Analysis of Service Quality and Customer Engagement in Hospitality

The provided document contains a collection of academic articles and studies related to service quality and customer engagement in the hospitality industry. It includes works such as "Service Quality and the Training of Employees: The Mediating Role of Organizational Commitment" by Dhar (2015), "Co-creation and Higher Order Customer Engagement in Hospitality and Tourism Services: A Critical Review" by Chathoth et al. (2016), and "Customer Loyalty: A Review and Future Directions with a Special Focus on the Hospitality Industry" by Kandampully et al. (2015). The document also references other studies, including "Relationships Among Customer Satisfaction, Delight, and Loyalty in the Hospitality Industry" by Kim et al. (2015), to provide a comprehensive understanding of service quality and customer engagement in the hospitality industry.

Running head: CUSTOMER SERVICE OF CENTER PARCS
Customer Service of Center Parcs
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1CUSTOMER SERVICE OF CENTER PARCS
Executive Summary
The primary aim of this report is to talk about the kinds of customers that visit the Holiday
Village Center Parcs. It also elaborates on the needs of the customer and the techniques that
can be made use of in order to analyze effectiveness in relation to customer service. It will
also expound on the quality system that can be implemented in Center Parcs and the action
guidelines that can help in improving the quality of service of Center Parcs.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Kinds of Customers in Center Parcs..........................................................................................3
Needs of customer and their contribution to the success of Center Parcs.................................5
Major techniques that they can use to analyse effectiveness of customer service.....................7
A quality system that can be implemented................................................................................7
Action guidelines of the skills of customer service at Center Parcs..........................................8
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................11
References:...............................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
Center Parcs is a holiday company which developed in Holland. Its primary purpose
was of providing people with that of short break in the midst of nature. Piet Derkson who was
a Dutch was responsible for establishing Center Parcs and he created short holiday break in
the year 1967. It led to the opening of the first holiday village called De Lommerbergen
within Holland (Centerparcs.co.uk, 2018). Center Parcs linked the factor of business
development to that of responsibility in relation to land management. It signalled the opening
of an environmental movement that was based on sound ecological principle. Center Parcs
UK started business after opening of Sherwood Forest village. The principles of ecological
design have become a part of the accepted vocabulary of the urban population. They are
appreciated by the broader public at the present age. The book of Alan Ruff called “ Holland
and the Ecological Landscapes” brought in the development of a new environmental
movement. Nature Conservation Law refers to the legal framework in relation to the
management of the protected areas. It can help in affording protection to the nature areas
which have not been managed properly. This report throws light on the different kind of
customers that visits Center Parcs and their needs that make them visit the holiday resort. It
also discusses about the major techniques that can be used by Center Parcs in order to analyze
effectiveness in relation to customer service. It also elaborates on the quality system that can
be made use of in order to increase the performance of the company. It also talks about the
guidelines that can be implemented in Center Parcs in order to improve the experience of the
customer.
Kinds of Customers in Center Parcs
The kinds of customers that visit Center Parcs are of different types who want to fulfil
different motives. Young people will visit Center Parcs for the different sports facilities like

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that of squash courts, snooker tables, table tennis and aerobics studio. The themed restaurant
can satisfy the appetite of the younger crowd who can also enjoy the luxurious food. They
can even visit the sportswear shop where they can buy the necessities related to their
activities (Kandampully, Zhang and Bilgihan 2015). They can also enjoy the benefit of the
village spa that has different kinds of themed rooms along with a central pool. There is also a
bowling alley along with that of arcade games that can be enjoyed by the young people.
Discount offers are provided to them so that they can enjoy the luxury of Center Parcs at a
low price. The second kind of customer are the families who plan the trip in advance. They
will be interested in the organized tours along with that of children friendly activities
(Radojevic, Stanisic and Stanic 2015). They would need tour information and Center Parcs
can provide them with the local maps that can guide them when they are in the holiday
village.
The business travellers lay more emphasis on the factor of convenience and they are
less bothered about the prices. They travel to Center Parcs if there is any business nearby and
they stay at the village hotel in order to enjoy the serenity of the surroundings (Buhalis and
Amaranggana 2015). It can provide them with the opportunity to escape from the stress and
hustle of daily life in the peaceful surroundings of Center Parcs. There are around 200 indoor
along with outdoor activities and they help to provide recreation to the business people. It can
help in calming the creative instinct of the people and the spa treatments offered at Center
Parcs can ease their tension and relieve them of their mental stress. There are also various
kinds of water sports that these kind of customers can enjoy. The activities can be booked
from beforehand so they do not necessarily have to spend time on the process of booking
after they visit the holiday village. The lodge accommodations have all the essentials that
makes one feel as if they are at home like bed linen, cooking utensil and tea bag. There is also

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a subtropical swimming paradise and the travellers can enjoy the rides. The temperature of
the pool is heated at an optimal temperature providing relaxation to the travellers.
Another kind of traveller comprises of those who are economically strong and they
visit Center Parcs in order to revel in the beauty of the place. The restaurants of Center Parcs
offer breakfast and dinner and people can come together and have conversation. Retail
therapy can relax the visitors who can treat themselves to luxury designer accessories
(Chathoth et al. 2016). There is a supermarket that has all the favourite brands of fruits and
vegetables. The Aqua Sana Spa can relax the travellers and the body treatments can bring out
the natural beauty of an individual (Kim, Vogt and Knutson 2015). The economically
advanced class can reap the benefit of the facilities offered at Center Parcs that can help the
traveller to reconnect the mind with that of nature.
Needs of customer and their contribution to the success of Center Parcs
Holiday Village Center Parcs can satisfy the distinctive need of all kinds of customer.
Need act as the engine in relation to human conduct and the urge of travelling comes from
inside of an individual. Push along with pull factors can act as external motives in the sector
of tourism which can influence the tourists. The pull factors create the desire that makes a
person feel as if they are personally deficient and some desire of the individual is not
satisfied. There are impulses in an individual that compel an individual towards that of a
certain direction. The holiday village refers to an isolated place that can satisfy the various
need of the vacationer like that of food, drink, entertainment and that of shopping (Neirotti,
Raguseo and Paolucci 2016). Center Parcs provide different kind of amenities like
entertainment along with recreational activities. Lighter dishes are offered to the customers in
order to serve the purpose of healthy eating. Burgers, salads, coffee and ice cream are also
available and it can satisfy the appetite of all kinds of customers. The holiday villages can

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help people to strengthen the relationship and it helps the customers to escape from the stress
of daily life. Center Parcs provides opportunity to the customers to come together and build
lasting relationships. The social interaction that is made during the course of a trip can help
an individual in getting away from the worries of daily life. Escaping to the forest can help
the customers to enjoy quality time. One can create wonderful memories by travelling to a
holiday village. The need of the customers for entertainment is served by the help of different
activities that are offered at Center Parcs. The children can enjoy different kinds of indoor
activities from that of crafts to that of climbing. On the event of the weather being bad the
customers can enjoy the indoor activities like activity den and that of indoor climbing
adventure.
The popularity of Center Parcs is owing to the facilities that are offered by the
Holiday village and it is the top travel company that has featured in the Customer Satisfaction
Index. The customers have helped Center Parcs to become a popular travel company. Center
parcs has provided the customers with satisfaction and in return they have helped Center
Parcs in becoming popular in Holland, Belgium and in UK. Center Parcs has started a new
environment movement that is based on sound ecological principle (Wilson et al. 2016).
With the soaring popularity that they have gathered from the customers they have been able
to acquire land outside that of the town of Ballymahon in Ireland. They have created a public
footpath around that of the site in order to preserve the access of the public. Serving the local
stakeholders are their aim and this has ensured their success with the customers. Center Parcs
ensures that the guest go away with excellent memory so that they visit the place again.
Around 96 % of the guest have rated the holiday break to be excellent (So et al. 2016). The
Government had introduced National Living Wage for the employees who are above the age
of 25. Excellent results are delivered by the Holiday Village of Center Parcs and a sum of
Euro 7.56 in an hour is offered to the employees.

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Major techniques that they can use to analyse effectiveness of customer service
Evaluation of effectiveness in relation to customer service is crucial for the success of an
organization. Net Promoter Score can prove to be effective in order to understand whether
the customers are happy with Center Parcs (Dhar 2015). The number of people who would
recommend the Holiday Village Center Parcs to that of other people can be a great indication
of the effectiveness of that of customer service. Average Resolution Time is another
important means that can help in understanding about the effectiveness of that of customer
service. It has been found that if the issues are resolved within a limited timeframe and
provide them with good answers then they are pleased with the experience. The resolution
time being relatively low points forward to the effectiveness of service of that of Center
Parcs. Complaint Escalation Rate is another important means that can help in gauging the
effectiveness of service of Center Parcs (Lee, Verma and Roth 2015). Large number of
complaint indicates that the customer is not satisfied with the quality of service that has been
provided by Center Parcs. Keeping a watch over the rate of escalations can help in
ascertaining about the success of customer service. Cash Flow is another important
performance indicator that can help in understanding about the success of the business.
Customer service can have tremendous amount of impact on that of the bottom line. The
service being bad will drive the customers away and decrease the number of referrals.
A quality system that can be implemented
Organisations should apply new management approach that can that can help them in
responding to the challenges of the present age. Total Quality Management (TQM) can be
taken recourse to in order to improve the services of that of Center Parcs (Morena, Truppi
and Del Gatto 2017). It can help in improving the productivity and increase profitability of
Center Parcs. The needs of the customer are constantly changing and they are becoming more

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demanding. TQM can help in improving the flexibility of the customer services of Center
Parcs and pave the path for efficient business performance. In order to achieve quality it is
important to concentrate on the factor of planning and less on the factor of control in Center
Parcs. The new trends that can help in ensuring quality in relation to Center Parcs is
focussing on the arena of planning, team work, business performance and orientation towards
that of total business performance. The Holiday Village offers different services like that of
lodging, entertainment, cultural activity, environment protection and shopping. The quality
system should comprise of the seven elements of safety, freedom, aesthetic, honesty, variety,
reliability and ease of that of communication (Adalilar, Alkibay and Eser 2015). Quality can
be evident with the help of work standards. The quality of the hotel personnel can be
determined with the help of different elements like knowledge, skill, appearance and
behaviour. Use of internet can help in enhancing the experience of the customers. The
inappropriate allocation of the resources can be handled by taking recourse to internal audits
that can ensure the accountability in relation to the resources (Ezeamaka and Oluwole 2016).
Acquiring the certification of ISO 9001: 2008 can help in ensuring the superior quality of
service of the service industry (Koh, Chan and Ho 2016). Center Parcs should get hold of the
certification that can help in managing data, handling risks and improve the quality of
services of the Holiday village.
Action guidelines of the skills of customer service at Center Parcs
Handling customer Complaints
Do’s- Listening very closely to complaints: Center Parcs should not try to deflect blame and
put themselves in the shoes of the customer in order to understand the issue from the point of
view of the client (Youssef 2017)

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Complaints should be seen as opportunity to improve: The complaints provide an opportunity
that can help the company in improving the services of Center Parcs
Dont- Not arguing with the customer: The situation has to be handled in a professional
manner and one should not get into argument with the customer.
Making the same mistake more than one time- The same mistake should not be repeated in
order to provide the customers with superior service
Dealing with a difficult customer
Do’s- Getting control of oneself: One should not argue with the customers and lose control.
Letting the customer to vent his grievances: The customer should always be acknowledged
and listened to very attentively.
Don’t-Not making promises that cannot be kept: Making promises and not being able to keep
them can severely damage the reputation of Center Parcs.
Not blaming the customer or the company: The indirect approach should always be used and
one should not acknowledge that either the company or the customer is to be blamed.
Effective communication over telephone
Do’s- Speaking clearly at a moderate space: It is important to grab the attention of the
customer over the phone and speaking loudly can help in this regard.
Being assumptive: One should be assumptive that can help an individual in achieving the end
result
Don’t- Not being sincere: One should avoid scripted greetings that sound inauthentic

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Not holding conversation in an environment that is noisy: Getting to answer in an atmosphere
that is quiet can help in avoiding confusions that may arise later on.
Principles of letter-writing when corresponding with customers queries
Do’s- The customers should always be thanked because of their custom: Business have a
tendency of taking the customers for granted and the customers should always be thanked by
mentioning “We appreciate the service”.
Adding real touch: Customers want to feel that the service providers are run by people who
are real and the customers should be made known with whom they are dealing
Dont- using complex language: In the event of the customers having to decode the
correspondence they would not be encouraged to use the services of Center Parcs.
The name should not be spelled wrongly: The people should always be addressed by the right
name otherwise it would have a bad impression on the customer
Listening Skills
Do’s- Maintaining eye contact: it is important to main eye contact that can make the
customers feel as if they are being listened to attentively
Giving nonverbal messages: Providing nonverbal messages like nodding and smiling is
crucial in relation to listening
Don’t- Being impatient: Showing the signs of impatience while listening is not an effective
trait of an ideal listener
Having preconceived ideas: Having expectations can lead to problems and one may assume
things that may not have been true

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Conclusion:
Center Parcs helped in linking business development to that of the process of land
management. Center parcs helped in bringing about an environment movement on the basis
of sound ecological principle. The different kinds of customers who visit Center Parcs
include that of the young people, families and that of the business travellers. The different
kinds of needs of the customer like that of food, drink, entertainment and that of shopping can
be fulfilled by the help of unique services of Center Parcs. The techniques that can be made
use of in order to analyze effectiveness in relation to customer service is inclusive of Net
Promoter Score, Average Resolution Time and that of Complaint Escalation Rate. Total
Quality Management system can be used to improve services of Center Parcs. The action
guidelines that can help in improving the quality of service relates to handling of the
customer complaint, dealing with that of a difficult customer, effective communication over
that of the telephone and that of the listening skills.

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References:
Adalilar, S.N., Alkibay, S. and Eser, Z., 2015. Ecovillages as a destination and a study of
consumer approaches to ecovillages. Procedia Economics and Finance, 23, pp.539-546.
Buhalis, D. and Amaranggana, A., 2015. Smart tourism destinations enhancing tourism
experience through personalisation of services. In Information and communication
technologies in tourism 2015 (pp. 377-389). Springer, Cham.
Centerparcs.co.uk. (2018). UK Breaks | Center Parcs. [online] Available at:
https://www.centerparcs.co.uk/ [Accessed 8 Mar. 2018].
Chathoth, P.K., Ungson, G.R., Harrington, R.J. and Chan, E.S., 2016. Co-creation and higher
order customer engagement in hospitality and tourism services: A critical
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Dhar, R.L., 2015. Service quality and the training of employees: The mediating role of
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Kim, M., Vogt, C.A. and Knutson, B.J., 2015. Relationships among customer satisfaction,
delight, and loyalty in the hospitality industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism
Research, 39(2), pp.170-197.

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