Haigazian University

Dagmar Symes on “Service Excellence: Lessons from the Hospitality Industry”

Feb, 24
Dagmar Symes on “Service Excellence: Lessons from the Hospitality Industry”

“The customer journey, the touch points, the emotions involved, the whole service experience and storytelling are fundamental features while striving for service excellence”, said Dagmar Symes, General Manager of Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort – Sultanate of Oman, sharing lessons learned from her wide range of experience in the luxury and hospitality industries.

Symes was the guest speaker of the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, where she presented an inspiring lecture on “Service Excellence: Lessons from the Hospitality Industry”, to a capacity audience of students, faculty and staff. On behalf of the Faculty, Symes was introduced by Ms. Salpi Jalian, Assistant to the President for Administrative Affairs, as a luxury business specialist who brings a wealth of experience in both the hotel and luxury retail industries across Europe and the Middle East.

Symes considered “service excellence” as a key and fundamental strategic differentiator in the dynamic business landscape, which involves the customer’s journey, the various touch points, the emotions involved, in addition to the whole service experience and storytelling.

She put significant importance on the notion of instilling and nurturing a “service culture” within an organization, as an essential prerequisite to “service excellence”, which automatically translates into a collective attitude to act and provide an outstanding service. In that respect, “service excellence and customer centricity are the backbone of the hospitality”, Symes noted.

Symes concluded her lecture by considering “service excellence as the new marketing”, emphasizing on concepts and practices such as individualized service, personalization, adaptive communication, and staff empowerment.

An interactive Q & A session followed.

Mira Yardemian
Public Relations Director