Customer Service in the Hospitality Industry (Case Study Sample)

Customer Service in Tourism and Hospitality Organizations Student’s Name University Affiliation  Customer Service in Tourism and Hospitality Organizations At the heart of any hospitality organization’s success, lies excellent customer service. This is the critical factor that makes the difference between whether a client chooses a particular organization or its competitors. It is in cognizance of this fact that Castaways Resort has consistently endeavored to offer top notch services to its diverse clientele. However, in spite of significant effort, customer service still remains a challenge that needs to be tackled in such a manner as to maximize both the customers’ satisfaction rate and the organization’s revenue flow. This paper seeks to lay out a plan of action that is intended to solve the problem. First, every single member of Castaway Resort’s management team needs to be seized with the significance of customer service, irrespective of whether they directly interact with clients or not. This is because a leadership culture that is steeped in customer service is guaranteed to send the right signals to employees at all other levels. Such leadership can go a long way in ensuring that a culture of service is deeply ingrained within an organization (Smith, 2012). Consequently, hiring decisions for management roles should incorporate customer service delivery competence as part of the requisite criteria to be met. Secondly, Castaways Resort can leverage customer feedback to adjust its processes in such a way as to suit the changing needs of its clients. It should be noted that with the advent of social media an online networking, information flows seamlessly fast. As such, customers are able to share experiences and seek information from multiple sources. This means that they have a whole array of options in terms of selecting their holiday destination or event venue. It is therefore vital that their sentiments be captured in real time. This input can prove invaluable in terms of keeping in sync with trends in the hospitality industry. One efficient way of achieving this is to use online surveys through which clients can give relevant feedback. In addition, the hotel should incorporate an interactive communication tool in its website so as to register complaints, inquiries and recommendations. It has been asserted that using such means can be helpful in gaining unbiased and meaningful feedback (Bakke, 2013). Thirdly, while Castaways Resort undertakes to hire qualified staff for various job roles, continuous periodic training is of absolute importance. This ensures that a service culture is integrated into all work processes. Such training has to empower staff in terms of professionalism and problem solving abilities. This is especially vital in light of research which indicates that the ability to solve problems and maintain professionalism among hospitality industry staff, leads to higher rates of customer satisfaction (Edwin & Sheryl, 2013). In view of this, management should engage consultants with a view to developing training programs that are relevant to market conditions. Moreover, staff performance should be periodically audited to assess whether training outcomes have been achieved. This would facilitate corrective action where necessary. In addition, Castaways Resort should develop wellness programs and reward schemes for its employees. This is with a view to boosting morale, which in turn leads to better performance at the workplace. Wellness programs could incorporate both healthy living facilities such as gymnasiums for workouts and consultant health advisory services to facilitate healthy lifestyle choices among employees. In the long term, such a sustainable staff support policy can lead to a healthier workforce that is equipped to handle the stress that accompanies service provision in a high paced environment such as the hospitality industry. Besides, from a purely economic perspective, wellness programs still make sense. For example, previous research indicated that employees, who took part in such programs over a period spanning three years, exhibited approximately 50% reduction in insurance claims on an annual basis (Zhang, Kandampully, & Choi, 2014). Further, reward schemes designed to recognize outstanding performance will motivate staff to aim for higher standards, which would result in higher total productivity and thereby translate to increased earnings for the hotel. Another way to boost the customer experience would be for Castaways Resort to explore opportunities through which it can come to an understanding with tourism service providers in the area so as to ensure customers have access to affordable rates. For example, a memorandum of understanding can be negotiated with K...