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Zip!  Yowza!  Wow!  Zilch!  What's In A Word?
Everything When It Comes to Understanding Guest Service

      "Yowza!"  "Cha-Ching!"  "Zilch!" "Wow!"

      No these are not words gleaned from the comics.  There're straight from a guest service book for the gaming industry that will be published in September.  And although they may not sound like it, these words from Gaming Guest Service from A to Z offer insight into how casinos can improve the guest's gaming experience.

      "If gaming properties are to move forward, grow and succeed, the emphasis must be on the guest," says the book's author, Martin R. Baird, president of Robinson & Associates, Inc., a Phoenix, Ariz.-based gaming guest service consulting firm.  "Guests who have a fun and exciting experience will return.  That is a simple but effective formula for success.  Properties that ignore this do so at their own peril because competition for the consumer's entertainment dollar is growing exponentially."

      Gaming Guest Service from A to Z uses the alphabet to help gaming executives, managers and employees understand how critically important outstanding guest service is and how to provide it.  The book has all the letters of the alphabet and each letter has a series of words that give insight on how to provide great guest service. 

      For example, "wow" falls under the letter W and text under "wow" explains:  "You want the wow factor.  You want to hear people say, ‘Wow, this place is beautiful, the people are great and I can't wait to come back.' That's what you want."

      Under "zilch," the book explains:  "That's how much value a guest places on poor service – nothing, nada, zilch."

      Under "yowza," the book notes:  "If your guests had such a wonderful time at your property that they had to make up a word to describe their feelings, yowza would be the ideal."

      "Gaming Guest Service from A to Z is an easy, pleasant read that encourages readers to keep turning the pages," Baird says.  "The book's format allows it to be read in any manner.  You can read it from front to back, back to front or turn to a page at random.  No matter how it's read, it offers words of wisdom that will help gaming properties create a guest service culture."

      The book already has drawn praise from industry publications.  Back-cover comments include the following:

      "Martin R. Baird's Gaming Guest Service from A to Z is right on the mark.  It
provides a comprehensive list of items that every gaming establishment should know in order to offer their guests first-rate guest service.  This book is a must read for every employee in a casino.  In fact, Baird's book can be applied to any industry in which guest service is a factor, not just the gaming industry. Gaming Guest Service from A to Z is an enjoyable and easy-to-read book that is sure to improve your establishment's guest
service." – Josh Brown, editor, Gaming Products & Services.

      "Owning and using Gaming Guest Service from A to Z should be mandatory for
any person, regardless of profession or experience, who wants to be in the know about providing great guest service.  It has an easy-to-read and easy-to-understand layout, which is perfect for executives who don't have hours to spend reading a customer service book.  It's absolutely teeming with essential, practical information from a professional who's 'been there, done that.'" – Melanie Dellas, editor in chief, Native American Casino.

      Gaming Guest Service from A to Z is available through Robinson and Associates' Web site www.casinocustomerservice.com, by calling the company at (480) 991-6421 or by e-mailing Lydia Baird at lbaird@casinocustomerservice.com.  The company's mailing address is 4718 E. Cactus, Suite 237, Phoenix, AZ 85032.  The book sells for $12.95 US.

Owned by Lydia and Martin Baird, Robinson & Associates, Inc., is a guest service consulting firm that provides specialty guest service training, management skills training, presentation skills training, team building programs and employee incentive and recognition programs for the gaming industry.  The Bairds have a Web site, www.casinocustomerservice.com, that’s devoted to helping casinos improve their guest service so they can compete and increase revenues.  Robinson & Associates may be reached by contacting Martin at 480-991-6420 or at mbaird@casinocustomerservice.com.  Robinson & Associates is a member of the Casino Management Association and an associate member of the National Indian Gaming Association.