Customer Service Strategies and Experience

This assignment delves into the significance of customer service strategies for retail companies to establish long-lasting relationships with customers and boost their sales. It also emphasizes the importance of customer experience and service recovery in managing customer satisfaction and loyalty. The assignment references various studies on customer expectations, habits, and experiences in hospitality operations, highlighting key drivers of customer delight and the impact of service recovery on customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Managing Customer
Experience

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1. Value and importance of understanding the needs, wants and preferences of target
customer group............................................................................................................................3
P2. Different factors which drive and influence customers engagement of different target
customer group............................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................8
P3. Customer service map for Hotel Russell..............................................................................8
P4. Evaluation of customer touch-points through out the customer experience which created
business opportunities.................................................................................................................9
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
P5. Examining digital technology which employed in managing the customer experience
within the service sector, providing specific examples of customer relationship management
systems......................................................................................................................................10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................11
P6. Illustration of customer service strategies...........................................................................11
P7. Demonstration of customer service strategies which create and develop the customer
experience in a way that meet the needs of customers and required business standards..........12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Managing customer experience is an art of making the customer feel important for the
organization. Customers are the centre of any hospitality business because their business which
totally depends on the satisfaction of their customers (Alexander, 2013). In hospitality business
the organization here taken is Hotel Russell. This is a historic five-star hotel in Russell square,
Bloomsbury, London. In this report, the needs and expectation of market segment for the service
industry is explained. Customer experience map to create business opportunities and optimise
customer touch-points are explored. The impact of digital technology in customer relationship
management is investigated. Effective customer experience management within service sector
business to maximise customer engagement is also explained.
TASK 1
P1. Value and importance of understanding the needs, wants and preferences of target customer
group.
The targeted customer for Hotel Russell are business person, primary school children and
disabled person. There are several needs, wants and preferences of these customers which are
explained below:
Needs are the primary requirement of a customer which should be fulfilled. The needs of
business person are that they require a proper place to dinner and lunch so that they can
communicate with each other on the topic related to their business. The environment should be
keep and clam so that they will not disturbed with outsiders. The wants of a customer are the
options available to the customer form its needs (Ariffin and Maghzi, 2012). Business person
requires Wi-Fi facility, sockets etc. so that they can perform operations of their business
activities on laptop, projector etc. Preference is the priority of customer from the wants and
needs. The preferences of business person can be meeting rooms because they need an
environment of performing their meeting after lunch, dinner or breakfast.
Another customer is disabled person who have also their needs, wants and preferences.
The needs of disabled person are the low calorie meals and access ramp next to front steps so
that they can easily go over their path. Disabled person is not capable of doing all physical
activities of normal person. Therefore, Hotel Russell should take care of their needs, wants and
preferences. The wants of disabled person can be Wi-Fi because they require to spend their time

with internet. Apart from that they also need and intimate atmosphere so that they do not feel
uncomfortable with normal persons. This type of customer's preference can be sufficient space to
pass between tables because they can be on wheel chair or they require space for their support.
Another type of customer who requires its needs, wants and preferences is primary school
children. These type of customers also have needs, wants and preferences. The needs of primary
children should be an entertaining environment so that they should also have fun with food. The
wants of these customers can be burgers, noodles etc. because they require fast food. The
preferences of these customers could be crayons and colouring books because children like
colours and sports (Bilgihan, Kandampully and Zhang, 2016).
Hotel Russell should focus on fulfilling the needs, wants and preferences of its targetted
customers so that they feel satisfies with the services. If customer will satisfy from the services it
will be attracted again and again to the premise of Hotel Russell.
Business people Internet access
Meeting rooms
Newspaper and books
Snacks and beverages
Electric plugs
Hygienic
Primary School
Children
Entertaining Environment Burgers, Noodles etc. Crayons and
Colouring books
Disabled Person Low Calorie meals
Access ramp
Wi-Fi Space to pass between
tables.
P2. Different factors which drive and influence customer’s engagement of different target
customer group.

1. Business Person

2. Disabled person

3. Primary school children
4.

TASK 2
P3. Customer service map for Hotel Russell.
There are various factors which influence upon the Customer service map. It defines the
ways through customer’s experience can be increased. The ways of enhancing customer
experience are as follows:
Website:
It is the first and starting point of interaction of customer to the hospitality service. In
case of hotel Russell, customer will go on website first than its experience will start with hotel.
Customer will check the website of hotel to identify the services offered by them. Since first
impression should be good, therefore the content written on website should be attractive enough
so that it will bound the customer to find the services (Blázquez, 2014). If first experience will
not remain good than the chance of customer to visit the premise will remain low. The content
written on website should be accurate enough to the best of knowledge of Hotel. If the
information on hotel's website will not accurate than the brand image of hotel will be affected.
Therefore, to increase the experience of customer in first meeting the hotel should prepare its
website so attractive so that the customer will read all the information it requires.
Review sites:
After visiting the website, customer will check the reviews of previous visited customers.
These reviews help them to identify the level of satisfaction in the services provided to previous
visited customers. If previous visited customers are not satisfied than ongoing customer will not
visit the hotel. Therefore Hotel Russell should try to improve the reviews of its customers so that
they provide good feedback to its upcoming customers. The reviews of hotel on website or social
sites provides a blue print to the services offered by the Hotel to its customers.
Telephone:
When customer gets satisfied with the website and reviews than it is the time for it to call
the hotel yo confirm about the services offered (Harris and Daunt, 2013). The customer will also
find the information of availability of rooms so that it will not face any problem at the time of
entering the hotel. Telephone is not a face-to-face interaction instead it provide all information to
the customers. The receptionist of Hotel Russell should talk with the customer in polite and

gentle way so that they will not feel any problem while asking for information. Communication
of customer and receptionist plays an important role in the booking of customer to the premise of
Hotel Russell. Therefore receptionist should try to provide all information required to customer.
Hotel Staff:
This is the interaction of customer when it get into the Hotel. When customer is entering
the hotel it should have been warm welcomed so that it feel important itself for the Hotel. The
staff of hotel should also have proper management of services so that it will not take any time for
the customer to take any service (Cetin and Dincer, 2014). The service should be on time and the
management of hotel should also be good so that customer will find better experience in Hotel
Russell.
P4. Evaluation of customer touch-points throughout the customer experience which created
business opportunities.
Customer touch-points are the pints where customer can be satisfied with the interaction
of services offered by hospitality business. These are the touch points through which a customer
can be attracted towards the service sector. In case of Hotel Russell, the customer can be
attracted with the help of increasing its satisfaction. The satisfaction can be increased with the
help of interaction good touch-points to the customer. Here touch-points can be understood with
the help of an example.
When a customer enters the premise of Hotel Russell. First of all, the receptionist will
attend the customer to provide it a warm welcome. First interaction is necessary for the customer
to be good because it just describes the perception of customer to hotel. After welcoming, the
customer will enter the premise (Garg, Rahman and Qureshi, 2014). This interaction of customer
with the receptionist is a touch-point. Since customer is welcomed with hearts of staff therefore
the interaction of customer to the hotel will increase automatically. The interaction of customer
with the receptionist is stated below with the help of script.
Receptionist: Hello sir! Welcome to your premise.
Customer: Hello! Thank you.
Receptionist: How can I help you Sir?
Customer: I have booked a room namely Adam.
Receptionist: Yes, sir! It's your keys. The helper will take you to your room.
Customer: OK.

Receptionist: Is there anything I can help you Sir?
Customer: No, Thank You
Receptionist: Thank You Sir!
From the above conversation it can be concluded that the customer will get attracted with
the service offered by receptionist. The way of talking of receptionist with customer is gentle and
polite therefore customer gets attracted towards the premise of hotel. This is called as customer
touch-points when it gets impressed with the services offered by Hotel.
TASK 3
P5. Examining digital technology which employed in managing the customer experience within
the service sector, providing specific examples of customer relationship management
systems
Digital Technology is practice of advanced and latest technology so that the experience
of customer can be increased with it (Gyung Kim and Mattila, 2013). It plays an important role
in the development of customers. Customer relationship management is the art of managing the
practices, strategies and technologies so that the customer interaction will increase throughout
customer lifestyle. This help the organization in improving the relationship with customer. In
case of Hotel Russell, the services offered by this hotel should be attractive enough so that it will
attract the customer towards hotel. To increase the customer relationship hotel will share the
information of services through websites, chats, telephones etc. This will help the customer in
attracting them with the help of digital technology. The relationship with customer can be
increased with the help of making a fan page on Facebook so that the visited customers will be
added to it. The visited customer will provide feedback to the upcoming customers. This will
help the hotel to manage the relationship with old and upcoming customers easily. The visited
customers can get discount also with the help of this page (Yang, Liu and Li, 2015). Thus digital
technology helps the company in managing customer relationship.
There is an organization which conducted the tutors for its employees to make them
aware about the benefits of customer relationship management. The tutors includes brief
discussion about customer relationship management and some questions also which are stated as
below:
1. What was the name of the company making the presentation?

Black and White Hospitality is the name of the company making the presentation. This is
a Macro Pierre White company.
2. What was the name of the person who made the presentation?
Julian Hook was the person who made the presentation.
3. What is the name of the software program that they demonstrated?
Opera is the name of the software programme which they demonstrated.
4. What are the key elements of their program?
The key elements of their program are Opening a table, Booking a table, Bookings.com,
Reservations, EPOS system. This is used by almost all four and five star hotels.
5. Name some of their current customers?
Macro Pierre White Restaurant, IHG(Inter-continental Hotel Group), Hilton International
Hotel and Travelodge.
6. How long have they been in business?
Opera is operating its business since 1970 and Black and White Hospitality is operating
since 2014.
7. How does the company see these programmes developing in the future?
These programmes help the company in increased functionality, new market entrants,
further integration with guests, identifying trends and better analysis of feedback.
TASK 4
P6. Illustration of customer service strategies
Customer service strategies are most important aspects through which experience of
customer can be increased with the help of some steps. This is essential for a hospitality industry
because, they are customer centric. If customer is not satisfied with their services, will not visit
again to the premise of hotel Russell (Komunda and Osarenkhoe, 2012). Therefore, the factors
through which customer satisfaction can be increased are stated a follows:
Get to know the customers:
From the starting interaction of customers with the hotel through website or telephone,
hotel Russell should try to know about the needs and wants of its customers. If staff is ready to
know about the needs of customers, hotel is capable of providing those things in advance to that

customer. This will surprise the customer because its needs are filled automatically. After this
customer will be happy with the interaction of services offered by hotel.
Keep measuring customer satisfaction:
When customer is in the premise of hotel than it is necessary for the hotel to calculate the
satisfaction level of customer. The calculation level refers to the measurement of issues related to
the service of customers (Shah, Kumar and Kim, 2014). The service may include the time taken
in service, behaviour of staff etc. When these services gets measured than it would be easy for
Hotel Russell to identify the issue and thus issues can be solved easily. This makes the customer
happy with the satisfaction.
Train staff to make customer happy:
The staff of Hotel Russell should be skilled enough so that they can communicate and
understand the needs, requirements of its customers. This understanding is necessary because of
continuous improvement in customer satisfaction (Torres, Fu and Lehto, 2014). The trained staff
is capable of effective communication and management of services to its clients. If staff is not
skilled enough so that it can meet the requirements of its customers, this will create
dissatisfaction among the customers. Therefore, Hotel Russell should try to train its employees
so that they can provide better services to its customers.
Follow up post booking:
This is necessary for the hotel to follow the post booking details of customers (Spiess and
et. al., 2014). When customer books its accommodation into the hotel, it will also provide the
details such as information about the spice used etc. This information should be followed by the
hotel premise so that they can provide the facilities which are demanded by customer.
P7. Demonstration of customer service strategies which create and develop the customer
experience in a way that meet the needs of customers and required business standards.
Customer Audit Trail, Critical Observations
Name of hospitality business visited: Hotel Russell
Date and time of visit: 12 December, 2018
Ambience and First Impressions
Things that I observed that Things that I observed that What would I change if this was

were positive, or good? were negative, or bad? my business?
The cleanliness and odour
was very good which have
attracted me. The odour
creates a positive
environment in Hotel.
The attendant had taken a lot
of time to attend me. The
searching of keys had also
taken a lot of time. This was
not a good experience.
I would like to provide instant
services to the customers
because delay in service creates
dissatisfaction among the
customers.
Signage, Tariff Boards, Labelling, Etc.
Things that I observed that
were positive, or good?
Things that I observed that
were negative, or bad?
What would I change if this was
my business?
The signage is good as the sign
boards are displayed in every
place to show the path where I
would like to go.
The labelling of price tags was
not available. This creates
confusion in the mind that how
much any service would cost.
I would like to tag each product
and service to its price so that
customer will get to know about
the price of a product or service.
Prices
Things that I observed that
were positive, or good?
Things that I observed that
were negative, or bad?
What would I change if this was
my business?
There is proper receipt of every
product or services delivered
which creates transparency in
services.
Some facilities have very high
pricing which is not genuine
with my point of view.
I would like to provide each
facility with proper pricing
strategy that will not affect the
pocket of a customer.
Range of Products
Things that I observed that
were positive, or good?
Things that I observed that
were negative, or bad?
What would I change if this was
my business ?
Russell provide different
facilities to the customers such
as Wi-Fi and many other
facility which is more essential
and good for me.
There is lack of services which
is not good for me and effect on
my experience in a negative
manner.
If it was my business, I try to
increase number of services in the
organisation such as guide facility,
clean rooms etc.

Staff
Things that I observed that
were positive, or good?
Things that I observed that
were negative, or bad?
What would I change if this was
my business ?
In the hotel, staff member
behaviour is more friendly and
good which increase my touch
pint towards them.
In this hotel, some employees
and staff members are
uneducated and they not behave
with me in proper manner
which effect on my experience
in such hotel negatively.
In this I should give some
recommendation to the hotel as
they recruit knowledgable and
talented staff members.
Time
Things that I observed that
were positive, or good?
Things that I observed that
were negative, or bad?
What would I change if this was
my business ?
Time management of hotel is
more better which is observed
by me when I receiving services
time-to-time.
I morning, I observed that
some staff members are aware
about their responsibility and
not give services at schedule
time.
In this I would change the attitude
and behaviour of those employees
who are not aware about their role
by providing accurate guidelines.
Supplementary Items
Things that I observed that
were positive, or good?
Things that I observed that
were negative, or bad?
What would I change if this was
my business ?
Accommodation facility with
comfortable bad is effective
items which is observed by me.
Parking facility of such hotel is
not appropriate which
negatively impact on my
experience towards business
brand.
In this, I decide to improve
parking facility which will help me
by increasing sales of my hotel.
Payment

Things that I observed that
were positive, or good?
Things that I observed that
were negative, or bad?
What would I change if this was
my business?
In the hotel, pay system is fully
digitalise which increase my
experience.
Company charge maximum
amount by providing online
delivery to the customers.
I decide to provide online services
to the customers at reasonable rate.
Anything Else?
Things that I observed that
were positive, or good?
Things that I observed that
were negative, or bad?
What would I change if this was
my business ?
Environment of hotel is more
effective and friendly which is a
good experience of my.
In this hotel variety of food
items is not maximum which
negatively impact on my
behaviour towards business
brand.
In this I change to develop
different variety in food and
beverages.
CONCLUSION
As per the above mentioned report, it can be concluded that customer experience is
important for the success and growth of an organisation. For this, manager play vital role for
identifying the target customers and their needs as well as satisfy accordingly. Customer
experience map and touch point is also important for the company to retail long lasting relation
with them and increase their sales. Customer service strategies are also significant for the
company to enhance customer experience and accomplish better results.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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