Esmerelda vd Westhuizen
Director of Spa and Recreation
BvLgARI Resort & Residences dubai
contributions they make, loyalty and
engagement follow.”
dUBAI, UnITEd ARAB EMIRATES tiP: it’s all in the training
For Esmerelda vd Westhuizen, director
of spa and recreation at BVLGARI Resort
& Residences Dubai
in the United
Arab Emirates,
customer
service is
about trust
and loyalty.
“Guests will only
stay loyal to a spa or
brand if they have very good reason to,”
she says. “There is plenty of competition
customers could choose to move to. You
must work even harder to keep your
guests and to build their trust in your
spa or brand. By providing the best in
guest service, you will increase trust,
and that could mean the difference
between guests’ loyalty and guests
leaving.”
Every customer interaction is a
chance to build that trust, but
also take it a step further and
provide incentive for word of
mouth advertising. BVLGARI
Resort & Residences Dubai
relies heavily on referrals, so
Westhuizen urges every staff
member to go above and beyond in
anticipating a guest’s needs so they will
be compelled to remember and tell
others about their experience.
“Listen to guest feedback and prefer-
ences to better understand what they
want and how they want it,” suggests
Westhuizen. “By focusing on improving
the experiences that matter most to your
guests, you can prioritize spend and
better allocate resources. This way you
will make your guests feel valued. When
guests believe their relationship with you
matters and that you recognize the “I ensure the delivery of excellent
guest service by training my team to
be positive and encouraging to
everyone around them. guests can
tell when someone wants to help
them versus being forced to because
it’s their job. Through training, we’ve
created a friendly and welcoming
environment that guests greatly
appreciate, which has resulted in a
60 percent rate of return guests and
an increased profitability.”
allison Nassey
Director of Account and
Client Relations
noel Asmar Uniforms
SURREy, BRITISH coLUMBIA, cAnAdA
At Noel Asmar Uniforms, Director of
Account and Client Relations Allison
Nassey is the first touchpoint for
the customer, so her
impression is the first
impression. “Our role
is to understand the
customers’ needs and
anticipate any
challenges they might
have,” says Nassey. “We
always want to wow them and
make the process of dressing their team as
seamless and simple as possible.”
Dubbed “customer-obsessed” by
Noel Asmar herself, Nassey takes her
role in the customer experience very
seriously. She defines customer service
as the sum of all interactions a customer
has with a company, starting with the
moment they contact her and
continuing long after they receive their
order. “A satisfied customer is a
returning customer,” Nassey adds. “By
treating our customers like family and
meeting their needs with a sense of
urgency, warmth and competency, we
hope to earn their trust and continued
loyalty.”
Every customer interaction is a
chance to connect on a deeper level.
Says Nassey, “I want to go beyond the
transactional aspect of the interaction
and make the customer feel like he or
she is part of the Noel Asmar family. We
are so grateful for all our customers;
each one is a VIP no matter if they are
an independent or the GM of a property.
tiP: get ahead of the game
To be successful in customer service,
you must have a sincere desire to
connect with your clients and do
whatever it takes to create an
outstanding customer experience.
Be proactive, engaging and creative.
For every problem there is a
solution, and if you can solve the
issue before it becomes one, you are
really raising the bar!
Jessica candy
Spa Operations Manager
Skincare Butik
coRPUS cHRISTI, TExAS
“Without our customers, we would have
no spa. Customer service throughout
the spa is essential to success and
growth,” notes Jessica Candy, spa opera-
tions manager at Skincare
Butik in Corpus Christi,
Texas.
With that in
mind,