By Martin R. Baird

      The prospect of an audit is enough to strike fear into most people's hearts. But there is an audit that's actually good for casinos - a customer service audit.
      "When business managers think of an audit, they usually have in mind an examination of financial records or a correction of accounts," says Martin R. Baird, president of Phoenix, Ariz.-based Robinson & Associates, Inc., a customer service consulting firm for the gaming industry. "A customer service audit is not much different. Take a look at your guest service records, see what has worked and what has not and correct what needs fixing. In simple terms, that is your audit."
      Baird offers the following 10 tips on how to conduct a customer service audit and how to make the most of the information it generates. An audit can help casinos improve the guest experience and increase profits.

Number 1 - Customer service records you review should include all the guest service materials you used or created the past year, including your customer service plan, training materials, rewards and incentives and records that show who among your staff was targeted for service training.

Number 2 - Tally up what was invested to improve service. How much did you invest in training, rewards, incentives, etc.?

Number 3 - Make note of what you included in customer service expenses that may not really be related to service. Comps, player parties, community relations - are those service expenses or marketing expenses?

Number 4 - Determine your return on investment by item. "This exercise will be a bit time consuming and you may be tempted to skip it," Baird says. "Don't fall into that trap. You must do this to know what's going on in your service-related efforts."

Number 5 - Challenge your way of thinking by proving everything to your auditor. "Nothing is sacred," Baird says. "We are in difficult economic times and you're missing opportunities if you don't work hard to find out what's working with your customer service."
Number 6 - Have your auditor look everything over and then submit yourself to probing questions from the auditor to determine what worked and why.

Number 7 - Review the results of your audit closely, looking for anything that will help you improve your customer service. For example, look for clues to service problems. If your marketing is failing to get guests to return, there may be a service issue, Baird says.

Number 8 - Don't worry if some of your prior customer service efforts were total flops. "Before you throw these ideas out, look at why they didn't work," Baird suggests. "Sometimes you can learn more from what didn't work than you can from what did."

Number 9 - Did something not work because of a timing issue? A guest service program may have failed if you started it when the local economy was struggling or when you were going through employee layoffs.

Number 10 - Next, look at the offer. Were rewards and incentives strong enough to get employees to change old habits and start focusing on service? And did you target the right employees for service training? "Don't forget about employees who do not have direct guest contact," Baird says. "A poorly prepared meal in the restaurant means a guest had a poor service experience and the cook never came into contact with that person."

Robinson & Associates, Inc., is a customer service consulting firm that provides specialty customer service training, management skills training, presentation skills training, team building programs and employee incentive and recognition programs for casinos. Baird has a Web site, www.casinocustomerservice.com, that's devoted to helping casinos improve their customer service so they can compete and increase revenues. Robinson & Associates may be reached at 480-991-6420. Baird may be reached by e-mail at mbaird@casinocustomerservice.com.