Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Customer service for people with specii c needs
Individual needs
•
Anticipated needs - these are needs that are
generally not known in advance, e.g. a person
visiting a destination for the fi rst time may not know
if a certain type of cuisine will be available or if
suitable family entertainment will be provided in a
hotel, etc.
Earlier in this unit when investigating the principles of
customer service we saw that meeting customer needs
is the key to success in travel and tourism organisations.
Customer needs vary enormously between individuals
and may be:
While a person's stated and implied needs are relatively
easy to understand, an individual's unstated and
anticipated needs are often more diffi cult to discover,
as they tend to be more concerned with somebody's
motivation, personality and character.
•
Stated needs - these refer to the products and
services that customers actually purchase, e.g. a
short break in a hotel in Bruges or a fl ight to New
York;
•
Implied needs - these are not normally stated as
Special needs
they are taken for granted, e.g. the need for a fl ight
as part of a holiday abroad doesn't have to be
stated as it forms part of the package;
Travel and tourism organisations must strive to provide
excellent standards of service to ALL their customers,
regardless of their circumstances, age, abilities or
disabilities. Some customers have specifi c needs which
may need a particular type of customer service. This
may be because of:
•
Unstated needs - these are needs that customers
choose not to divulge, for a variety of reasons, e.g.
they may not wish to disclose how much they have
to spend on a holiday when talking to a travel agent
or simply don't know what they want!;
•
The need for wheelchair access;
•
Sensory disabilities;
