Reflection REPORT II.

Ken Williams
PRT 3800_Small Internship
10/31/2014

As explained in my previous progress report in a broad tendency, my

studies/classes in the hospitality department havent particularly been of much use
served for much application is my positions at the Crystal Inn in night audit and guest
service agent. This being said, as my education has mostly focused on the hospitality
industry as just that the industry; as in the whole, there are particulars which I have
observed as applicable to the organization which I find myself in. Here-in explained.
One caveat, however, to explain firstly, which will explain the gaps that I
observe to be true in and at the Crystal Inn is in the structure of the Crystal Inn. The
Crystal Inn is not a hotelier of its own purpose. How so? The chain of around seven
hotels in the Utah-Idaho areas are all in the ownership of Flying-J oil. The purpose of
the hotels, originally, and still to a large extent was/is to support the clientele of Flying-J
oil. The first Crystal Inns were built and located at large shipping truck stops built to,
generally, provide comfortable lodging for shipment professionals (truckers) and
passersby - needing gas. Why? So shipment professionals wouldnt have to sleep in
their trucks, and to foster good relations with shipment companies so as to generate
loyalty and therefor repeat business for Flying-J oil. This being so, Crystal Inns profit
and financial bottom line is not intended to support, be derived from, or contribute to
tourism. But, to instead do so for the oil industry, and more specifically, Flying-J oil.
What does this mean? Tentatively, in means the Crystal inn is not as singly concerned
with what other lodging companies are concerned with being in the business of tourism,

such as Marriott or Hilton. Crystal Inn exists to support the oil industry and so they
grow and expand in response to the needs generally- of Flying-J oil, not to the
responses and needs of business and tourism travelers. This, therefor, creates gaps of
organizational behavior that, to my opinion, would not normally be present in most
hotelier organizations.
One such observation is in that for the most successful of hotel companies such
as the Ritz-Carlton (owned by Marriott) and I believe Best Western they conduct their
business along the lines of the theories of Deming. That of Total Quality Management,
which is in its broadest sense to consistently improve quality to the client and to always
innovate and improve to increase profits. Deming presented several points to always
follow for his approach to business to work. Several for which I find Crystal Inn would
benefit from in applying so as to serve the tourism industry better would be: One, to
drive out fear. Meaning: employees/staff should not be afraid of their company and the
management of their company in voicing their opinions. This mostly applies to the
front-end staff, those directly and most often in direct contact with the actual clientele of
the lodging property. Such staff, to foster constant improvement, need to feel secure in
their positions to constructively criticize the goings on and actions of management. To
trust their leaders with their job security, so they can confidently voice their opinions
(and have it acted upon my management) to improve guest experience. At the Crystal
Inn I dont really see this at all in practice. Where Deming felt that staff should be
treated as though they want to work rather than that they dont and be coerced to work.
Thus, fostering trust and loyalty to their company and clientele. I find that the Crystal
Inn, in the whole, prefers the latter. Though I am greatly fond of my Superior in Vanessa
H. I am, honestly, fearful of presenting any of my opinions of what could be improved at

the desk. And of the few times I have, I have no confidence that such would be
recognized by management. For instance the phones. Used for taking reservations and
communicating with guests. They are quite scratchy and hard to understand from,
reducing guest satisfaction. They need to be replaced. However, to voice such an
observation, I believe, would be to put my job security at risk.
Another point of Deming, is to institute consistent and quality training. Some
companies, put such importance on this that for a whole month of time the company
will train and train employees on the ins and outs of their prospective positions so as to
make quite sure their staff know exactly what they are doing before they actually start
their jobs and interact with clientele. Fostering high quality and good guest experience.
Basically, to help staff, to teach them to swim rather than sink or swim. Crystal inn
fosters, again, the latter in my opinion. Upon hire I was plunged into the stress of the
front-desk without any guidance aside from the fellow employees I was physically with,
who had no training on actual training. I felt particularly lost, unsupported, and very
insecure and this translated into bad guest experiences. In my first week I had to take a
reservation over a very scratchy phone and it went so badly I was accused by the
prospective guest of being on crack. Needless to say I lost the reservation and the sale.
All due to lack of training and bad phones. Such improvement in this area would, I
believe, be of great value to the Crystal Inn.
The fullness of observations of the Crystal inn, in impersonal criticism would be
enough to fill many more pages. I do enjoy my position and the practical experience I
am happily receiving in my positions. I especially enjoy the coworkers I spend the
majority of my time with. However, as a company the Crystal inn would do well to focus
on serving the clientele rather than the oil company of their ownership.