Guest Service
For The Gaming Industry
Steve Browne, Raving Partner
Inside this issue:
The simple wisdom that should be – The
focus of everything you do in the gaming
industry … 1
Opening a casino in a saturated and
challenging market – The story of Redwood
Casino and their unique service approach … 4
You have to make a choice between being
right and being engaged … 6
Gambling and Service sample pages … 10
Loyal customers may be your company’s
greatest assets – But they can also be a giant
pain in the neck … 14
About Steve Browne … 17
ravingconsulting.com
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Samples Pages Gambling and Service
Creating A Service Program
Many gaming companies claim to offer great service and some do! Others offer pretty good
service and others still offer hardly any service at all. Perhaps you’ve wandered the casino
floor and noticed the type of service being provided. Perhaps you’ve seen employees gathering
in groups to chat among themselves. Seen supervisors running from one fill or problem to the
next without ever acknowledging the people they are serving. Seen cashiers offer up change
and cash checks with nary a word spoken or a smile given.
In many cases we think we are offering good service simply because we care about it, we
mention it in the handbook and perhaps, once in a while we train for it. But the companies who
give truly good service, even great service, have developed an in-house and company-wide
service program to address this most critical of areas.
Why?
Because a 2-hour training class every so often just doesn’t do it. To focus on, and provide,
great service, you need a program that invades every corner of your organization. You need a
program with commitment from the top, buy-in from the middle and acceptance from the
front-line. You need it to embrace the very nature of “how you do business around here.” And
that’s what a good service program does. It slowly changes the company culture from the
inside, from one of routine and mechanics, to service above self and truly caring about how
people work with one another.
It isn’t easy to create, and even harder to keep going. But the benefits are tremendous. From
lower turnover to higher guest satisfaction to increased business levels to a better gaming
product, great service is the cornerstone of what we sell in the gaming business, the gaming
experience.
Creating a service program becomes a difficult, and different, challenge for each company.
Although Harrah’s has an excellent culture of service and has spent millions on training and
service development you cannot follow their example because you are not Harrah's and never
will be. You must use what is unique to your property, your culture, in order to be effective.
Following are some absolutes you should consider when developing a service program.
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Samples Pages Gambling and Service
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Develop Commitment – The management team, from the GM to all the department heads,
must commit to the idea, for a service program affects every department.
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Create a Goal and Strategy – Without these you have no focus, and without that how can
you help others to focus on the customer?
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Develop Basic Service Standards – You can talk all day about what constitutes good
service. But your employees will need simple instructions if the program is to succeed out
on the floor where it counts.
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Develop Training Materials – You need to present your standards in a way that not only
instructs the employees in how-to, but also in why. Without that there is no buy-in from the
front-line.
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Develop Accountability – Accountability for the program and its administration, and
accountability for the standards and adherence to same.
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Measurement – Without measurement you have nothing upon which to base
improvements and to keep it going.
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Take It To The Customers – Too many companies brag about service they don’t have.
Now that you have it, don’t hide it. This also helps bring customers to bear on the
accountability of the program.
By incorporating all of these absolutes into the design of your service program you stand a far
better chance of effecting meaningful change and developing great service levels on your
casino floor.
For unlike other industries, gaming involves a high degree of employee burn-out due to the
highly stressful nature of the product we sell.
In the “Us versus Them” world of casino gaming, true service is more than just a job
procedure, it is way of operating, a way of life.
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Samples Pages Gambling and Service
More Than Money
For employees today, success is defined by much more than just a paycheck. In a survey by
Randstad North America, employees indicated the following when asked what constitutes
success:
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Being trusted to get a job done (91%)
Having power to make decisions that affect your own work (81%)
Getting raises (74%)
Getting promotions (66%)
Gaining seniority (58%)
Having power to make decisions that affect the company (58%)
Happiness and Employees
There are a lot of lessons to be learned from looking at what makes us happy. And they mostly
relate to what we can teach our managers to make them better at understanding employee
needs and desires, and use that understanding to better manage them for productivity and
service. Following are some bullet training points you can use to construct training sessions for
your supervisors and managers in the critical task of managing employees.
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Employees who feel their work is meaningful tend to be happier. How can we teach
employees to find meaning in mundane tasks such as dishwashing and dealing?
A big raise will not make you happy, but recognition for achievement will. How can we
use these two facts to create a more rewarding workplace for employees? (Recognition
Program?)
Feeling competent at what you do tends to make you happy. How can we use this to create
a better sense of well-being in our employees? (Better Evaluation?)
Finally, the ability to develop friendships with positive and like-minded people leads to
happiness. How could we develop mentoring to help employees develop these friendships
in the workplace?
The challenge? To use these points to create meaningful learning for your staff.
T.I.P.S. – To Ensure Prompt Service
Most people, if asked, will tell you a tip is meant to reward good service. But a lot of those
people will tip the same amount regardless of what kind of service they get. Why? Because as
Americans we are neurotic, guilt-prone, or don’t want to be thought of as cheap or ignorant. Or
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Samples Pages Gambling and Service
so says Cornell Professor Michael Lynn, who has studied tipping for 20 years. Some more
facts about tipping.
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The major reason people tip is not for good service but to avoid social disapproval.
Only about 4% of the variability in tip size is due to the tipper’s rating of the service.
That 4% is also the same level of variability that the sun has on tip size (people tip up to
4% more on sunny days).
A tip is also often a payment to reduce the “envy” caused by a perception that the customer
is in a better position financially than the server.
So what to do about the whys and wherefores of how people tip? Well, one thing is for sure.
While bad service may not reduce the size of the tip (due to social disapproval) good service
will substantially increase the size of the tip (due to feeling good). When you make someone
feel good about themselves, they will reciprocate in kind. So teach good service for more tips.
The Four F’s
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, editor of Harvard Business Review, identified four qualities businesses
need to strive for. She says those businesses who want to be competitive must be fast, focused,
flexible, and friendly.
Fast
A "fast" business is one that can quickly adapt to the changing business environment.
Focused
A "focused" organization is one that understands and adjusts quickly to changing customer
needs and demands.
Flexible
A "flexible" organization is one not totally locked into a rigid, bureaucratic organizational
structure. Its flexibility centers on an environment of teamwork. They can build and disband
teams as needed, capitalizing on the collective intelligence of the group.
Friendly
Finally, a "friendly" business is one that is easy and cooperative to
work within. It is a place where workers want to come to work where they can contribute to
the mission. It is a place where customers and suppliers work together supportively.
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Mr. Steve Browne, Carson City, Nevada
 34 + years in the gaming industry
 10 years, owner of Cactus Jacks, Carson City, Nevada (locals casino)
 12+ years as President of Raving Service (training division)
 Primary trainer for Raving’s partnerships with:
Turning Stone Resort & Casino, New York
Redwood Casino Hotel, California
Tachi Place Casino Hotel, California
Solaire Resort & Casino, Manila
Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park, Ohio
River Spirit Casino Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Oklahoma
Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel, Minnesota
 Returning Presenter at:
Raving’s Advanced Sales Model for Your Host Department
OIGA – Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association
Southern Gaming Summit and BingoWorld Conference
Casino Marketing Conference & Tradeshow
NIGA - National Indian Gaming Association
Indian Gaming National Marketing Conference
 Contributing Writer for:
Casino Journal
Raving’s Strategic Solutions Magazine
 Books:
“The Math of Player Development” 2013
“Gambling and Service” 2004
 Additional Contacts:
Mr. James Snead, CFO
Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, California
[email protected]
Mr. Jon Lucas, EVP of Hotel & Casino Operations
Hard Rock International, Florida
[email protected]
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To receive our free electronic publications
or to find out more about our custom
player development programs:
Amy Hergenrother
VP Business Development
[email protected]
ravingconsulting.com
775-329-7864
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