Workplace Diversity and Customer Service: Case Study Analysis Report

This case study analyzes the customer service practices and workplace diversity of a travel agency, ACA Travel. It examines how the company's customer service compares to its competitor, Flightcentre, and identifies areas for improvement. The study includes customer surveys and feedback, and proposes changes to HR policies, employee training, and technological innovations to enhance customer satisfaction and address complaints. The analysis also explores diversity policies, including health and safety, anti-discrimination, and telecalling policies, and emphasizes the role of management in implementing and monitoring these policies to ensure compliance and improve service quality. The case study concludes with a simulated conversation between a manager and a customer to illustrate how customer service issues can be addressed.

Running head: WORKPLACE DIVERSITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE
Case study analysis and question and answers on workplace diversity and customer service
Name of the student:
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Table of contents

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Develop and manage customer service practices
Scenario 1
Task 1
a) Flightcentre believes in providing 24X7 customer service to the customers. Typical
evidence of this lies in minute checking of the bookings done by the customers. The experts
at Emergency Travel are available 24 hours. Presence of skilled and efficient professionals
results in the satisfaction of the needs, demands and requirements of the customers. There is
an option of contacting the experts, which clarifies the doubts of the customers regarding the
issues regarding travel (Flightcentre.com.au 2018). This kind of customer service is missing
in the business activities of ACA travel agency, which provides Flightcentre with competitive
advantage. Encountering technical issues, in spite of agreements, acts as a deviation from the
organizational service trends. The company focuses on the specific customer groups for
collecting data on the booking issues. Mention can be made of the surveys, which are
conducted on students to the businesspersons for gaining an insight into their specific flight
demands. Herein lays the appropriateness of 800% increase in the video posts on the
Facebook page and YouTube channel. According to the survey reports, 96494 people have
shared their “wow moments” on Instagram (Flightcentre.com.au 2018).
b) Survey and feedback forms can be uploaded in the social media. This is in terms of
reaching to large number of customers. Along with this, the customers can be provided with
the access to the contact options in the official website. Frequent checking of the telephone
lines and the website would make the personnel aware of the latest demands of the customers.
Latest and modern design software can be adopted. This would enable the personnel to
conduct the business activities automatize the tasks of creating budgets and maintaining
records of the services provided to the customers among others (Ryan and Wessel 2015).

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Hiring experts for examining the systems and machines would help the personnel in averting
the instances of failure, malfunction and virus attacks. Adhering to the standards and
protocols of IT legislations is beneficial in terms of avoiding the illegal instances. This
adherence, in turn, is assistance in terms of achieving loyalty, trust and dependence from the
clients and the customers. Pushup notifications can also be installed in the app, which would
inform them about the delays or any other emergency situations (Sakdiyakorn and
Wattanacharoensil 2018).
Task 2
1. For how long are you availing the services of the company?
 One year
 Two years
 Three years
Answer- One year
2. How often do you face such harassing instances?
 Extremely often
 Quite often
 Moderately often
 Slightly often
 Not at all often
Answer- Quite often
3. Do you get immediate support from the company in such adverse situation?
 Yes
 No
Answer- No

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4. What recommendations can you suggest for upgrading the customer service of the company?
 Feedback from the clients
 Technological innovation
 Policies
Answer- Technological innovation
5. Do you think technological innovation would serve your specific needs, demands and
requirements?
 Yes
 No
Answer: Yes
6. Do you think that the company has done enough for providing you with the access to the basic
services?
 Yes
 No
Answer- No
7. What are your opinions about surveys and feedbacks about the services
 Extremely helpful
 Helpful
 Neutral
 Not helpful
 Not helpful at all
Answer- Extremely beneficial
8. How frequently does the company introduce new policies, programs and procedures?
 3 months
 6 months
 1 year

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Answer- 1 year
9. What are your opinions about the performance of the customer care executives?
 Highly remarkable
 Remarkable
 Neutral
 Poor
 Worst
Answer- Mostly poor
10. Do you recommend something about introducing schemes about the customer service
trends?
 Yes
 No
Answer- Yes, effective training programs would result in changes within their approach towards
customer service
Task 3
Manager: Hello, I am talking to Mr Smith?
Mr Smith: Yes speaking.
Manager: This is a call from ACA travel agency regarding the issues within the services.
Mr Smith: Ok, please tell me.
Manager: As per our records, it has been noticed that we have received numerous customer
complaints, which we have failed to receive.
Mr Smith: Why?
Manager: This is due to the lackadaisical attitude of the staffs towards fulfilling the needs of the
customers.

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Mr Smith: I am shocked to hear this.
Manager: The customers and clients are dissatisfied with the services, which has declined the sales
revenue. Along with this, we have suffered great decline in the profit margin. This has declined our
market position in the competitive ambience.
Mr Smith: This is a serious issue, which needs to be catered immediately. Have you planned how you
would deal the issue?
Manager: Yes, we have conducted meetings with the Directors and planned to introduce training for
the employees. Along with this, we have decided to introduce new HR policies, which would
systematize the business activities. Apart from this, evaluation would be done through templates and
checklists. Apart from this, we have also thought of refunding money to the customers. This would be
done through the legal compliances.
Mr Smith: OK, progress rationally with these plans. Kindly send me a draft about the progress.
Manager: Sure.
Task 4
Competitor Policy
Competition policy is governed by the European Commission for monitoring the
performance of the brands in the competitive ambience. Typical components of this are the
agreements, abusive behaviours, mergers, market expansion, financial support and national
cooperation. Catering to the needs, demands and requirements of the clients enriches the
diversity among the staffs (Sania, Kalpina and Javed 2015). Herein lays the effectiveness of
diversity policy, which reflects the ethical approach. Within this, some of the policies, which
can be developed are: Health and Safety Policy, Accidental Policy, Trade Policy, Anti-
Discrimination Policy and 24X7 Tellicalling policy. The last Policy would cater to the phone
calls of the customers. The clients would be entrusted with the responsibility of taking the

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calls and answering them as per the protocols (Schilpzand, De and Erez 2016). For
implementation of these policies, the Board of Directors and the managers need to be
involved. This is in terms of gaining their responses about their effectiveness, appropriateness
and feasibility in response to the identified and the specified objectives. Experiments are
crucial for the telecalling policy. This is in terms of averting the instances of defective
telephones at the time when the specific needs, demands and requirements of the clients and
the customers need to be fulfilled (Sherbin and Rashid 2017).
The statutory body of law needs to be contacted for clearing the doubts regarding the
policies and procedures. This assistance is crucial in terms of averting conflicts,
discriminations and harassments. Non-compliance to the standards and protocols of the
legislations and policies compel the staffs to encounter customer turnover (Thuesen 2017).

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References
Flightcentre.com.au (2018). Postcodes and postcards. Available at:
http://trends.flightcentre.com.au/documents/Flightcentre-Postcodes-Postcards-2017.pdf
[Accessed on 15th July 2018]
Ryan, A.M. and Wessel, J.L., 2015. Implications of a changing workforce and workplace for
justice perceptions and expectations. Human Resource Management Review, 25(2), pp.162-
175.
Sakdiyakorn, M. and Wattanacharoensil, W., 2018. Generational diversity in the workplace:
A systematic review in the hospitality context. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(2), pp.135-
159.
Sania, U., Kalpina, K. and Javed, H., 2015. Diversity, employee morale and customer
satisfaction: The three musketeers. Journal of Economics, Business and Management, 3(1),
pp.11-18.
Schilpzand, P., De Pater, I.E. and Erez, A., 2016. Workplace incivility: A review of the
literature and agenda for future research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37, pp.S57-
S88.
Sherbin, L. and Rashid, R., 2017. Diversity doesn’t stick without inclusion. Harvard Business
Review, pp.1-4.
Thuesen, F., 2017. Linguistic barriers and bridges: constructing social capital in ethnically
diverse low-skill workplaces. Work, Employment and Society, 31(6), pp.937-953.
Urciuoli, B., 2016. The compromised pragmatics of diversity. Language &
Communication, 51, pp.30-39.

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Vassou, C., Zopiatis, A. and Theocharous, A.L., 2017. Intercultural workplace relationships
in the hospitality industry: Beyond the tip of the iceberg. International Journal of Hospitality
Management, 61, pp.14-25.