Please read the following case study and answer the eight discussion questions at the end.
case study
A Bite in the Night: The case of bed bugs at the Mountain Peak Inn
By Heather R. Allman and Thomas Schrier
Introduction
Hotel managers are tasked with ensuring that guests are being
The Manager
Craig has been an employee at the Mountain Peak Inn for two provided clean, comfortable, and safe accommodations during all
Mountain Peak Inn staff, he started working as a front desk agent, was study, background information about the hotel and the staff members
promoted to front desk manager, and a year ago became the general lengthy explanation of the events that took place and the efforts of
proved himself as an employee and showed that he had strong man identify the service failures, service recovery efforts, and any future
agement capabilities early on in his employment with the Mountain Peak Inn, which helped him to be promoted rather quickly to the
Background Information
hotel and progressively shown increases in financial gains, customer
The Hotel
as a hotel manager, it should not be an issue for Craig to address cus conveniently off of the primary interstate in northern West Virginia
Management Situation
There is a significant amount of turnover at the hotel and Robert properties in the same community but do not have any operating
The Mountain Peak Inn has seen an increase in business in recent at the nearby convention center, as well as travelers just passing
had never worked at a hotel prior to being hired at the Mountain Peak it is not uncommon that only one staff member be at the hotel during
a reservation looking for a room for the night to get some rest before room, so the front desk attendant, Robert, offered him a single queen
the Mountain Peak Inn are diligent about providing the best possible membership or age based discounts, had been put into the property
tion, they have upgraded the amenities in all of the guest rooms and ditionally, front desk agents are given a price range for which rooms
so the front desk agents can be flexible with the rates and discount the
Heather R. Allman and Thomas Schrier are both affiliated with Iowa
State University.
Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Cases
57
pressed his concern of disease transmission from being bitten by bed
Charlie gathered his belongings and went to his assigned room
Craig initially showed very little compassion for Charlie in the situ
microwave and refrigerator, flat screen television, and work desk with
that Charlie was thoroughly upset by the situation and how Hannah
had handled the situation, he knew that proper action needed to be
Charlie had gone up to his room to complete a courtesy call to see if
Charlie found his room to be in adequate condition and ask if he want
that Craig thought about taking to correct the situation was to apolo
gize to Charlie for the problem he had encountered, explain that it is
below the hotelÂ’s standard level of customer service and experience,
The following morning, Charlie awoke to find his right arm itch
and remove all charges from CharlieÂ’s hotel folio and offer him free
could have caused the red, itchy bumps to appear so he took a shower
offering Charlie assistance with medical treatment since he did have
the day and he noticed a small bug crawling on the bed and quickly
several welts as a result of being bitten by the bed bugs at the Moun
or compensate Charlie with a gift certificate for a free stay in the future
thing to do would be to offer to remove all charges from CharlieÂ’s hotel
likely occur in a linear pattern or in clusters and can form a hive or blis
he was not fabricating the story, Charlie collected the bug in one of
the complimentary plastic cups provided in the room and took it to
discreet in his mannerisms as he approached the front desk with the
Craig then gave Charlie his business card and told Charlie to send his
Key Questions
What might need to occur for successful service recoveries to
ed her the cup and showed her his arm explaining he had been bitten
Hannah was also a new employee, she was unsure how to handle the
situation properly and felt it would be best to call Craig from his office
to speak directly with Charlie in an attempt to smooth over the situa
Craig would be with him momentarily and began addressing the next
Despite Craig arriving in the lobby within five minutes, Charlie
had grown irritated by HannahÂ’s passive attempt at handling the
What could Hannah have done to help ease the situation with
Did Craig make the right choice in his decision in how to han
How could Craig and the Mountain Peak Inn have been more
prepared for situations like the one addressed in this case
If Charlie is still not satisfied with CraigÂ’s solution what might
who was very upset at this point, exclaimed that he had been bitten
by bed bugs in his room and handed Craig the cup containing the bed
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Volume 5, Number 2
