Customers Service Operations and Excellence Perspective - Coursework Example

Explore and discuss why and how organizations from a s service operations and excellence perspective strive for such accolades. Customer Service Operations Introduction: In an economy, transactions that take place are usually of two types: goods and services. When it comes to goods, the manufacturer or producer has no direct contact with the consumer but this is not the case in services. The customer services sector has direct interaction with the customers on a regular basis and thus, each and every step of this interaction will reflect a lot on their part as to the quality of service and the level of commitment that the producer is giving to the service. When it comes to hotel management services, the hotel is all about providing convenience, comfort, luxury and satisfaction to the customer as long as they stay within the boundaries of the hotel. There are a number of hotel chains opening up in recent times and there has been seen a rise in the level of investments that are made in this sector. This is because people have become so busy in their lives that when they need a break and travel abroad, they need such hotels which can provide them the real sense of being on holidays, with such care taken of them which makes them wish for more. Moreover, the world is becoming a global village and trade is now conducted across countries very commonly. Thus, more and more business people are travelling abroad and need the use of hotels. Though the award is just for being a leisure hotel, but nowadays the businessman also needs such hotels which caters to his comforts plus provides him a certain level of leisure, which will allow him to break away from the monotony and indulge in the good things of life in the midst of his hectic routine. This is not the time where hotels were used only for foreigners availing it to stay during vacations. Moreover, hotels are also often used for corporate or luxurious dining, in that case, the customer wishes for maximum utility of the high charges that are being paid by him to the hotel. Moreover, it is not just the foreigners who use the hotel of a specific country. Rather, even the locals can utilize the hotel for various services. Explore and discuss WHY organizations from a customers service operations and excellence perspective strive for such accolades." Word of Mouth Promotion: When it comes to why the hotels are focusing more on excellent customer services etc, this is because ultimately the promotion of any type of service is best expanded due to word of mouth. If the hotel will provide amazing customer services to the customers during their stay, they are bound to make a positive impact on the customers. Getting the award of best lesiure hotel is a very big deal for all the hotels because ultimately this attracts other customers very easily. The normal customer is always looking for information to satisfy his quest for the best solution possible for all their needs and wants. Thus, when such awards will be won by the hotel management services, this will gain publicity and spread among the public, thus enabling more and more people to make their choices more effectively and chose the given hotel instantly. The Increasing Sophistication of Customers: In addition to that, the customers of today are getting more sophisticated than ever. It is very difficult to satisfy them. This is because the customers of today have more access to more information than more. The irony in this is that the customers are and will always remain the focal point of any business. And especially the customer service sector has to take care of customers especially if they want repeat visits by the customers. An unsatisfied customer tells 10 other people whereas a satisfied customers tells only 3 more. Thus, it is very important to satisfy the customers of today especially if the hotel business has to flourish. Chain Management: Furthermore, this hotel is a chain, which is spread all around the world. And thus, it is essential to maintain an excellent criterion in all their hotels so that word of mouth disperses in all directions. When one of the links of the chain will be popular, the whole chain will be benefitted by that. Thus, this will generate high amounts of profit for the group as a whole, which maintains this chain. Explore and discuss HOW organizations from a customers service operations and excellence perspective strive for such accolades." The 7 Ps of Marketing Offer: In a marketing offer, the producers, with the help of the combination of the 4 Ps are making such an offer of a product or service which convinces the customer. This is how customer service operations are conducted in an efficient manner, by focusing on every aspect of the product that is being offered. When it comes to a hotel, it lies somewhere in the middle in the product-service continuum, and thus is it important to not just focus on those 4 Ps, but rather on all 7 Ps in which the three additional Ps stand true only for the service sector. It is important for the hotels to maintain an excellence perspective, because it combines quality work as well as high productivity. How these hotels manage excellent customer service is through commitment to customers, taking care of their minor needs, giving them more than they are expecting and through the small things that will make the customer remember the hotel vividly and on a positive note. The 4 Ps of marketing mix are price, promotion, place and product but when it comes to the services, there is an addition of 3 more Ps, in the form of people, processes and physical evidence. People: In terms of people, the hotel ensures that it is hiring top notch staff, which is giving absolute services to the customers, and who are educated enough to handle the customers in an principled and ethical manner. Staff includes waiters, attendants, receptionists, managers, room service people etc. They need to be well dressed, have the training to deal with unforeseen issues, be flexible to accommodate the customers. Such efforts, money, time and training session that these organizations invest into their human resources does not go haywire, rather it is the biggest way of attracting more customers. This is about live interaction of the customers with people who are representing the organization, and if this interaction becomes a good memory in the minds of the customer, things will be in the favor of the customer service organization. Product: The product is the hotel itself, the food that is being given to the customers, the beds and all other kinds of furniture that furnishes the hotel rooms, the tables and chairs in the dining area, the sofas in the lounge, the carpet that adorns the floors of the hotel and the list can go on. For any other service organization, there might or might not be a product. For example, in the consultancy firm, there are no products as such because all the organization is doing is providing consultation to the customers. Such organizations make sure that the product they are offering alongside their service should be immaculate and spectacular. It should have no flaws of function and design and should impress its user. With regards to leisure hotel chains especially, it is important to take care of style, but then note should be taken of the fact that substance is never forgotten along with style. Place: Place basically refers to the location of the hotel or the organization in terms of service. If there is an organization which is providing customer services but its location is in a very remote area, there would be very low turnover of customers because of difficulty of access to that location. Moreover, place also includes the time and days in which the organization is running and is open for the customers. It is important that this information is conveyed well to the customers, because the customers will be specially coming to the organization for its needs and if the customer finds it closed, it will reflect a negative thought for the organization. Moreover, the atmospherics need to be taken into account as well. The aura that the hotel is providing falls into the category of place. Promotion: Promotion is being more or less explained in the “why” part of this essay. But then again, the promotion that is generated by word of mouth is just by chance and any organization should not depend on it, however strong its effects are ultimately. Such organizations promote intensely by giving advertisements in elite newspapers or magazines. They might not highlight every aspect of their organization in the advertisement, rather they would just highlight a single aspect, rather the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) so as to have maximum impact and attract customers on that basis only. Promotion can be made in various other ways as well, it is important to do integrated marketing in today’s sophisticated and fast moving age, that is the organization needs to have a good promotion mix which is using diverse tools of promotion. The organization can have billboards, or have sales promotions, which will attract maximum customers to the hotel after which it is the work of all the staff to make sure that an amazing stay is provided to all the visitors. Price: Another factor with which the organization needs to play with and has to be careful about is that of the price. If the organization ultimately decides to have high premium prices, they can rightly have so and thus justify it through all the other Ps of the marketing mix. When the customer will receive the worth for his money, he would never mind the premium pricing strategy that the hotel or the organization is adopting. It is all about receiving maximum utility for the price that is being paid. Pricing strategy also helps the hotel to differentiate between those who are their target audience and those who are not. If the organization would justify the price by giving high quality product, having a convenient location and doing extensive promotion, then a high price would never raise eye brows. Thus, integrated marketing is the best way to go. Physical Evidence: In terms of a product, there is no interaction between the manufacturer and the consumer, but in a service, the customer is out there, right in the middle of it all happening and he needs to be serviced in that given time frame thus any delays in time or problems in handling the customer will leave a forever blotch on the organization. Thus, it is essential that various things that the customer is physically seeing in the organization or hotel are pleasing to the eye and that he or she takes back home some physical evidence of their stay in the hotel or in the organization which will make them remember it in a favorable note. It can be anything: the music that is being played in the background or the dress that the waiters have worn. Processes: The processes are the exact procedure through which the customer has to go through if he comes into the organization and does a particular transaction. In the case of a hotel, a customer can either come to simply dine or to have a 3 days stay in one of the rooms of the hotel. In both the scenarios, the processes will be very different. The hotel should plan out the procedure in advance so that the customer goes through a smooth time in whatever transaction he has come for. If these processes will not be pre-planned, confusion and uncertainty will be very obvious on the faces of the staff, which will ultimately diverge the hotel or any organization from following an excellence perspective. Conclusion: In today’s age, it is very vital to satisfy the customers first. The centre point of doing any business is the customer base that any company has. And the pressure builds even higher when the producer is in direct contact with the customer, as in the case of customer services organization. Getting awards on an international level is not an easy task. Hotels or customer service organization have to put in efforts in every aspect, whether it is presenting their product and giving various services to the customers. If commitment to the work continues to be a top priority for businesses and service providers, the customers are sure to have a difficult time in choosing where to go. References Clark,M. and Barker, S.(2004) Business success through service excellence. Butterworth-Heinemann Stewart, Paul (2004) Branded Customer Service: The New Competitive Edge. Berrett-Koehler Read More