Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed Issues and Complications of Customer Service BTEC Travel and Tourism

Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed The Big Issue Many travel and tourism organisations talk about delivering good customer service: They include it in their mission statements. They talk about making customers feel special. But the key is consistency.

Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed Consistent Customer Service Making customers happy 100% of the time is the aim. It ’ s no good getting it right one moment and then failing to maintain customer service the next. Inconsistent service leads to customers not knowing what to expect.

Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed Inconsistent Customer Service Will they want to book that hotel room, this flight or that cruise next time? Faced with uncertainty, customers will probably choose to book through a competitor. The previous session showed that it is about five times as expensive to win over a new customer as it is to work with an existing one.

Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed Benefits of Consistency An organisation with consistently high levels of customer service has an edge over its competitors. It may lead to lower marketing costs. People may pay more to be certain of the service they ’ ll receive. This may help the firm achieve a higher profit margin on its activities.

Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed Importance of Employees Employees are vital in this attempt to achieve consistently high customer service. Organisations must have the right systems in place in order to achieve their goals. If staff cannot take the right action when dealing with customers, the business will suffer.

Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed Helping Staff Achieve Effective staff in travel and tourism: Take pleasure in seeing that their customers are happy. See the value of their work. Are empowered to deliver high levels of customer service. Travel and tourism organisations should work hard to recruit people who fit this bill

Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed What Next? Think about how travel and tourism staff can be motivated to be good at customer service. Go to the Activity to practice your skills in recruiting customer-focused staff. Find out more about a case where external events can shape the customer service experience.