Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
with the service they are getting and may choose to
take their business elsewhere.
The main consequences of poor customer service are
summarised in Figure 4.2 and discussed in detail in the
following sections of this unit.
Although it is not always easy to defi ne exactly what
constitutes good service, we are all familiar with
circumstances when the level of service we have
received is either very good or very bad. In travel and
tourism, the following examples give a fl avour of what
excellent and poor customer service are all about:
Financial
Reputation
Legal
• Decreased
sales and/
or profi t
• Less repeat
business
• Poor staff
morale
• High staff
turnover
• Adverse
publicity
• Data protection
• Disability
Discrimination
Act
• Trade
Descriptions
Act
• Health and
safety
•
In a restaurant - an example of good service
would be when the management remembers that
an evening booking is for a couple's fi rst wedding
anniversary and provides a complimentary bottle of
wine. Bad service is when you telephone in advance
to make a booking, only to fi nd when you arrive that
the waiter has no record of the booking and all the
tables are taken;
Fig 4.2 - Consequences of poor customer service
•
In a hotel - good service would be when the
receptionist remembers the name of a guest's child
and provides a box of toys for her to play with. Bad
service would be not attending to a broken shower
in a guest's room as soon as possible after the fault
is reported;
Financial
Poor standards of customer service can result in less
repeat business and lead to decreased sales and/or
profi ts, thereby affecting the so called 'bottom line'
of an organisation. Many of the problems associated
with poor standards of customer service in travel and
tourism are the result of a lack of training. Staff must
be trained in the skills needed to provide an excellent
service to customers, not just when they start a job but
throughout their working life. Managers need to:
•
In a health club - an example of good service would
be providing free use of armbands for all the under
5s in the swimming pool. Bad service would be the
temporary receptionist telling a telephone caller
that he is not sure of the cost of hiring the indoor
bowls hall for the day as he is new to the job and
only comes in on Saturdays.
•
Discover any underlying problems that are causing
the customer service problems;
Activity 4.3
•
Arrange staff training sessions to help deal with the
problems;
•
Provide a supportive environment in which staff can
Carry out a small-scale survey of a mixture of people
to fi nd out their recent experiences of good and bad
service in travel and tourism facilities (hotels, tourist
attractions, airports, ferry terminals, villa complexes,
travel agencies, tourist information centres, etc.).
Record what they say on a sheet and analyse the
results with the rest of your group. Suggest how the
examples of poor service standards could be put
right.
fl ourish;
•
Involve all staff in customer service improvement.
One of the most successful customer service training
schemes in the UK is Welcome to Excellence (Formerly
Welcome Host).
This activity is designed to provide evidence for P1.
