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“Self Service” has become a daily term
used in the tourism industry. Airlines and Hotels have implemented self-service
kiosks to made the customer experience a little easier and faster for travelers
to a smooth and enjoyable experience through various check in options. Apart
from online check in and mobile phone check in, passengers can also check in
through kiosks. These are self-service devices that are simple to use and
convenient, making it possible for consumers to check in any time. The
self-service check in machines transact in different languages including
English, German, Spanish, Chinese (both traditional and simplified), Japanese,
French and Portuguese "Self Service Kiosks". The tourism industry is extremely
competitive for airlines and hotels therefore they are continuously
technologically evolving.
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The traditional encounter has changed with
the introduction of self-service kiosk where customers
interact with technological platforms which
deliver services to the customer without
direct contact with employees. Traditional counter service
sometimes involves guests waiting in long
lines at the reception/ agents which can lead to
unsatisfactory customer service from front-office staff. Customers can
now interact with the automated interface and obtain the required information
through their own efforts such as check-in and check-out processes.
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Technological advances have provided
service organizations alternative options especially since the airline and
hotel industries being as competitive as it is. In many aspects of daily life,
customers are widely exposed to the choice between self-service and service
staff Self-service technology has attracted
considerable interest from many persons because of its
novelty and strategic importance to the hotel sector state that technology has
already impacted service delivery methods and will continue to
do so in the future. The se self -check-in/check
can be found in popular hotel brands such as Marriott,
Hyatt, Hilton as well as airlines such as; American Airlines, Air
Canada, Singapore airlines for example, have already
introduced automated self-service kiosks
terminals and lobbies.
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Advantages (expand)
- · Convenience e.g. single travelers
- · Less time is spent queuing
- · Decrease work load for staff
- · Creates a better atmosphere for guest and a staff
- · Can be time consuming
- · Accessible
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Disadvantages
- · Lack of human interaction
- · Technological errors
- · Can be frustrating e.g. older persons/handicap
Hey girls!
ReplyDeleteCongrats for your blog!
However, I see more disadvantages in self-service than advantages. As you mentioned, old people or handicap would have difficulties to use this service, but if we think about as, as people, from our emotional perspective, no machine can make up our day with a smile or kindness, which is basically what us, people that work in the hospitality field are capable of doing.
It can save us a lot of time, I agree, but in the end, technology was supposed to save us time but it is doing completely the opposite. How many time do we spend on social media and trying to understand this kind of services? For what do we want so much time when we still feel we need more hours at the end of the day?
In no way can this machines substitute the service a person can provide in my opinion. We are evolving to a more standardized world. People are the ones that can personalized a service.
Thanks for bringing the topic tho, I think we need to really reflect on this.
Good day, everybody.
DeleteFirst of all, thank you Nastya and Mandy for the bringing to us so important topic.
Secondly, I am completely disagree with Cristinas opinion . Self service has some disadvantages, but what will you do, for example, if you are in the queue and you just need to sign in, are you going to wait for serves or saving your own time to use machine? I definitely will use machine, even without smile)))) Due to old people, age does not mean uneducated and incapability. On the other hand, implementing self-service, company should at least somehow educate and train people, that’s why the majority of companies provide an educated employee who is always around and whom the customers may approach with a different questions.
To sum up, I would say, each of us always has choice, to use self- service or just normal, traditional serves.
Thank you,
Best Regards.
Hello,
DeleteThis is a very debatable topic as to which is better, self service kiosks or the traditional methods of interaction. I do agree that kiosks and machines can make things a lot more easier and quicker (If the person knows how to operate it that is) but it is not always better. I do not agree to the point of "Creates a better atmosphere for guest and a staff" being an advantage. The whole point of a self service kiosks is for customers to do the work themselves which takes out the interaction between staff and guest. What I mean to say is, there is no "atmosphere" between a guest and an employee when it comes to kiosks.
Also, when it comes to technology the baby boomers or so called "old people" definitely would prefer an interaction as it is what they are used to and familiar with.
I stand by Cristina's argument. I know queues can be extremely frustrating and a kiosks would help, but for more reasons than one the traditional method of interaction is so much better.
Thank you Arnold, for sharing your opinion about this topic. Hotels and restaurants who provide "Self Service" give you a choice. If you want to have a quick lunch and you know how to use self-service kiosk, it will be easier for you to do everything by yourself. On the other hand, if people do not want to use self-service kiosks, they always can use the old type of interaction.
DeleteHi Christina, thank you for your input. I agree with you that machines will never be able to replace a human touch. However, it is important to note that hotel industry is highly competitive and technology is currently playing a bigger role than ever before. In saying that, hotels do need to keep up to date by giving options to there customers and especially their target markets e.g business customers who are continuously on the go and who just don't have the time. I personally believe that there is a place for check-in kiosks but hope we continue to keep human interaction as our primary source of guest arrivals.
DeleteCongratulations for your presentation.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that his kind of devices (kiosks) are very helpful in these days because we do not depend on the staff, so the process is very fast and you avoid long queues. If you do not have any problem with the process , you can have your boarding pass in just one minute .
The only problem I see is that not all the people are prepared for using this kind of machines like baby boomers , so companies should design an easy Web page that allow everyone to use it.
thank you Pedro! Very pleased that you liked our blog. We all understand that such technologies cannot fully replace a regular customer service, but every day self-service technologies are developing.
DeleteSo in future it will be easy to use self-service kiosks, because we will be baby boomers)
hi,
ReplyDeletecongrats to both on the blog and the last moment in class presentation on your topic :)
Yes i agree to some extent about the possible use of self service outlets for bookings or for other purposes as they have their advantages like saving time , cutting down on human expenditure/ salary, would be beneficial for a consumer at some time as he or she could possibly avoid a bad conversation with the concerned agent, no time constraints or working hours..but as they say with some advantages of technology their could be some disadvantages as well like lack of tech savvy people coming to use these and in return creating bad reviews or negative feedback, lack of human interaction could even frustrate someone as people are used to answers or replies or just in general a conversation. So overall though the future looks all set for these self service kiosks or counters , personally i feel their can be no possible replacement for a human being or the one on one conversations as you instantly get solutions or reactions to your problems if someone comes across any.
Hi Armin, Hotels are slowly implementing kiosks in their hotels but they have not forgotten those persons who aren't "tech savy" I think that is why we haven't become a society where we are only dependent on just self check-in kiosks. Hotels do recognize that there is a need to have human interaction and also to provide assistance for those who need it and and just in generally for the most part to provide the "good old fashion" customer experience. I can guarantee this will become more popular in the near future especially in airports (where it has become a norm) but to say that we as a society will completely become depend on it is definitely to soon.
DeleteHey,
ReplyDeleteCongrats Nastya and Mandi for the blog.
I agree with you on how technology makes things much more simpler and convenient for human beings but sometimes people prefer a face to face human interaction then using technology. Kiosk is a more comfortable way to check inside an hotel with the help of technology and I believe it is going to boom even more in the future. But if we talk about the present situation I still think people are a bit old school and prefer the opposite however technological advancements in our industry is expanding by the day and hotels are making it easier for people to use a better innovated medium.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHey, Sarthak! Thank you for your feedback. I totally agree with you, people use to have old fashioned service, that’s why for someone self-service kiosks are misunderstood. But technologies develop every day. We must move forward and accept this fact that technologies create our future.
DeleteFirst of all I would like to congratulate Anastasia and Amanda for presenting on such an interesting topic.
ReplyDeleteThe first question that arises is, to automate- or not to automate?
In my opinion, self check-in technology still has room to grow.
For example: nowadays having this technology to self check-in is standard feature in number of airports.And this innovation speed up the check-in process and passengers no longer have to stand in queues and delays are minimum, but on the other hand "why does the baggage drop-off require queuing at a manned counter?". This is one of the major restraint in global adoption of this technology.
However, IATA has taken an initiative of self service luggage drop off within the Fast Travel Programme, which will become quite common in future.Also Amadeus is supporting it by closely monitoring it.
Self service is most fast and efficient way to check in because it has a lot of benefits attached to it, hence it'll be embraced by most of the airports and hotels in coming future.
Hello amanda and anastasia,
ReplyDeletei will start by congratulating both of you for presenting this topic.
This is a very debatable topic, the main advantage with the self -service for customers is that they don't have to queue in line and thus saving time. But on the other hand, the hospitality sector is being also known for its warm welcome and friendliness through the communication of its staff and the guests. So i personally think by this, the drawback of this service will be that technology and machine taking place of the man work force. Thus no two-way communication and no feedback will be gain, it will lack the smile and gestures of the hospitality employees. And also some people might find it complicate and do mistakes during the process.
Hello Asish and thank you for your comment! Hotels who provide self-service give a choice for customers. If they want to have a quick chek-in and they know how to use self-service kiosk, it will be easier for guests to do everything by themself. On the other hand, if people do not want to use self-service kiosks or they do not like it, they always can use the old type of interaction, and wait in line for check-in to the hotel)
DeleteKudos to Anastasia and Mandi for the blog-
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the whole idea of this self service kiosks is a time saver but except this i dont find any other advantage of it but all disadvantages cause it openly clashes with the whole concept of being hospitable to your guests as the most essential part of the hospitaliy industry. Customer service it also eliminates this concept too and what about the people who are not tech savvy leave out the seniors,childrens and other sections of society even some youngsters could find it complicated and time consuming often which eventually takes more time than a usual manual service would take. So all in all i would always as a my personal choice and also keeping the general consensus in mind would prefer a human to human service rather than some computer service being given!!
Great work Ladies,
ReplyDeleteWe all hear about the various technological advancements regularly and see how they affect our industry, but not all of us look at it objectively. I definitely agree with your team about the fact that Self-service kiosks are on the rise and serve their purpose in situations where guests have to wait for a long time. This can be very helpful for customers who are in a hurry, don't want to have human interaction for whatever reason, or don't need service from the front desk. These kiosks target a very specific niche and make the operations process much more efficient.
I personally feel that Self-service kiosks are very beneficial for organizations that use them, and plus they give the feeling of uniqueness for customers who do use them.
There is always debate that because of no human interaction the quality of service declines. But then again, it's upto the hotel to use this technology, For e.g. we will only see it's use with hotels with more traffic rather than high-end luxury hotels.
Thank you Ankita for your comment! I agree with you that self-kiosks will be more and more popular in the future. But we did the research and find that even high-level hotels use this technology. We have link where you can see how Marriot hotel affords self-service for their customers. It is more like mobile app, but the idea is do not interact with customers who do not want it.
DeleteGreat Blog!
ReplyDeleteSelf-checkouts are a transaction system that has experienced a surge in popularity over the past few years.
According to Self Service World, 27,000 self-checkout terminals were shipped to businesses around the world in 2012. This growth is projected to steadily rise and 60,000 terminals will be shipped in 2018. Consequently, more businesses are choosing to integrate this system. There are some reasons why i believe this service might not be so popular in the future. Customer Difficulties
There are many people who are very good with technology and they can navigate through self-serve system. However there are others who might find this problematic. There have been complains regarding this systems that some bar codes or even coupons can not be identify by the machines. This kind of circumstances just make the clients feel irritated. Whenever this instances occur guest might need further assistance.
There is also the fact of potential theft. In self serve system any tech savvy person might try to get into the save disk and steal customers information. Another thing that could happen is that some smart people might try to replace bar codes to get lower prices. If a customer is caught doing this, they could even say that they didn’t know that this was happening and there might be no prove of intentional theft.
As conclusion i would say that i support the traditional approach and personal warm services. No machine could replace the unique service given by an employee.
Hi Caroline, I totally understand your concerns regarding the replacement of human interaction. However, I do disagree with your statement that they will not be popular in the future. The truth is that the world has become a technologically advance place where we are forced to change. 20 years ago we paid bills the old fashion way and now everything is done on-line. I remembered when the first introduced the kiosks at the airport I was very upset because I didn't feel like I was receiving that individualize attention. Now I'm happy I have that option because I no longer have to wait in long lines, I have a choice. Also, one must also remember that our generation and the ones who will come after us will see this as a norm. Yes they're older folks who may have difficulties but that's why we still have agents around. When those people hare no longer alive 20-30 years from now technology will not be so foreign to us or our grandchildren but a norm, I'm also pretty sure they will also have software to prevent any theft and fraud as they they do now with atms and other self service devices. However. nothing will ever compare to a warm smile and great hospitality.
DeleteNice blog and interesting topic.
ReplyDeleteSelf check out is modern way that is being adopted by many industries to make the life of their customers helpful and to save the time of the customers. It has both the sides for some people it is helpful but on the other hands the customers that are not use to it is a problem for them.
Merits of self checkout:-
Biggest advantage is the added speed with which customer can checkout and pay for their purchases. Before this system was introduced people need to stand in long ques. This system act more helpful during the peak hours as the customers are able to self checkout. Self checkout is a space saving option as it requires much more less space comparable to traditional checkout method.
Demerits of self checkout:-
the people who are familiar to technology will feel more easy but for others is not. Sometimes bar code or coupon do not scan properly so it create more problem in that case. Also many customers do not feel comfortable with self checkout process.
So these are some relevant points according to my point of view.