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. Explain the importance of customer service. Describe the characteristics of exceptional customer service and its benefits. Explain how the quality of customer service differentiates a destination. Describe how to recover from service failure. Explain how social media impacts customer service deliveryOverviewIn the tourism and hospitality industry, the success or failure of our businesses and destinations depends on service.
Some, however, deliver consistently higher levels of customer service. Why and how are they able to do this?
This chapter will try to answer these questions as we explore the fundamentals of customer service in the context of a competitive global tourism environment. Figure 9.1 A family checks in at a hotel where they’re provided with an engaging customer service experience Customer Service as Part of BC’s Tourism Marketing PlanMany credit Expo 86, and the training that began the previous year under the SuperHost banner, with bringing this important topic to the forefront of BC’s tourism industry. Take a Closer Look: The SuperNewsBack in the days of Expo 86, it seemed everyone in the industry had a vested interest in improving their customer service skills.
Take a look at the first edition of the SuperNews, a newsletter for industry professionals that shared the highlights of training received by taxi drivers and at local colleges, and offered name tags for people to encourage customers to “Expect the Most: SuperHost.” Read a copy of the: www.worldhosttraining.com/documents/SuperNewsVol1No1.pdfCustomer service remains an integral part of delivering on BC’s tourism marketing promises to our guests. Destination BC recently launched its Remarkable Experiences program, intended to differentiate the province as a destination in a global market filled with competitors. Successful execution of this strategy will depend on how well employers and their staff provide quality customer service, focusing on the importance of the “human element” in the visitor experience (Destination BC, 2014). And across the country, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) is encouraging the development of Canadian Signature Experiences, made all the more memorable because of the high-quality guest interactions they emphasize (Canadian Tourism Commission, n.d.).
A Key Issue for Employers Figure 9.2 Great customer service takes place across many platforms and is critical for tourism and hospitality employers.In a 2010 Tourism Vancouver Island training and education needs assessment survey, employers and managers indicated that customer service skills were one of the most significant issues (Tourism Vancouver Island, 2010). Employers and human resources managers were most concerned with employee skills and training related to personal development, tourism/hospitality knowledge, computer and communication skills, leadership/management skills, and customer service skills and attitudes.A similar finding emerged from a 2014 LinkBC roundtable discussion held between tourism and hospitality educators and industry professionals. One of the main topics raised by employers was the need for new tourism professionals to learn customer service skills and to continue to hone these over time. In all groups, across all sectors, many students and graduates were found lacking in these skills (LinkBC, 2014).For this reason, an entire chapter has been dedicated to exploring customer service issues, including quality of customer service, key challenges and benefits to employers and employees, the concept of customer orientation, and ways to recover when service interactions go wrong. Quality of Customer Service Figure 9.3 Service encounters can start before a guest enters a business. Does this sign send the right message?Quality customer service is an experience of feeling valued or heard. Sometimes it’s an intangible component of why a guest may prefer one tourism or hospitality provider over another.
There is something about quality customer service that you often can’t put your finger on — but you know it’s there. And it’s a critical factor for tourism success, both as a means of satisfying ever-increasing customer expectations, and as a way to achieve business profitability (Erdly & Kesterson-Townes, 2002).In 2012, Cornell Hospitality presented a report from PKF Hospitality Research that showed guest satisfaction is heavily influenced by service factors such as employee attitude and the pacing and order of services provided. It found that the greater the client satisfaction, the higher the revenues for a given hospitality business, and that service plays a far greater role than price and location in the guest-purchase decision (Cornell Hospitality Research, 2012).Training is critical to ensuring quality service and meeting these objectives (Brown et al., 2009). On a global scale, Canada ranks high in human resources capabilities. Unfortunately, due to the seasonal nature of many tourism and hospitality positions, and limited access to affordable and accessible training, the industry isn’t always able to take advantage of this position (Blanke & Chiesa, 2009), as it can be difficult to attract, train, and retain reliable and qualified staff year-round. Spotlight On: The Canadian Tourism Human Resources CouncilIn Canada, the Canadian Tourism Human Resources Commission (CTHRC) offers the national emerit training program. Certification from emerit recognizes an individual’s competence in his or her occupation as measured against the National Occupational Standards.
Professional certification is available for dozens of frontline and supervisory occupations, providing a marketable credential for those just starting out in the tourism industry and for seasoned veterans. For more information, visit the: concept of total quality (TQ) refers to an approach by businesses to integrate all employees, from management to front-level, in a process of continuous learning, with a goal of increasing customer satisfaction. It involves examining all encounters and points of interaction with guests to identify points of improvement. Total quality management (TQM) in tourism and hospitality is a process where service expectations are created by the entire team, with a collaborative approach between management and employees (Kapiki, 2012). Key Challenges and Benefits to EmployersMany employers struggle to justify the time and expense associated with training, particularly in a seasonal workplace or environment with high staff turnover (Saunders, 2009). In fact, many of the benefits of training are intangible and therefore difficult to measure, although there is evidence that the return-on-investment of training is quite high. For example, employee competence and job satisfaction are not always easily assessed, but can improve productivity and organizational profitability.
Spotlight On: WorldHost Training ServicesWorldHost Training Services, a division of Destination BC, offers internationally recognized training solutions to meet the needs of the tourism industry. A variety of customer training products are available, from self-directed online courses to customized training programs. Recently, WorldHost Training Services introduced a series of online courses entitled Remarkable Service in the Age of Social Media. For more information, visit: www.WorldHostTraining.comAccording to Kim (2008), customer-oriented interactions between consumers and tourism employees influence the quality of the tourism experience.
Let’s take a closer look at the concept of customer orientation and what this means in today’s tourism businesses. Customer Orientation Figure 9.5 An American Airlines ad from 1954 shows that, in tourism and hospitality, service has always been paramount.Kim defines customer orientation “as the set of activities, behaviours, and beliefs that place high priority on customers’ interests and continuously create superior customer value” (2008, p. Even when employees have positive attributes, it may not be enough to ensure positive customer engagements unless they are specifically trained toward customer orientation (Kim, 2008). Spotlight On: Service Skills AustraliaService Skills Australia (SSA) supports skills and workforce development in the service industries. These include retail and wholesale, sport, fitness, community recreation, outdoor recreation, travel, tourism, meetings and events, accommodation, restaurants and catering, holiday parks and resorts, hairdressing, beauty, floristry, community pharmacy, and funeral services. SSA is a not-for-profit, independent organization and one of 11 Industry Skills Councils funded by the Department of Industry to support skills development for Australian industries (Service Skills Australia, 2015).
For more information, visit: www.serviceskills.com.auSo far we’ve explored the reasons good customer service is critical to our industry. And with the acronym RATER, we now understand the basics of what a customer might expect from an organization. Together, these concepts can form part of a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy for tourism and hospitality businesses.
Sector Expander Watch Manual
CRMs are tools used by businesses to select customers and maintain relationships with them to increase their lifetime value to the business.There are a number of points in time where this relationship is maintained. Take a Closer Look: Remarkable Service in the Age of Social MediaThis WorldHost Training Services video introduces the concept of remarkable service and what it means for the industry today:: that we have a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of customer service, maintaining positive relationships with our guests and aiming to exceed their expectations, let’s look at some organizations that support the training and development of the industry.
Tourism and Hospitality Human Resource SupportA number of organizations support the training, development, and credentialling of tourism and hospitality professionals at both the national and provincial level. Figure 9.11 British Columbia’s tourism industry has come a long way since Expo 86, delivering great service to visitors from near and far. Pm2525 service manual. Human Resource CouncilsAt the national level, the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC), a national sector council, is responsible for best practice research, training, and other professional development support on behalf of the 174,000 tourism businesses and the 1.75 million people employed in tourism-related occupations across the country.
Provincially, the organization go2HR serves to educate employers on attracting, training, and retaining employees, as well as hosts a tourism job board to match prospective employees with job options in tourism around the province. Training ProvidersThroughout this textbook, you’ll see examples of not-for-profit industry associations providing training and certification for industry professionals. For example, the former Canadian Institute of Travel Counsellors (CITC) is now hosted by the Association of Canadian Travel Agents and continues to offer a full-time and distance program to train for the occupation of Certified Travel Counsellor.
Closer to home, WorldHost Training Services, a division of Destination BC, offers world-class customer service training. Educational InstitutionsBritish Columbia is home to a number of high-quality public and private colleges and universities that offer tourism-related educational options. Training options include certificates, diplomas, and degrees in adventure tourism, outdoor recreation, hospitality management, and tourism management. Whether students are learning how to manage a restaurant, gaining mountain adventure skills, or exploring the world of outdoor recreation and tourism management, tomorrow’s workforce is being prepared by skilled instructors with solid industry experience.Through these educational opportunities, tourism professionals can earn a range of credentials and certifications that not only boost their confidence, but have proven benefits to employers seeking fresh ideas and potential leaders for their organizations. Complete the Remarkable – YOU!
Checklist for Service Professionals (WorldHost Training Services, 2013). On a scale of 1–5 (with 5 being highest) rate yourself on the following customer service skills. You can use a recent customer interaction or one from a previous service role. Accent Inns is an award-winning, family-owned and operated company based in Victoria with hotels located in Victoria, Richmond, Burnaby, Kelowna, and Kamloops.
All Accent Inns have developed a reputation for their quality, reasonable rates, and excellent service. Guest and staff satisfaction are key components of their service culture to treat every guest like family. The team at Accent Inns put great effort into making every customer interaction memorable.In 2013, Accent Inns committed to incorporating customer service training at each property to be delivered by Accent Inns assistant general managers (AGMs). Core outcomes were to raise the level of service, empower front-line staff with the tools to exceed guest expectations, and strengthen the facilitation and coaching skills of the AGM team. Building on the business’s existing training culture and strong corporate values, WorldHost Training Services created a customized half-day program for the AGMs to use in their hotels.To prepare, the AGMs completed an experiential 1.5-day train-the-trainer session.
An emphasis on coaching support and a team facilitation approach led many to gain confidence in this new role. One trainer excelled and was selected as the full-time trainer for Accent Inns. Working with the human resources team from Accent Inns, WorldHost also completed a needs analysis at each property to ensure staff had input into future training.
The Sector Watch Company, based in Italy, is known for its sporty timepiece styles. Sector Watches come in two collections; each also has sub-collections. The Sector Expander Collection features Street Watches, Cardio Watches and Outdoor Watches-all with specific functions relating to their category. The other Sector Collection is called 'No Limits' and features Racing, Marine, Mountain, Urban and Contemporary Watches, again with functionality relating to the timepiece class. Within all these categories, the most popular Sector watch functions based on online retailers are the chronograph, the dual time and the ana-digi. Most chronograph watches have screw-down crowns for water resistance.
You must unscrew the watch crown before you can make any changes to the watch time. After time is set screw the crown back in. To utilize the chronograph dials, use the buttons on the side of the watch. One button will be for the second timer. Press once for the second hand to start timing. Press again to stop it.
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Another button will be to reset the second hand timer back to zero. Sector Chronograph watches may have different dial functions (see link in References). Sector Dual-Time Watch Instructions.