Improving Customer Service: A Case Study of Center Parcs Tourism

This report explores customer service management within Center Parcs, focusing on identifying various customer types and their needs, including both internal and external customers. It discusses techniques for analyzing customer service effectiveness, such as feedback collection, mystery shopping, and call monitoring. The report also analyzes the importance of quality systems in enhancing customer service, emphasizing empathy, assurance, responsiveness, tangibles, and reliability. Furthermore, it provides action guidelines for key customer service skills, addressing handling difficult customers, resolving queries, effective phone communication, and active listening. The ultimate goal is to improve service quality, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive business success by understanding and meeting customer expectations.

Customer Service Management for Travel and Tourism
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................3
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................4
1. Describe the types of customers that Center Parcs attracts as a Holiday village? (LO1).....................5
2. Identify the current needs of each type of customers identified in question 1 and explain how they
can contribute to the success of Center Parcs? (LO1)..................................................................................6
3. Discuss the major techniques that Center Parcs can use to analyse the effectiveness of customer
service within its company? (LO2)..............................................................................................................8
4) Analyse the use and importance of a quality system that can be implemented in Center Parcs to
enhance customer service? (LO2)..............................................................................................................10
5) As the future customer service executive you have been asked to prepare short action guidelines to
cover each of the major skills of customer service at Center Parcs. Examine the ‘do’s’ or ‘don’ts’ you
would include in your checklists for each of the following topics: (LO3).................................................11
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................13
Reference...................................................................................................................................................14
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Executive Summary
This report contains the discussion about the various types of customers who might be involved
with Center Parcs and the ways in which the company can improve the efficiency and quality of
the services which are provided to the customers. This report analyses the use of quality systems
that can be used to evaluate the services provided to the customers and the methods which can be
used to measure the output and fill the gaps. Also, the importance of key performance indicators
and the ways in which these can be utilised to understand the customers’ requirements has also
been discussed.
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Introduction
In this study, the various types of customers who might be attracted towards availing the
facilities provided by Center Parcs has been evaluated with a detailed explanation regarding the
characteristics of internal and external customers. The importance of providing quality services
to these customers and the benefits of providing the quality services to these customers has also
been evaluated. The study also contains the explanation regarding the ways in which the
different requirements of the customers can be identified and their contribution towards the
success of the business. The importance of providing quality services to the customers as well as
the key points that the management has to consider while developing the quality systems has also
been discussed.
The value of recording and implementing the feedback from the customers has also been
evaluated with a detailed analysis of using this feedback to enhance the quality of the services
provided by Center Parcs which will result in enhancing the current market share. Also, the ways
in which the feedback and reviews can be taken appropriately in order to get the honest and
appropriate replies has also been evaluated. In the last part, the do’s’ and don’ts’ while
answering the queries have also been evaluated for the scenarios such as handling a difficult
customer, resolving customers queries, communicate effectively over the phone, and listening
skills of the staff while answering the questions raised by the customers.
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1. Describe the types of customers that Center Parcs attracts as a Holiday village? (LO1)
Customers are the real asset for any business since, without their support and contribution, the
business cannot succeed. The customers can be classified into Internal Customers and External
Customers
The Internal Customers are the employees and staff who are working in Centre Parcs or other
stakeholders who may have a particular interest in the business such as suppliers and vendors of
different products and services. These customers may not purchase the products or utilise the
services provided by Centre Parcs, but maintaining a healthy relationship with them ensures
smooth flow of the operations and success of the venture. By providing the quality services to
them, the coordination can be enhanced which results in enhancing the quality and efficiency of
the services (Johnston and Clark, 2008).
External customers are the people who utilise the products and services of Centre Parcs, such as,
hotels, restaurants, and other facilities and they are not part of the organisation. These customers
are vital part of the business since they help to generate the revenues and to sustain in the
competitive market scenario. The management plans and executes various strategies in order to
attract the customers by designing customer-friendly policies which enables to invest in new
projects or to deliver new services.
The other classifications of customers are Business to Business and Business to Consumer. In a
Business to Business, the products and services are provided to the other organisations. For
instance, Servair provides catering services for Air France. These businesses usually have a
small and focused target market and the buying process is multi-layered and hence, the buying
process is lengthy. Also, the organisational buyers are professional in their fields and a team of
individuals is involved while purchasing the products. Businesses to Consumer companies are
product given and sell the products directly to its customers. For example, the products and
services developed by Centre Parcs are directly used by the customers (Johnston and Clark,
2008).
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2. Identify the current needs of each type of customers identified in question 1 and
explain how they can contribute to the success of Center Parcs? (LO1)
Since the internal customers are part of the organisation, their expectations towards Centre Parcs
will be to avail the available services at a price which is more affordable. Also, these services
should be available easily, that is, the procedure should be simple and the process should be
quick. This will ensure that employees and staff working with the company feel comfortable
while availing the services. The internal customers should be treated fairly and should not be
taken for granted as it is a general tendency to ignore them and it may result in provide sub-
standard services. Centre Parcs should also consider providing additional services to these
customers so that they are encouraged to avail the services that are provided by the company.
This ensures enhanced coordination among the staff which improves operational efficiencies
(Haris, 2014).
The external customers always expect better quality services at discounted rates. Center Parcs
should train its staff in order to understand their requirements and provide the services
accordingly. For instance, the customer who is visiting a place for business purposes will have
specific requirements and these may be different from those who are staying to enjoy their
leisure period. Also, the customers expect quick services and there should not any delays while
providing the services. They expect the employees and staff to be courteous and to provide
correct information regarding the products and services offered to them and the responses have
to quick. By following these etiquettes, Center Parcs will be able to provide quality and
professional services which helps to enhance the goodwill and reputation of the company.
In case of Business to Business set-up, the companies expect quality and providing those
services which were agreed while drafting the service agreements. Since large corporations have
a huge number of staffs, they may expect additional facilities along with the regular services that
are provided to other customers and also, these services should not be charged. They always
expect maintaining honesty and integrity while providing the services and hence, there should
not be any hidden charges while providing the services. Since the decision-making process
involves a group of individuals, the employees should be courteous and should maintain the
accuracy while answering their questions and each individual in the group should be treated
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equally and also, they expect not to be ignored while providing answers. These companies also
expect proper grievance handling and quick responses from Centre Parcs in case of any issues
faced related to the service offered to them. All these requirements have to be planned by Centre
Parcs well-in-advance so that there are no delays and appropriate solutions can be implemented
efficiently (Nankervis, 2005).
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3. Discuss the major techniques that Center Parcs can use to analyse the effectiveness
of customer service within its company? (LO2)
It is a very well-known fact that the organisations that provide services effectively to attract more
customers. In order to be effective, Centre Parcs should design the pricing strategy which helps
the company to grow and expand since providing the services at the competitive prices enables
to compete in the market and for that, Centre Parcs may exclude providing certain services. In
order to maintain the quality of the services, the management should develop the strategies in
order to check the various tasks performed by its employees and staff. Some of the methods that
can be used are, conducting training for all the employees and staff regularly, taking regular
feedback from the customers, conducting spot inspections, mystery shopping, and management
should ensure that culture within Centre Parcs, values and respects both employees and
customers (Nankervis, 2005).
The service measurements techniques can be divided into internal and external service
measurement techniques. The methods that can be used for inter-service measurement are,
mystery shopping, call monitoring and recording the complaints. In the external service
measurement methods, unsolicited comments, surveys, focus group, comments, and feedback are
used to ascertain the level of service provided.
Centre Parcs should effectively use the feedback given by the customers while rating the
services. The questions that are asked to the customers should help the management to know the
customers’ perception about the company, the quality of the service provided and the level of
responsiveness of the staff and employees. This enables the management to identify the gaps and
develop the strategies to fill those gaps and also, suggestions provided by the customers should
also be considered while planning the alternatives. The feedback should be collected by the
different sources depending on the customers and the means can be email, using company
website, social media platforms, and hard copy of feedback forms that can be filled by the
customers. The method should be appropriately selected, for instance, the customers who have
visited the place for business can be requested to provide the feedback online and those who are
enjoying their leisure periods can be asked to fill the form manually. Also, the customers should
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not be forced or influenced to provide a specific feedback in order to record the genuine remarks
and comments (Hudson and Hudson, 2012).
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4) Analyse the use and importance of a quality system that can be implemented in Center
Parcs to enhance customer service? (LO2)
Quality can be defined as the maintaining the consistency of the services which are pre-defined
by the management. Quality is the measure of excellence which is achieved by consistent
commitment made by the management to set the standards for all the activities provided by the
company in order to satisfy the customers’ requirements. The key areas can be identified by
using the quality system is empathy, assurance, responsiveness tangibles, and reliability.
Reliability is the ability of the company to provide the services accurately, consistently, and as
per the agreed time schedule. Assurance is the knowledge, skill, and integrity of staff and their
level of expertise to build trust and confidence among the customers. Tangibles are the
equipment, infrastructure, staff and the resources that are used for communication. Empathy is
the relationship between the staff and customers. Responsiveness is the capability to provide
quick services by maintaining the quality (Hudson and Hudson, 2012).
The management will be able to ascertain the expectations of the customers and the actual
services provided to them. Also, it helps the management to identify the areas which have to be
improved to provide quality services and these shortcomings can be improved gradually by
experimenting and developing new methods of providing services. Center Parcs should ensure
that the quality system should include; the primary focus of the company and the products have
to be designed after ascertaining the expectations of the customers. Also, the leadership skills
have to be demonstrated by indicating that they are committed to develop, sustain, and improve
the quality system. The company should follow the process approach where the company views
the quality system as a tool to deliver the quality services to its customers and the management
should ensure that employees are aware of the importance of providing the quality services and
their responsibilities should be clearly outlined by providing adequate training.
Center Parcs has to develop Key Performance Indicators to identify the strengths within the
services that are provided to the customers. It is a performance measurement system which
enables the management to evaluate the elements that are crucial for their success and to ensure
that the strategies are followed as per the objectives set by the management. Center Parcs can use
Key Performance Indicators to measure revenue and customer satisfaction (Dale, 2007).
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5) As the future customer service executive you have been asked to prepare short action
guidelines to cover each of the major skills of customer service at Center Parcs. Examine
the ‘do’s’ or ‘don’ts’ you would include in your checklists for each of the following topics:
(LO3)
Do’s’ Don’ts’
Handling customer
complaints
 To be confident while
handling the customers
 To learn about the
products and services
provided by Center
Parcs
 To maintain
confidentiality of the
personal details of the
customers
 To provide assistance
to the customers by
regular follow-up
 To say “I don’t know”
without offering an
option.
 To avoid the
customers.
 Treating people
unequally.
Dealing with a difficult
customer
 To give the customer
special recognition or
reward.
 To understand the
customer’s
requirement and take
steps to resolve the
issues.
 To stay calm and
remain polite.
 To apologise for the
mistakes committed
and to find a solution
(Haris, 2014).
 Not to impose your
bad or negative mood.
 To avoid destructive
remarks.
 Taking the remarks
personally.
Effective communication
over the telephone
 To know how to use
the phones.
 To speak clearly and
slowly.
 To state the employees
name and company
name to the customers.
 To write down the
caller’s name.
 To say rude things
over the phone.
 To eat or drink while
conversing with the
customers.
 To keep the customers
hold for a long time.
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 To make use of
available stationaries
to take notes or
messages.
Principles of letter-writing
when corresponding with
customers queries
 To write clearly and
precisely.
 To refer to the date and
type of query.
 To be friendly without
being too informal.
 To answer the query or
to explain a reason for
not considering a
particular request.
 To reply within the
scheduled time or to
apologise for the delay.
 To be too casual while
answering the queries.
 To provide vague
answers and not
providing the correct
information.
 To reply to the
customers without
verifying the spelling
and grammar.
 To write the customer
name incorrectly while
replying to the
customers’ request.
Listening skills  To always practice
active listening.
 To attend to the
immediate needs.
 To be available to the
customers.
 To always make the
eye contact.
 To have attentive
posture while listening
to the customers.
 To concentrate on the
conversation and
attentive to the details
(Haris, 2014).
 Concentrating on other
issues and not being
attentive to the
customers.
 To escape from the
responsibility of
resolving the issues.
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