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"Really Useful Technology"
Sophisticated Communications Package Helps The Grove Deliver Five Star
Customer Service
Luxurious, grand, sophisticated – The Grove is
a fabulous 227 bedroomed Five Star hotel. Opened in September
2003, and set in 300 acres of parkland in Chandler’s
Cross, Hertfordshire, the hotel is built around a 1750s
Mansion that was once home to the Earls of Clarendon.
And the Grove is using some sophisticated hi-tech communications
to help ensure that staff deliver a suitably ‘five
star’ customer service.
The Grove is a Grade II* - listed building, so designers
were severely restricted with what they could do. Rising
to the challenge, they have turned the original mansion’s
eccentric layout into a striking blend of classic architecture
and contemporary style. Every room is different –
they have to be, given the structure of the building!
Yet service is fast, discreet and efficient.
The library is a case in point. Idiosyncratic yet relaxing,
it features a huge fireplace and views over the grounds.
“It is a favourite with guests,” confirms
Food & Beverage Director Michael Helling. “But
it’s some distance from The Glasshouse bar, out
of sight of waiting staff. Having a waiter hanging around
the room is impractical and, frankly, uncomfortable for
many of today’s visitors.”
The question was, how would staff know when guests required
service?
For the answer, the Grove turned to Call-Systems Technology
(CST), the company specialising in hospitality communications,
and its wireless Service-Call paging system.
“It’s so simple,” says Michael Helling.
“Guests simply press the button and a member of
staff appears almost instantly. It is discreet and makes
customer service very efficient, despite the hotel’s
layout.”
The secret to its success is that Service-Call not only
tells staff that service is required, but also where and
what. The button sends an instant text message alert to
pagers worn by the waiting staff, who can respond quickly.
The wireless buttons are housed in attractive, practical
units that are distributed around the library: there are
no cables, no fuss and the units have been liveried with
the hotel’s distinctive aubergine colour.
But The Grove’s pager system is much more than
the modern equivalent to a butler bell-pull. Based on
CST’s sophisticated Genesis software programme,
which is installed on the Grove’s computer system,
it also provides fast communications between staff and
even monitors the hotel’s fire alarm.
Reception manager Pru Craig explains: “You can
send messages to individual members of staff, to groups
or to everyone. And you can send them from a PC or the
phone, so wherever you are, you can contact any member
of staff who has a pager.”
Paging from a phone is easy. A particular extension number
connects the caller to the voice prompt. This asks which
pager is required and what message it should send, from
the programmed list. For example, number 6 sends the pager
a message to ‘call Colette’s’ (the Grove’s
A la Carte restaurant), while message 11 tells the recipient
there is a delivery in the loading bay.
However, where possible, Pru Craig prefers to page from
her PC, as she can type exactly the message she wants,
from ‘Mr Smith is waiting for you in reception’
to ‘meeting room 3 is ready to clear’. “It’s
very flexible and efficient,” she says.
This flexibility makes the CST communications system
useful in many areas of The Grove’s activities.
“We can page the Concierge to arrange for four more
chairs to go to a specific conference or meeting, page
Maintenance to attend to a particular room, page Housekeeping
for more towels in the leisure centre,” says Michael
Helling. “Because we can direct staff to their next
job, from wherever they are, it makes best use of their
time and, consequently, helps us provide the best customer
service.”
Michael Helling cites room service as a typical example
of the way the pagers help efficiency. “Room service
operates 24/7. Obviously at certain times the number of
staff is limited. Say you have someone out delivering
an order, and then get a call to clear away a trolley
from another room. We can page the waiter en route, rather
than having him or her come all the way back to the room
service make up area. It saves time and speeds thing up,
enhancing customer service.”
CST’s PC-based systems can also be used to monitor
a site’s facilities, such as fire doors and refrigeration
equipment, automatically paging staff if a problem arises.
The Grove uses this facility with its fire alarm system.
Pru Craig’s office houses the fire alarm panel:
“It’s been very successful. If an alarm goes
off, all the pagers receive a message,” she says.
“It is almost instantaneous and it tells the wearer
not only that there is a fire alert, but also exactly
where the emergency is, which saves vital time.”
Within weeks of opening, the Grove was hosting conferences
for up to 400, occupancy was enviably high and Colette’s
restaurant booked four weeks ahead. It is no surprise:
this is a magnificent country house hotel, in beautiful
grounds, only 40 minutes from the centre of London.
And, thanks in part to a rather ingenious communications
system, customer service is exemplary. “It is really
useful technology,” says Pru Craig.
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Call-Systems Technology Ltd, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, Middlesex HA8 7UU |
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