truth. They are: the customer's waiting time inside the bank, the correct payment of the check according to the amount by the cashier and surveillance to avoid an assault on the customer.

References

1. Duty cycle. Copeme, 2009 (PDF). Retrieved on February 14, 2018 from sptf.info
2. The cycle of service and moments of truth. Consulted of weekly.info
3. The service triangle. escolme.edu.co
4. Protocol manual for hotel companies. Catarina.udlap.mx
5. Duty cycle and moments of truth. Consulted of imarkudeablog.wordpress.com
6. Quality of care in the emergency service of the health area. Consulted from library.icap.ac.cr
7. Service cycles. Feelings vs Satisfaction. Consulted of gestiopolis.com