HC2112 Service Report: Front/Back Stage at Esplanade Resort & Spa

This report examines the service operations of the Esplanade Resort & Spa in Victoria, Australia, using it as a case study to understand front and back stage service processes. It highlights how these processes contribute to exceptional guest service, meeting expectations and fostering satisfaction. The report explores the importance of service encounters and their implications for managers in understanding service marketing and customer relationships. The analysis covers the resort's physical environment, the significance of both visible (front desk, housekeeping, etc.) and invisible (backstage) service elements, and the impact of service encounters on customer perceptions and decisions. The report also discusses the managerial implications of service encounters, emphasizing the need for effective promotion, pricing, and booking facilities to meet customer expectations and create a positive brand image, leading to customer loyalty and business growth.

Running head: SERVICES AT ESPLANADE RESORT & SPA
HC2112 Service Marketing & Relationship Marketing
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SERVICES AT ESPLANADE RESORT & SPA
Executive Summary
Through this report service operation of The Esplanade Resort & Spa which is located in
Victoria, Australia has been considered as the case study for comprehending their front and back
stage service processes that significantly contributes in catering phenomenal services to guests
further meeting their levels of expectations and satisfactions. Located in the centre of Lakes
Entrance the resort cum spa is closer to the beach and offers guests with huge lagoon swimming
pool and a tennis court besides free private parking facilities. Further, this report will also present
the importance of service encounters and their implication on managers to comprehend the
service marketing and rapport with customers in a better way.
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Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................2
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................4
Discussion...................................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................10
References.................................................................................................................................................11
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SERVICES AT ESPLANADE RESORT & SPA
Introduction
A resort service industry like Esplanade Resort & Spa comprises of numerous elements of
service design and operations such as attitude and response to customers, which literally takes
place when the entire range of service activity is received by them whenever customers visit the
property for stays or avail spa services. Take for example, the behaviour and response of a
customer/guest begins right from the time they make an entrance into the resort’s premises where
they are greeted by the doorman and further directed towards the reception desk, interactions
starts with the front desk staffs for confirming their room bookings or spa appointment (Gregory
and Weinland 2016). In case of resort stays, the front stage activities at the front desk revolves
around room allocation, bellboy shifting luggage to rooms and handover of keys to the guests.
Often some international guests do seek transportation and travelling services information from
the staffs. Besides, recreation amenities like boutique-style accommodation or fully self-
contained apartment, outdoor tennis court, indoor pool, bar etc. are sought after by guests as part
of the resort services and they seek help of resort executives for all these service assistance.
According to Sampson and Money (2015) support operations is another key element, which
takes place at the back stage and does not involves direction interaction with guests nor can they
see it but a crucial role is played by this element to ensure consistency of the resort’s services
that revolves around IT, human resources and accounting operations.
Discussion
As opined by Kaushik and Rahman (2017) visible and invisible touch points of services are main
elements where one to one activities are included in the former touch point where a front level
executive interact with guests/customers and address information and enquire guests seek for
expediting their actions through suitable response and satisfaction. Front desk interactions,
housekeeping services, food court, spa and recreational service interactions are few examples of
visible touch point activities in the resort. According to Ustrov, Valverde and Ryan (2016) the
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later element includes invisible back stage intercommunication amidst the executives and guests
through telephonic calls, emailing etc. Physical surroundings are also a main element and
encompasses of everything that guests can see and absorb further influencing their thought
process in making decisions about the resort’s service arrangements. For example, the greetings
guests receive from the doorman, front desk staffs friendly mannerisms direct the resort’s
physical ambience further reflecting its cordial services.
Front stage and Back stage service operations
According to Golubovskaya, Robinson and Solnet (2017) a sharp difference in the interactions
made between customers and the provider of the services included in the service business and
activities’ following it is what implies focus on the service encounter. One can widely categorize
the operations of service businesses into two elements namely front stage and back stage service
operations. Customers’ or service consumers’ interaction with the service is represented by the
front stage while a service that cannot be seen by consumers represents the back stage, which is
considered as a part of the service value chain. As opined by Duggal and Verma (2013) activities
or operations that can get connected and interact directly with the guests are included into the
operations of front stage. Esplanade Resort & Spa’s executives handling the front stage
operations are capable of performing all types of service encounters, be it remote encounters,
phone encounters or face-to-face encounters incorporated into the resort service arrangements.
Besides, they are highly skilled and well trained in addressing customer queries for delivering a
quality service delivery model with flawless front stage support that is backed by strong back
stage information updates (Giovanis, Athanasopoulou and Tsoukatos 2015). The activities that
do not involve direct contact or interaction of the resort’s staffs with guests/customers are
bracketed under the back stage operations category. Such activities are largely carried behind the
doors and guests cannot see them. Back stage operations play a vital role in supporting the
service operations of front stage for facilitating customer interactions and encounters. The key
behind Esplanade Resort & Spa’s phenomenal delivery of services lies in the robust coordination
amidst its front stage and back stage service operations (Zhang, Joglekar and Verma 2012).
Front stage flowchart
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Fig 1: Front stage of Esplanade resort & spa
Source: Author
The above flowchart represents front stage process in Esplanade resort & spa’s operations where
guests have direct interaction with staffs of resort during service encounters. As soon guest arrive
the premise of resort they are greeted at car parking and then escorted through lobby towards
reception area. Here guests are assisted in their reservation by face to face interaction with
receptionists and they verify details of guest and confirm bookings. Next guest are handed room
keys and escorted by concierges to their rooms and their baggages are sent to allocated rooms to
complete the check-in process. Additionally if guests have any service queries these are
responded at front desk services. In each activity of front stage guests have encounter with
physical evidences of resort such as exterior, lobby, elevator, rooms and even with resort staffs.
These encounters influence customer sensations through stimulating their fulfilment. Hence
front stage is depiction of resort’s services as these are initial point of contacts.
Back stage flowchart
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Front Stage Service Process

SERVICES AT ESPLANADE RESORT & SPA
Fig 2: Backstage of Esplanade resort & spa
Source: Author
The above flowchart represents the backstage service process of Esplanade resorts which are
support activities that are behind the line of visibility. Hence do not have direct interaction with
customers and they support front stage process. Like housekeeping service, guest’s registration
data and enter data fed into ERP system of resort, HR and Accounts service etc are all support
activities at backstage which helps effective management and delivery of services. Moreover
kitchen service, inventories, security service too are back end services that together with front
stage completes service delivery process.
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Backstage service process

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Why service encounters are important?
According to Tam, Sharma and Kim (2014) one can describe service encounter as chain of
events where it is expected that organizations operating within a service industry deliver
consistent performance during a service encounter however it may not be truly necessary.
Besides the average performance, the peaks within a performance are significant. The
importance of a happy ending is also stressed by service researchers by testing a model on the
contributions of an event on the comprehensive assessment of a series of events further
demonstrating the relevance of average performance during the encounter. As stated by Webber,
Payne and Taylor (2012) the importance of pinnacle experiences to form satisfaction is also
stressed from the results. Hence, not only the overall performance of a service encounter should
be managed by the managers of service business but also offers should be made to ensure long
lasting experiences for elevating satisfaction of customers. An impression is created by service
encounters on customers’ minds further influencing their decisions or opinions towards the
service delivery or brand awareness (Batra 2016). For Esplanade Resort & Spa service
encounters play an important part by cultivating a two-way association amidst the management
and guests/customers where the latter’s behaviour is stimulated by positive service encounters
further inspiring them in positively responding to the resort’s services to make them visit
repeatedly and do word of mouth publicity. For example, the resort’s online services in the form
of user friendly website and navigation suitability during booking systems generates a service
encounter which affects guests perceptions before they actual consume the service. Moreover,
the front stage operations in the service delivery process of Esplanade resort & spas are also key
service encounters components. According to Maguire, Kawas and Geiger (2015) service
encounters are influential since it can be pleasant or unpleasant although enhancing appeasing
and positive service encounters for delivering better service experiences to guests and meet their
expectations is vital for resort’s success. The main incentive for satisfaction and/or
dissatisfaction revolves around the resort’s market share against its competitors. The level of
customers’ contentment gets determined by the big or small share in the market owing to the
services delivered at the resort. Profitability in terms of revenues is another direct stimulus of
the guests’ higher level of fulfilment followed by the number of repeated visits. Guests
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preferring the Esplanade resort’s whenever they visit Victoria reflect their high level of
contentment, brand’s delivery of promise and higher level of service delivery.
Managerial implications of service encounters
As service products of Esplanade resorts & Spa are intangible in nature so managers of the resort
are required to create smooth demand through effective promotion, dynamic pricing and booking
facilities, so that operational process of resort is well executed to meet needs and expectations of
customers. According to Gazzoli, Hancer and BeomCheol (Peter) Kim (2013) effective strategies
and management is significant to improve service encounters as customers of service products
tend to turn away if the process is in-convenient. As such to generate better idea of offerings of
Esplanade resorts & spas it is significant for their managers to develop strategic directions that
can deliver worthy service encounters and hence they give priority to improve service encounters
with better approaches and practices to assure that international standards are maintained in
context to quality of services. At Esplanade resorts & spas it is intrinsic culture where employees
work dedicatedly to deliver pursuits that can meet customer presumptions and managers allow
their teams full support and authority to control their tasks with individual decisions that can best
support the fulfilment deliverables of their jobs to create highest level of performance. Further
as intangible services of Esplanade resorts & spas usually prevails over value creation so
managers of the resort ensures that their services are made tangible through increased attention
on physical clues. Due to this prospective customers of their resorts can evaluate service
offerings of Esplanade resorts & spas and can distinguish from rivals. As such managers make
decisions and strategic planning to apply concrete allegory and impressive images in advertising,
branding etc to communicate effectively value creation aspect of their offerings. Unique service
encounters are necessary to generate better business growth in future hence managers of
Esplanade resorts & spas made conscious efforts to create valuable encounters to capture interest
and memories of their customers (Söderlund 2013). Also as services are difficult to be visualised
and interpret so managers of Esplanade resorts & spa ensures to create good awareness of valued
choices for their customer by describing them best deal, service guarantees and performance
benchmarks to meet their expectations. Also managers of the resort make sure that service
encounters between resort executives and guests are of highest possible standards so that
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delightful experiences are created and in case of any event of negative encounters managers
make efforts to recompense for unfortunate services with additional offers like free one night
stay on re-visit to resorts or service coupons to neutralise the perceptions with goodwill gesture
and win them back in an attempt to not lose a valuable guest.
Conclusion
To conclude it can be said that effectiveness of service delivery and better service encounters are
possible only when both front stage and back stage operations of service business combine and
complement one another to enhance experiences of customers. Further a good alignment
between all operations ensures timely delivery of service in proper manner at predefined
standard levels which enhances brand image, commitment and leaves a favourable impression on
guests to ensure future business and publicity to others. So, to remain competitive in business
each service needs to ensure better delivery of services to establish strong rapport with
customers.
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SERVICES AT ESPLANADE RESORT & SPA
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