Week 13: Module 04: HIGH TECH, HIGH TOUCH 60 60 Goal: Decide when to automate processes, and when to add a human touch. What to Do: Imagine you're opening a luxury hotel. You want it to be cutting edge in terms of technology, but you still want to treat guests with a personal touch. For example, you could automate room service order-ing. Guests could order online, or with their smart-phones, or through the TVs in their rooms. Then staff could deliver the meals on antique-looking carts, serving guests on fine china with crystal, linens, and fresh flowers. Or you could use technology to track your guests! entertainment and spa or workout center preferences. When they again stay at your hotel, you could present them with customized offers, again through email, their phones, or the room TVs. Your biggest challenge will be balancing technology with a personal touch. For example, you could automate the entire check-in process, and even eliminate the door attendant. But fully automating these procedures would take away from the warm atmosphere you want to create. 1. Brainstorm a list of customer service processes and other related procedures that a hotel typically performs. 2. Which processes will you automate? Which will you choose to conduct with a human touch? 3. For the processes you'll keep "hands-on," can you use technology to improve their efficiency? 4. For the processes you'll automate, how can you add a personal touch to them? 5. What processes would actually cost less money to automate but would compromise your goal of a "high-touch" business? 6. Explain the relative costs and benehts of implementing these processes