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Quality proactive service can further mitigate the urge to litigate by your customers. Suggestions to help prevent legal, safety and security issues and enhance the guest experience are presented, including: 1. Treat all employees with dignity and respect. 2. Electronic door locks are only as effective as the control and monitoring systems in place. 3. Radio alarm clocks need to be checked by the housekeeping staff to ensure they work properly and are set correctly.

Copyright Penton Media, Inc. Feb 2004

Previously, I've written about the importance of the first 15 minutes following an accident as the time to reduce potential litigation. Now, I'm suggesting that quality proactive service can further mitigate the urge to litigate by your customers.

These suggestions can both help prevent legal, safety and security issues and enhance the guest experience.

1. Treat all employees with dignity and respect. Then, insist that they treat all customers-both internal (employees) and external-with dignity and respect. Treating customers fairly and objectively can help an innkeeper eliminate illegal discrimination.

2. Every employee needs to be trained to guide guests to the hotel from a variety of locations. Increased use of cellphones makes this crucial. Be sure the maps to and from your location are accurate. Log on to www.mapquest.com or maps.yahoo. com to insure that directions (particularly from the airport) are accurate.

3. Is the signage on your property frequent and accurate? Ask people unfamiliar with your property to drive to and/or walk through it to give you objective feedback about your signs.

4. Signage indicating the use of space is mandatory. For example: Storage closets for chemicals or equipment must be clearly marked Danger Do Not Enter/Restricted Access by Authorized Personnel Only.

5. Check-in and check-out lines. Even Burger King knows that guests want to be waited on in the order in which they arrive. At the front desk, set up a queuing method with stanchions and ropes. Don't leave it up to guests to tell you who is next in line.

6. Electronic door locks may be the greatest thing since the Twinkie, but they're still only as effective as the control and monitoring systems in place. I still hear front desk clerks make the mistake of declaring the room number out loud for all to hear.

7. Place nightlights in guestrooms/bathrooms so guests don't trip and fall in the middle of the night.

8. Radio alarm clocks need to be checked by the housekeeping staff to ensure they work properly and are set correctly.

9. During remodelings or new construction, ask yourself if all rooms need bathtubs. There is a high incidence of slip-and-falls and injuries both for employees and guests.

10. In your bathrooms, do showers have hot water temperature restrictors to avoid scalding? If you insist on placing towel shelves above toilets, at least use the softest material possible (such as wicker) and be absolutely sure there aren't any sharp edges. Use soap dishes in the shower that curve upward to prevent the soap from falling out, and/or the soap residue from leaking onto the tub floor.

11. All charges for phone calls must be clearly explained, and if you're going to go to the expense of telling guests that you charge for phone calls, also tell them the number to call in the event of an emergency or how to dial 911.

12. There is a push for legislation that would require hotels to not only guarantee a room, but also room type. It is important that every operator be sensitive to this issue. If properties don't adopt the practice, they should at least advise guests clearly at the time of reservation, and in any written confirmations, that only the room is guaranteed and you will do your best to accommodate room type preferences.

13. If you are one of the many hotel companies that has instituted water/energy conservation programs that give guests the option to use towels and sheets more than once, be sure you have implemented a recycling/ water and energy conservation program at your corporate offices and for the administrative offices of your hotel.

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