Quality Customer Service - Kingsley Hills Guest House - Case Study Example

Executive Summary Quality customer service is a method which a hospitality organization employs in order to satisfy the needs of its customers in the most efficient manner (Walker & Miller, 2009). Managing quality customer service involves several processes before an organization becomes competitive in the market. Marketing is one of the processes that organization considers important in order to attain competitive advantage. Marketing process involves planning and execution of ideas that are aimed at promotion, conception pricing and distribution of good and services in order to meet an individual or organization’s goals. In marketing, customer satisfaction is valued over profit maximization. This implies that a business entity should be consumer-oriented and it has the obligation to understand what the consumers need in order to satisfy them quickly and in an efficient manner. This calls for gathering adequate information regarding customer needs as well as marketing intelligence in order to satisfy such needs. This paper will consider the case of Kingsley Hills Guest House in the management of quality customer service. The paper will contain four parts: part A will discuss about the market research tool, part B will be a customer service plan, part C will be a resource use plan while part D will be an induction training for customer service staff. Table of Contents Executive summary 2 Table of contents 3 Part A: Market Research Tool 4 Part B: Customer Service Plan 6 Part C: Resource Plan 9 Resource profile: 9 Project resource information 9 Resource staffing plan 10 Part D: Induction of Customer Service Team 10 Objectives of the induction training: 10 Performance indicators: 11 References 13 Part A: Market Research Tool Marketing research helps an organization improve its decision management system by providing information that is accurate, relevant and timely. Every decision an organization makes require unique information and relevant strategies developed using the information gathered through a market research (Nykiel, 2007). Hospitality firms can attain and achieve competitive advantage by creative use of the market information other than just analyzing and gathering data that has been collected. The process of market research involves four sequential stages namely: situation analysis, strategy development, program development and implementation. The whole process can be termed to be never-ending since the evaluation of the past decisions serves to be the input for the current situation assessment (Nykiel, 2007). In the current scenario of Kingsley Hills Guest House, exploratory research will be employed in a survey to investigate and assess the needs of the consumers. Exploratory research is preferred in this scenario because little is known about the current problem thus the possible alternative decisions and variables are as well not clear. Considering that Kingsley Hills Guest House has just been promoted by the State Tourism agency as a tourist destination, little information is available regarding what the consumers will need. Thus, lack of such knowledge makes it difficult to determine the research method that is flexible, qualitative and unstructured. One advantage of using exploratory research is that it provides an opportunity to establish the priorities of the research questions to be first addressed (Nykiel, 2007). This market research approach relies on data acquired from such techniques as focus group discussion, reviewing of published data, investigating literature and interviewing the public (Nykiel, 2007). When conducting the research, the research will follow these steps: identify the target population, determine the sample frame, resolve differences, select the sample procedure, determine the relevant sample size, obtain information from the respondents, and generate the information for the process of decision making. The research will be guided by questionnaires and interview schedule and the aim will be to address the research question. The aim will be to know what new products should be developed by Kingsley Hills Guest House in order to satisfy the need of the guests. When conducting the survey, literature review will guide the researcher in understanding the tourism industry in UK. This implies that there will qualitative data used. Figures obtained from literature review indicate that there is no doubt that tourism is an important sector of the economy. For instance in 1999 when UK received 25.5 million visitors who spent close to £61 billion and created nearly 1.8 million jobs (British Hospitality association, 2010). The revenue generated by the tourists can be used to determine the contribution of the tourism industry to GDP. The 1999 provisional figures indicated that foreign tourists spent £13 billion in the United Kingdom while domestic tourists spent £16 billion. This was a 14 percent rise form the figures recorded in the previous year. The percentage contribution to GDP was calculated to be 3.6 percent (British Hospitality association, 2010). The United Kingdom government has thus considered tourism as an important sector of the economy and is making many efforts to support the industry. The promotion of Kingsley Hills as a tourist site is a product of such government efforts. Thus, Kingsley Hills Guest House needs to know who are its potential guests and their needs. Literature reviewed has provided that there are both oversees and domestic tourists. This would call for the provision of good quality meals and accommodation for the guests. In order to acquire competitive advantage, Kingsley Hills Guest House will need to have a better customer management service than its competitors. Considering that, Kingsley Hills Guest House is located in a remote area which is approximately 90 minutes drive from the closest capital city, a good means of transport will also boost its competitive advantage. The transport vehicles will need to be adequate and in good condition so that guests visiting and leaving the guest house can save the travel time. Part B: Customer Service Plan Customer service entails meeting the needs and the expectations of the clients. After knowing the needs and expectations of the customers, they should be provided with their desires on consistent basis. In order to know how the customers feel, a business should as well seek the views of their customers regarding the satisfaction they get. According to Patsula (2004) research has provided various facts regarding customer service. One such fact is that only 4% of the dissatisfied customers are ready to speak, the rest 96 % goes quietly with 91% never coming back. Another fact is that a business with low quality service gets a 1% return on sales and loses market share as 2 percent per annum rate. On the contrary, business that offers high quality customer service gets 12% return on sales and gain market share by 6% rate per annum and its prices remain high (Patsula 2004). Ralph and Momo, the owners of Kingsley Hills Guest House will follow the following criteria in developing the customer service plan: i. Target market: Majority of the guests are expected to be domestic tourists. This will include those guests within the country who decide to spend a night out. Overseas tourists are also expected to visit the guest house since it is not very far from the capital city. ii. Guest needs: Guests will need to be provided with accommodation facilities and meals. The guest house should have a variety of accommodation options like single roomed and double roomed houses in order to meet the needs of different guests. In the case of meals, the guest house should diversify the menu so as to meet the tastes and preferences of different guests. In the case when guests will have to spend more days, they will need leisure time activities like swimming and their children will as well need to have a play ground. iii. Method of identify guests: Literature reviewed in part A of this assignment indicated that there are as many domestic tourists as there are overseas tourists. The research conducted was based on the income generated from tourism and the number of tourists recorded in specific years. iv. Recommended customer service strategy: A good customer service strategy is driven by knowledge of customers’ needs, preference and behavior. Ralph and Momo should consider applying technology to have an automated customer history through e-business. This will help the guest house to have a good customer relationship policy which is geared towards customer satisfaction. An automated customer history ensures that customer mix is well-defined, and the hotel supply meets the guests’ desire. The end outcome will be that the guests will be satisfied hence increased customer loyalty. v. Implementation budget: Activity Budget (amount in thousand £) Market research 200-300 Advertising 400 e-business strategy 250 Total budget Approximately 900 vi. Potential problems to face the guest house: Considering that tourism is growing in the country at large, competition is major challenge. In addition, tourism is a new business opportunity Kingsley Hills implying that many entrepreneurs will join the industry. The other problem would be inadequate capital to provide a good start of the business. Infrastructure especially roads connecting Kingsley Hills and the city could also be an issue if it is not well done. vii. Methods that owners could use to promote customer service strategies with other stakeholders Ralph and Momo can use information sharing with other stakeholders in order to come up with common strategies to address customer needs. Such stakeholders include the roads authority which is supposed to maintain roads. Other entities include the security agencies that are entitled to provide security to the guest house. viii. Strategy for resolving customer complaints Customer complaints are always expected in any business. The best way to resolve to such complaints is to take an initiative of responding to them as soon as possible. The managers should provide the customers an opportunity to report any form of complaints and show the efforts of responding to them immediately. ix. Method to monitor and report customer service performance The managers should establish a baseline targets which should be used as a benchmark for comparison. The performance targets are compared against measurable objectives in order to determine the level of satisfaction the customers get. For instance, a performance target like the amount of time the customer waits for a service can be compared against the set target. x. Process that promote continuous improvement in customer service The guest house should have an information management system that provides historic records of success stories and complaints. The information system should be automated so that any information can be easily accessed. Past information can be used as a lesson and warning for future scenarios. This helps to avoid recurrence of past mistake and instead the guest house continues to provide positive oriented results. Part C: Resource Plan The resource plan will assist Ralph and Momo to determine the type of material, equipment and the quality of labor they need for the customer service plan to function effectively. The resource plan will also provide a schedule for the consumption of each of the stated resources. Resource plan Kingsley Hills Guest House Project name: Customer service plan Prepared by…………………. Date………………………….. Resource profile: For the customer service plan to work, various resources will be required mainly, human resource, money, suppliers, facilities and equipment. There will be need for having adequate personnel to execute various duties and operate the equipment. Project resource information This part of the resource plan lists all the resources required, their estimated costs, availability, estimated quality and the expected output from the equipment and the people. For the case of the supplier, the manager of Kingsley Hills Guest House will be required to have a network of suppliers since there will be many suppliers supplying different goods and services. The criteria for selecting the best supplier will be based on quality goods and services provided as well as the prices offered. Resource Estimated cost Availability Estimated quality output People Facilities Equipment Information technology Suppliers Resource staffing plan This section of the resource plan provides details of the required staff members working in the guest house. The cost of the staff members will be determined by the salary paid. Other components in this section include, availability (hours), output (competence) and hourly rates as indicated below. Resource type Cost estimate Availability (hours) Level of expertise Hourly rate Staff 1 Staff 2 Staff 3 Staff 4 Staff 5 Staff 6 Part D: Induction of Customer Service Team For the customer service plan to be successfully operational, a team of well motivated and trained individuals will be required. This section will provide induction training for the customer service staff at Kingsley Hills Guest House. Objectives of the induction training: The members of the team will be introduced to the types of services offered at the guest house. The guest house offers hospitality services, the team will be introduced to the specific service which includes provision of meals, accommodation, leisure activities like swimming among others. Description of the role of the customer service team. The trainer will specifically define the role of each of the team member in customer service delivery. Definition of quality work practices in order to ensure quality customer service. The team will be introduced to ethical work practices which ensure that the customers feel satisfied such as occupational health and safety. The trainer will let the participants know what they should do and what they should not do in the course of duty. Description of how to handle complaints. The trainer will describe the various approaches that can be used to handle customer complaints. How to utilize the resources wisely. Resources are scarce and this calls for proper utilization. The team members will be informed how they can sustainably use the resources and the reasons for this. Performance indicators: Timelessness: This indicator is used to determine how fast work is done (Barrows & Powers, 2008). In the case of hospitality industry, timelessness can be considered to be the amount of time an employee takes to serve a guest. The trainer will be in a position to judge whether there has been an improvement by comparing the amount of time an employee takes after the training and the amount of time he or she used to spend when serving a guest. Adherence to policy: This indicator helps to determine if an employee who is already trained complies with the standards set by the employer (Walker & Miller, 2009). Kingsley Hills Guest House needs to have customer service standards that the customer service staff must comply with. Personal appearance: This indicator is much determine by the dressing code. Kingsley Hills Guest House needs to have a well defined dressing code. The customer service staff must comply with such set standards. At the end of the induction training, the participants will be informed of the mentoring, coaching and the training development available. Such opportunities are important as the provided continuous learning opportunities to help the employees improve their skills. References Barrows, C. & Powers, T. (2008). Introduction to Management in the Hospitality Industry. New York: John Wiley and Sons. British Hospitality association, (2010). Economic contribution of UK hospitality industry, Final report: Oxford Economics. Retrieved from http://www.bahauk.org/OxfordEconomics.pdf Minghetti, V. (2003). Building customer value in the hospitality industry: towards the definition of a customer-centric information system. Information Technology & Tourism, 6, 141– 152. Nykiel, R. (2007). Handbook of Marketing Research Methodologies for Hospitality and Tourism. New York: Routledge. Patsula, P. (2004). Successful business planning in 30 days: a step-by-step guide for writing a business plan and starting your own business. New York: Patsula Media. Walker, J. & Miller, J. (2009). Supervision in the Hospitality Industry: Leading Human Resources. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Read More