In addition to being a source of repeat business, satisfied customers are more likely to recommend the business to others, thus generating new custom. Research has shown that personal recommendations can be a more powerful influence on customer choice than other more expensive forms of promotion such as advertising.
Enhance the image of Thorpe Park
The term ‘public image’ refers to the way in which an organization is perceived or thought of by the majority of people. This public perception may be based on the actual experience of being a customer, on the comments made by friends/family or on reports made by the media, and can have a significant influence on an individual’s decision to use a particular firm and/or its products. Thorpe Park has dedicated public relations departments, responsible for creating positive image for their organization and minimizing the damage created by negative publicity, should it arise. Offering a consistently high level of customer service can play an important role in generating a positive reputation for the firm, and may be vital in helping it ride out the occasional storm of bad publicity.
E1 TASK 2
Types of customer
There are different types of customers and their needs varies depending on who they are and the situation that they are in. it is important for TP to be able to be able to identify the different types of customer that use their service or facility and understand how their needs may vary. There are two main types of customers:
- Internal customers
- External customers
Internal customers
These are members of staff within the organisation or outside suppliers who contribute towards the service that is provided to external customers. This includes employees, managers, supervisors etc.
Even though TP is not mainly set up to provide services to its internal customers, it is must keep them well motivated in order to establish good working relationships between colleagues, managers and staff teams. Guest assistants deal directly with customers therefore the way in which they are treated or managed will reflect in their attitudes towards customers.
External customers
These are the people who actually buy or use an organisation’s products and services. There are many ways of categorising external customers. To a large extent the way this is done will depend on the type of organisation and nature of the business it operates. Common methods of identifying particular types of groups of customer include by:
Individuals & groups: it is important to recognise that although customers may use a product or service on an individual basis, they may also become part of a group. Some customers may appreciate the fact that they are on their own and prefer to be treated individually rather than grouped together with others. The problem with dealing with groups of people is satisfying all their individual needs. It is important for TP to identify the specific types of individual and group that use their services so as to target services to meet their needs and expectations. If customers that come as individual or as a group are not satisfied or thinks service was poor, this customers will not use the TP service again or customer loyalty will not be establish which is bad for business.
Different ages: customer age groups can be broken into children which includes babies, toddlers, older children and teenagers while adults include young adults, middle-aged adults and senior citizens. Although the age of customers is important, it is equally important not to make assumptions about customers’ needs based solely on their age. TP current target market is for young adults but formerly was for families with children over 12. This assures young adults customers that their needs will be met which is an effective strategy in encouraging them to pay a visit to the park but also puts pressure on customer service as demands from this age group will be higher since TP has announced that they are in operation to cater for their needs and meet their expectations. The park as a variety of rides especially ones that are suitable for their target market so ensure that customers are satisfied.
Different cultures: it often important to recognise types of customer by their cultural background in order to provide effective customer service. Cultural background influences people’s traditions, tastes, preferences and opinions and therefore has an impact on the type and level of service that people need and expect. The type o f service TP offers doesn’t directly affect different cultures and with the variety of rides available, various cultures are sure to find which is most suitable for them.
Different languages: foreign visitors are increasingly using the UK services. Many such visitors speak little or no English but expect staff to be able to deal with their needs despite the language barrier. With this knowledge and especially because of the integration of the EU, TP’s workforce consists of employees that speak different languages other than English and are given a badge that signifies the flag of the country’s language so that customers that have problem with the English language and from this countries can easily identify and approach this employees for assistance. The TP employees can also radio each other for attention to customer with language barrier.
Special needs: some customers have special needs, which may require special customer service in addition to that provided to meet the general needs of customers. This may be because of sensory disabilities, mobility problems, learning difficulties, people with children etc. People with specific needs require tailored customer service but they do not want to be made to feel different, stupid or a nuisance but want a little extra care and consideration of their needs. TP recognises this and have various facilities to cater foe especially mothers with children and disabled guest.
Thorpe park needs to show a considerable amount of customer service to its guests if wants to continue to operate and attract guests. This includes that the rides at the park are operating properly and have minimum risk. Guests should not feel safe on rides but also on foot around the park. TP needs to ensure that the needs of their market target are met and probably exceeded and that guests get value for their money. The park has to have enough rides to cater for the level of guests visiting the park and avoid unnecessary waiting times. TP needs to ensure that its employees are well trained to deal and meet with the diversity in guest’s needs and expectations. Because TP is somewhere outside the outskirts of London, travel information needs to be provided for different guest travelling to the park through different modes. They also need to ensure that guest have an easy entry and exit from the park. Customer service at TP would also include the provision of clean rides and generally a clean environment. Most importantly, customers’ complaints needs to be dealt with and suitable rectification to be carried out.
Task 4- E2
Dealing with the customers
Service industry employees are required to deal with customers on a regular basis. Providing good customer service is more than just employees been there to sell a product or offer a service to the customer but also include the relationship established with the customer. This is why the skills and attributes of TP’s workforce are important if the organisation wants to offer good customer service. Employee’s contact with the customer might be face-to-face, on the telephone or in writing.
Face-to-face communication has many advantages but only if used effectively. Different communication skills are required for situations involving groups and individuals. When communicating with a group, it is important to ensure that all the group members understand and involved in the communication.
Telephone communication: most organisations use the telephone to provide part of their customers’ service. Organisations whose employees have good telephone skills will usually meet and possibly exceed the standard of service that customers expect. The skills will be to be polite, patient, friendly, attentive and efficient however additional skills are needed such as specking clearly, listening carefully, taking notes, identifying customers needs etc.
Written communication: is another way of which business organisations keep in contact with customers. Examples of written communications used include menus, letters, advertisements, emails, Internet, brochures etc. The written information of an organisation could represent its image to its customers, which is why it is needs to be of the best quality.
Verbal communication is the central of the other forms of communication. It is consists of the ability to speak in a way that is comprehensible and acceptable to the customer; comprehensible in the sense that the communication is meaningful and easily followed by the customers and acceptable in the way that the expressions given to the customer fit the personal image intended to be created. Effective verbal skills are often a matter of experience and practice.
Non-verbal communication: there is a widespread tendency to focus of what is said or written and overlook the importance of what is communicated non-verbally however research has shown that as much as 80% of communication is non-verbal so it is clearly an important part of customer service.
This form of communication covers all aspects of communication that are not spoken or written down. Another term for non-verbal communication is body language meaning the way in which the body is use to send out messages to someone else. It includes posture, mannerisms, gestures and facial expressions all of which communicate messages about what we really think and feel. Open body language persuades customers that you are interested in them, that you are not hostile or aggressive and that you want to please them while closed body language suggests the opposite. Examples of open body language are smiling, standing up straight, eye contact with customer etc while closed body language are frowning, slouching, showing no feelings at all etc. smiling is a single powerful aspect of non-verbal communication as it suggests that the employee(s) likes and takes pride in his/her job and that he/she likes the customers and wants to meet their needs.
Good communication skills both verbal and non-verbal are important in all situations dealing with customers includes providing information, giving advise, keeping records, providing assistance, handling complaints etc.
Task 5 e3
Sale of Goods Act 1979.
A very important act. Goods for sale must meet three conditions:
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They must be of ‘merchantable quality’ i.e. without obvious flaws or problems.
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They must be fit for the purpose they are sold for.
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The goods must be as described.
For example, if TP decide to sell products to anyone the products must meet the criteria’s above. The product must not have any problems with it; if it does then it is up to TP to state the item is faulty. Also the description of the product must be stated obviously on the product and what it is used for.
Supply of Goods & Services Act 1982.
This widens previous laws to include services as well as goods.
This is just as the above but services as well, if the ride at TP is not meant for a certain age group or is faulty then it needs to be stated and made aware to the customers.
Sale & Supply of Goods Act 1994.
This brings the Sales of Goods Act (goods) and the Sale of Goods and Services Act (services) together into one law. It also adds the right of rejection and refund to the buyer if products are not satisfactory.
If the buyer buys a product and it is damage or faulty then they have the right to take the product back and ask for a refund along with receipt.
The Data Protection Act (1998)
Is concerned with regulating the process of obtaining, storing, using and disclosing of data relating to individuals, including facts such as addresses, telephone numbers and dates of birth and opinions. The 1998 update the Data Protection Act of 1984 and now apply to all personal data held in any format, either computerized or on paper.
If I purchase I season ticket from TP and I give them all of my details which include my address and bank details then based on this law they have no right to transfer my details to anyone except they ask me first and I consent.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995)
is concerned with ending discrimination against people with disabilities by setting out their rights in respect of employment, obtaining goods and services and buying land and property. The Act makes it unlawful to refuse to offer a service that would otherwise be available to people with disabilities, or to offer disabled people a lower standard of service than that available to others. It also obliges service providers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ so that disabled people can access the service on offer.
Basically, the existence of consumer protection legislation and regulations add to business costs. These costs include the costs of:
• Reading, understanding and complying with the laws (time and money).
• Employing specialists to deal with the laws and their consequences.
•Changing business practices e.g. re-training sales staff or re-designing labeling and packaging.
• Dealing with complaints, especially if they end up in the courts.
• Fines and penalties
• Damaged reputation and image with customers.
These costs are especially difficult for small businesses that lack the time, money and expertise to deal with it all. New small businesses sometimes become the big businesses of the future; growth and employment depend on new business start-ups. If entrepreneurs are discouraged by too many regulations and don’t start new businesses, then future growth and employment may suffer.
Task 6 e4
Once an organization has established the criteria by which the quality of its customer service will be assessed, the next step is to find out how well it is actually doing. This will involve finding out how customers themselves feel about levels of customer service.
It is important for TP to obtain as much feedback as possible from the customers. It is worth remembering that feedback can be positive as well as negative, and it is just as useful to know what an organization is getting right as it is to know what it is doing wrong!
Many of the techniques described below also allow organisation to find out what customers (and members of the public generally) feel about rival companies (competitors). There are many methods of obtaining feedback from customers. These are methods that TP use to monitor customer service:
Formal interviews – these may be on a group or one-to-one basis. Interviews are often based around a questionnaire or it may be the responsibility of the interviewer to obtain the necessary information by skilful questioning. The main advantage of this is that interviewers are on hand to clarify any issues and explain the meaning of questions where necessary.
Focus groups – this is where small groups of customers (normally between six and ten) are invited to participate in an in-depth discussion, giving their thoughts and opinions on the quality of customer service provided by an organisation. The role of the focus group leader or facilitator in ensuring that every participant gets a chance to give his or her views.
Street surveys – as the name implies, these involve researchers approaching suitable participants ‘on the street’ to gather their opinions on an organisation and its products/services. Surveys are usually based around a questionnaire, and the presence of the researcher can be useful in persuading individuals to participate and clarifying issues where necessary. The quality of the information obtained depends largely on the quality of the questionnaire and the impartiality of the researchers.
Telephone surveys – many of the points made about street surveys are relevant here. However, telephone surveys are a quicker method of gathering information making them, at least in theory, cheaper.
Postal surveys – again, many of the points made above regarding surveys and questionnaires are relevant here. The cost of postal surveys tends to be lower, especially as there is no need to employ an interviewer, but the response rate is also generally low, and organizations will often include some kind of incentive, such as free gifts or entry to prize draws, to encourage participation employees
Surveys – increasingly, firms are gathering data on customer service by placing interactive questionnaires on their websites and encouraging customers to use them by offering incentives such as free gifts and prize draws. This is a relatively cheap method of research, given that it is normally relatively easy to add questionnaires onto an already established website.
Internal surveys – these are surveys that are conducted amongst the organization’s own
Comments/suggestion boxes – these are commonly used by organizations to gather basic information and are typically left on restaurant tables, in hotel rooms and near to tills for customers to fill in while they wait. They act like mini-questionnaires - usually made up of a small number of closed-ended questions, in order to encourage a higher completion rate.
