Customer Service in the Service Sector of Hospitality and Tourism Industry - Literature review Example

? Business Report Executive Summary The intention of this report is to analyse the importance service in the service sector of hospitality and the tourism industry. The report takes into account the conceptual notion that customers are the key to any form of business, wherein due focus on customer satisfaction tends to yield the maximum return and growth for the overall organisation. The report also bases its arguments on the assumption that customers’ prefer to purchase more when they acquire a satisfied experience from the services of a company, which further indicates the importance of customer satisfaction. Based on these underpinnings, the report argues the significance of customer satisfaction in the context of contemporary hospitality and tourism industry. Business report In the present day scenario, the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry of the world is experiencing immense growth owing to augmenting demand from the customers towards the facilities served by this particular industry. The industry is precisely explained as one of the major service industries that offer wide range of services like lodging, restaurant facilities, theme park benefits and transportation facilities among others, to a wide range of customers. Correspondingly, maintaining high level of integrity and delivering due significance towards the level of employee commitment is also crucial in order to obtain overall business efficiency. 1.0. Background Considering the chances witnessed in the modern era, it can be argued that the immense growth of the hospitality and the tourism industry has been stimulated largely due to the increasing number of people getting attracted towards the wide range of services offered by the participating companies. Notably, maintaining a balance between the quality and quantity of services in the hospitality industry often raise to be a noteworthy challenge, which in turn requires effective organisational leadership practices. Implementation of this particular approach is often argued as an important aspect for the long term sustainability of the industry (Laws, 2004). Aim of the Report. The aim of this report will to evaluate the importance of customer service in the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry around the world and the corresponding components that tend to influence the strategic effectives of its practices in this regard. Accordingly, the paper will recommended for the future approach that the participant companies should undertake with regard to providing effective and integrated customer services in this particular industry. 2.0. Discussion Customers are widely considered as the key attribute of any form of business, especially in the present day context, where the performance of the business is entirely dependent on the behaviour of the customers. However, the importance of customers in the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry resides to a higher level owing to the fact that it is a service industry and also due to the reason that customer retention by ensuring maximum customer satisfaction is the key to sustainability in the industry structure. Providing services to the customers and that too in an efficient and dedicated manner is the core success factor for companies operating in this particular industry in today’s contemporary setting (Leland & Bailey, 2006). Customer Services. As described in the above section of the report, customers are the primary driving force in hospitality business in today’s contemporary world. According to the study of Leland & Bailey (2006), customer service is regarded to be a particular approach taken with the intention to ensure better customer satisfaction through effective and integrated service based business operations. In precise, it is the assistance or the advice any business provides to its targeted customers on the purchase of services offered. Although the mechanism is not limited to the hospitality industry, it shall not be pious to state that the approach has its maximum significance in this particular service sector being in direct influence of employee efficiency. Based on these obligations, the approach is also explained as a provision of ensuring services for the customers before, after as well as during the purchase of services. The variable of customer service in any form of business can also be defined as the series of activities that companies undertake to design a bunch of effective offerings to enhance the level of satisfaction of the customers to a substantial extent. On successful completion, this approach generates a feeling of satisfaction, advocating that the business has been able to meet the level of expectations from the customers’ end (Leland & Bailey, 2006). However, it is worth mentioning in this context that the importance of effective customer services tends to differ from product to product and from industry to industry, where the hospitality industry tends to acquire a distinct position in the world economy. Importance of Customer Services. Since customers are important part to any form of business, the services provided to them becomes directly significant. In this regard, Zemka & Woods (1999) argues that customer services are the scientific approach taken by companies with the motive to maintain a healthy and long-run relationship with customers and preserve their level of preference towards the offered business services. There are several reasons owing to which the aspect of customer services becomes crucial for corporate houses, especially for those operating in the hospitality and tourism industry. In the hospitality and tourism industry, the rendered customer services also need to be flexible enough to meet the ever changing and widely heterogeneous demand of the targeted buyer group. This further signifies that there is an immense competition among the companies operating in this particular sector owing to the similarity of the product or services they provide to the buyers, irrespective of being highly diversified and heterogeneous. Hence, it is the efficiency of the services that companies offer to the customers in this particular industry sector that eventually differentiate them from other operators and contribute to their competitive advantages. Customers in the hospitality and the tourism industry recognise or choose providers for themselves on the basis of the quality of services that the companies tend to offer. Correspondingly, it can be stated that customer services is of vital importance in this sector as it is the main component used to attract new customers for the business, derive maximum satisfaction from them and to maintain and develop loyalty of buyers for ensuring sustainability for future operations of the business in the long-run (Leland & Bailey, 2006; Zemka & Woods, 1999). Impacts of Customer Services on Business. Providing quality services or vice-versa to the customers, eventually influence the behaviour of the same towards the business, either in a favourable or in an unfavourable manner. This certainly influences the operations of the business to a larger extent. Notably, today’s customers seek for engaging and extraordinary experiences with services of a particular company, which later develops into a good relationship. It is worth mentioning in this context that customers directly or indirectly decide the performance fate of any particular business. In particular service organisations operating in the tourism and hospitality industry, high level of satisfaction from customers with regard to the services offered, tends to strongly and positively enhance the overall results of business in a favourable direction (Nilsson, Johnson & Gustafsson, 2001). Moreover, companies that have the ability to provide service benefits to the customers in accordance to their needs, in a flexible and most convenient manner, will further gain competitive advantages over their rivals in the same industry sector (Business Case Studies, 2013). Factors to Be Considered To Provide Quality Services to Customers. There are certain factors that are crucial to be considered with the intention to provide quality services to the customers in the service industry. In correspondence, the initial step would be to understand the expectations of the customers from the business. In accordance to that, the business will also need to design its approaches towards providing the demanded services with greater efficiency. Simultaneously, the service providers must ensure that the present customers of the business are treated with utmost priority. If required, the services must be re-designed and evaluated to be changed completely to meet their requirements. Subsequently, the companies operating in the hospitality and tourism industry also need to focus on ensuring maximum quality, along with maintaining a balance with the quantity. Apart from this, another crucial factor that might ensure deliverance of quality services to the customers is the maintenance of high degree of employee satisfaction and morale with the aid of the prevailing culture in the workplace, so as to motivate them in building customer satisfaction by delivering maximum quality assurance. Apart from these basic factors, following the five dimensions of providing quality services to the customers will also be a vital prospect. These dimensions include tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Adherence to these strategic dimensions altogether can ensure better service quality and result in maximum customer satisfaction (Nimer, Khalifeh & Som, 2012). 3.0. Findings From the above discussion, it is evident that the aspect of customer service is quite important in the service sector of the contemporary hospitality and tourism industry. In order to justify this point, certain reports should be considered as noteworthy. According to a survey conducted by Zendesk (2013), the behaviour of customers concerning the services of a particular business, tends to have a direct impact on the performance of the business. The results obtained through the survey by Zendesk (2013) revealed that 42% percent of the customers in the service industry purchase more from a particular company after acquiring a good service experience. Additionally, the survey results also depicted that 52% of the customers became reluctant from buying services from a particular company after acquiring a bad service experience from the same, which comprehensively denotes the significance of effective customer services as a major attribute to the profitability of hospitality organizations. Subsequently, 88 % of the customers depicted that their buying behaviour is largely influenced by the quality of services the company offers to them (Zendesk, 2013). Hence, these aspects together illustrate that business performance is directly interlinked with how companies satisfy customers with effective customer services. 4.0. Conclusions and Recommendations Conclusions. From the overall analysis of discussion and findings of the report, a comprehensive understanding has been gained regarding the importance of customer services in the hospitality and tourism industry. As was observed, purchase behaviour of customers is largely influenced by the experience they acquire from the services offered by a particular business unit, especially in case of repeat purchases. Correspondingly, in the case of first purchase, it is the flexibility of customer services and the efficiency of the employees that tend to yield maximum satisfaction from customers and lure them for repeat purchase. Hence, it can be concluded that employee satisfaction, balanced quality and quantity deliverance capability of the organization and perseverance of a flexible organisational process, altogether contribute to maximum customer satisfaction. Recommendations. Based on the understanding developed from the above discussion and the conclusions derived, it is suggestible that companies operating in the service sector needs to build strong bonding with their customers so that customers loyalty could be maintained for a longer period of time. This can be done by providing quality assured service with due significance to the differentiation prospects of the business and that too in accordance to what customers expectations are in a flexible manner. Moreover, companies should also need to take regular feedbacks from the customers and assure that any mistake once identified will be avoided to yield better returns on investments made. 5.0. References Business Case Studies. (2013). The impact of customer service. The Times 100. Laws, E. (2004). Improving tourism and hospitality services. UK: CABI. Leland, K., & Bailey, K. (2006). Customer service for dummies. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Nimer, A., Khalifeh, A., & Som, A. P. M. (2012). Service quality management in hotel industry: a conceptual framework for food and beverage departments. International Journal of Business and Manegement, 7 (14): 135-141. Nilsson, L., Johnson, M. D., & Gustafsson, A. (2001). The impact of quality practices on customer satisfaction and business results: product versus service organizations. Journal of Quality Management, 6: 5–27. Zemka, R., & Woods, J. A. (1999). Best practices in customer service. United States: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Zendesk. (2013). Customer service and business results: a survey of customer service from mid-size companies. Dimensional Research, 1-11. Read More