- Good physical working condition, e.g. Canteen and staff rooms
- Good promotion prospects
- A sympathetic and understanding ear
- Fair and on time payments
- A desirable benefits package such as high discounts and reasonable holidays
A business needs to take into consideration the internal customers needs, wants and expectations and the dire impact on the business if these are not met.
To a business internal customers are significant to the running of it, and if untreated fairly may choose to leave the business, therefore the business is unable to maintain a high level of customer service expected by external customers. Even if they do not leave and stay but are unhappy and de-motivated this potentially could still be as damaging as they are less likely to treat external customers with the respects, care and customer service they deserve and are expecting.
Internal customers of Disneyland Paris
There are a number of needs and expectations in which Disneyland’s internal customers deserve and expect, if these needs and expectations are not met they will be unhappy and inefficient in the work and therefore provide a poor customer service, which in turn will deter repeat custom.
Disneyland Paris gives their employees the title ‘Cast Members’. The term Cast Member comes from the entertainment industry. Each employee of Disneyland Paris is part of the cast working either onstage or backstage to put on the ‘magical show’ provided by Disney. Therefore providing their employee’s with different job titles will provide the staff with assurance and self esteem that they are valued in the job they are carrying out. Disneyland Paris currently employee over 12,000 Cast Members with a combined effort of over 100 different nationalities this would therefore be important as there are a number of different people coming from all over the world with a number of different languages being spoken throughout the park consequently it would be vital that Cast Members can interact with these different customers.
Each Cast Member is trained in specific worlds; this means that each member of the staff is trained to bring about the completion of a certain task, for example, some people would be trained to cook and prepare food while others would be trained to fix broken machinery or rides. This training would be an expectation of Disney’s internal customers as if they aren’t correctly trained in the job they may not be able to carry the work out to a high level of efficiency and may also have a high number of errors while working. If the employees weren’t trained correctly in their specific areas of work then this would also decrease their level of customer service provided which in turn would have negative effects on Disney.
Internal suppliers must be treated with a high level of customer service, this would be vital to the running of Disneyland Paris as the internal suppliers are the people who attract and transport people into the Disney resort. Travel agents provide Disney’s customers with four main ways of gaining access to the resort; these include air travel, car, bus and train (Eurostar). Disney carried out a survey into how people arrived to join the resort and came up with this data:
- Arrived by Train: 35%
- Arrived by Plane: 29%
- Arrived by Car: 26%
- Arrived by Bus: 10%
This data shows us that a total of just 26% of all UK Disneyland Paris visitors make their own way into the resort without going through an internal supplier and the other 74% arrange to stay in the Disney Resort through a travel agent so it is vital that these internal suppliers are treated with high respect and have been provided with a good customer service because without them, less people would be entering the park on an annual basis.
Disneyland Paris also provides services for any business customers who may wish to use their resort as a meeting place and require their facilities. The various places throughout the Disney Resort are business and family friendly but the main business areas would be Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Café, Buffalo Bills or even for night life the night club Hurricanes. It is important that Disney provide places in which business talks can be held and discussed, it is also important that they provide the business individuals with facilities to use and places to go to enjoy their selves during their stay at the resort, however, if this range of facilities was not available it would be a less appetising place to hold business conferences and in turn would lose custom for Disneyland Paris which in turn would lose them revenue and profit.
Internal customers of Marks & Spencer’s
Marks and Spencer’s internal customers consist of Employee’s, Managers, Shareholders and the various people who work in the different departments of the business; for example Human Resources or Finance. All these internal customers within Marks and Spencer have a series of wants, needs and expectations therefore it is important that these are met to ensure a high quality work force which in turn will provide a high quality customer service.
One of the needs for the employees of Marks and Spencer would be suitable break times. To ensure this need is met Marks and Spencer have set out these break rules; 0-4 hours they don’t get a break, work 4-6 hours they get 30 minutes, 6-8 hours they get 45 minutes break and if they work 10 hours + they get 1 hour break. Under 18’s are entitled to longer breaks, which is why M&S deter from employing many under 18 year olds. These break times all comply with the working regulations time act. A want to match this need would be that Marks and Spencer provide their staff with somewhere to go during their break times and to provide food for them to eat during this break. To meet and exceed this aim Marks and Spencer have various staff rooms and a Café revive. The staff room is somewhere, where employees can sit and relax during their break times with tables, chairs, sofas and a television all provided. In the Café revive Marks and Spencer offer a place where employees can eat a packed lunch, make full use of the fridges and microwaves provided and they can also purchase low priced Marks and Spencer food to eat during this break. This would be a major incentive for Marks and Spencer to entice employees into the company and as the wants of the internal customer have been met and exceeded it is very likely that employees will be much happier in their work place and in turn will provide an excellent customer service to all customers and make them feel valued when shopping in store. This will in turn help to increase repeat customer and generate more sales and revenue for Marks and Spencer.
Another expectation for the internal customers of Marks and Spencer would be financial incentives. In order to meet and again exceed these expectations Marks and Spencer offer discount cards to all their internal customers. These discount cards allow the user to gain a total of 20% off all products in store except electrical items as these are the only things in which Marks and Spencer do not product their selves. Employees also have the option to nominate one family member to be granted a discount card in which they have the same abilities and benefits as if they worked there. Internal customers are also entitled to purchase high quality Marks and Spencer goods from the staff shop at a quarter of the original price; for example if sandwiches were usually sold for £1 each, the staff shop would sell them for 25p each. This would be a major incentive to attract new employees and increase customer service provided by these employees as it not only benefits themselves but their families too with cheap products, high quality products being provided. This increase in customer service would then lead to the increase of team moral throughout the Marks and Spencer stores, which in turn would increase the level of customer service provided by each staff member.
Another want for the internal customers of Marks and Spencer would be health insurance (H.A.S). Once again Marks and Spencer have not only met this want but have exceeded it. In order to achieve this they have provided a health care service in which 2/3 of their total staff have signed up for. This is majorly beneficial for the internal customers of Marks and Spencer, as it will make them feel respected and valued. This would again lead to an increase in customer service.
A final want for the internal customers of Marks and Spencer would be a chance to save and invest money. In order for Marks and Spencer to achieve this aim they must devise a way in which would be beneficial to them and also beneficial towards their internal customers. This is when Marks and Spencer came up with a scheme titled ‘save and share scheme’. This scheme consists of employees paying a fixed fee each month in which they can save and take out when they wish or buy shares in Marks and Spencer. This would be a incentive to spur workers on and would also be a good motivator as they could save money all year and take it would when needed; for example a holiday or Christmas time. Again like the rest of the points this would lead to the internal customer providing a higher standard of customer service.
A final expectation for the internal customers of Marks and Spencer would be training. This would be vital and employees would insist on training in order to complete their jobs and to complete them to a high standard and efficiency. Marks and Spencer’s first employee people then give them substantial training and provide them with plenty of experience in order to complete their work. During this training employees will learn how to first meet customer expectations then exceed these expectations, in order to achieve this they are taught skills which including; strong positive attitude at all times, enthusiasm, knowledgeable and a ‘can-do’ attitude to all work. All this training will lead to an all round excellent customer service in which the customers will feel extremely valued which a high percent of repeat custom.
Shareholders are internal customers who hold a stake in the M & S business, and rely on them to make a profit, as M & S is a big business the share holders will not have much involvement within the business as say you would with a much small company such as a sandwich shop. The shareholders are only interested if M & S made a profit and are gaining a good return of their shares. If M & S are not fulfilling want the shareholder are looking for then they are likely to sell their share of the business. If M & S are not gaining enough profit then potential investors are going to take their interest somewhere else.
External Customers
An external customer can be one of three things; ordinary customers of the business, another business or organisation, all customers which are based outside the business (external). Usually the external customer, business or organisation is the person in which is providing goods or services for, basically the buyer. Good external customer service is essential for a business as bad customer service can lead to customer loyalty being broken and a bad word of mouth being spread which will impact negatively on the businesses reputation. There are numerous external customers, these include:
Sate and society
The state, usually incorrectly referred to as just the government, is a major customer in a business. It collects all taxes, but also insists business implement the required necessary laws including health and safety, employment right acts and equal opportunities legislations.
Suppliers
It is vital that businesses provide high quality customer service towards suppliers. If a business provides bad customers service and have poor communication with suppliers then the suppliers may not wish to do any more business and take their supplies elsewhere. A business can provide good customer service to its suppliers by giving them guarantees such as:
- Payments on time
- Staying loyal to just one supplier
- Ensuring the supplier has a specific contract within the business
Business customers
Business customers have slightly different needs as they are buying goods or services so they can run their businesses efficiently, to generate more sales, therefore profit. The level of customer service they require is also high and entails requirements such as:
- Discounts for buying in bulk
- Recognition and further discounts for being regular, repeat and loyal customers
- Delivery of products on time, any delays may have a knock on effect on the business
- The quality of the good to meet their specific needs
Consumers
Consumers are just regular customers, who want high quality finished products or services for their own use therefore are prepared to pay for good service. They expect good customer service and like other external customers require certain needs to be met in order to be satisfied these factors include:
- Friendly, punctual, and well presented and mannered employees
- Value for money
- Provisions for consumers with special needs, such as disabled consumers
- Reliable and high quality goods including product guarantees
- Access to employees if they have a query
However, there are various reasons why consumers needs and expectations vary, these reasons include:
Family status, a person’s situation relating to their family is essential in terms of what they then needs or want from a business. This includes if they are an individual, couple or family.
Individuals are classed as people living on their own, and tend to have different buying patterns compared to those of a couple or family as they are usually just buying for themselves therefore needing or expecting the following:
- Flats rather than houses
- Smaller portion sizes in shops
- Holidays which unite people with other individuals
- Not having to share table in for example restaurants
Couples may expect or need the following:
- Double beds in hotel accommodation
- Sit together on public transport
- Shops to provide meals for two
- High quality products as they are able to afford them
Families, where children are still living at home, or parents are still providing for them may need or expect the following:
- Discounts for family ticket or buying in large numbers
- Baby changing facilities
- Reduced fat content in children’s portions in restaurants
- Facilities provided in hotels to accommodate children of all ages
Other factors which may affect the needs, wants and expectations of customers include:
- Age
- Gender
- Disability
- Culture and language
- Income and employment
- Interests, lifestyle and personality
External Customers of Disneyland Paris
The external customers for Disneyland Paris are set from various markets, the market splits into three main parts which include:
Families
These families usually consist of parents with one or more child between the ages of 0 and 16 years and are from a broad cultural range. Meaning families mainly from Europe will come to visit the Disneyland Paris resort. This includes the countries: Italy, Germany, UK, Spain etc, and as there is such a wide range of countries who visit the Disneyland Paris park there will be a large number of languages spoken, therefore meaning it is vital that the Disneyland Paris cast members are able to communicate with these customers to meet their needs and expectations, to ensure Disneyland Paris is able to meet these needs and expectations they employ people who are multi-lingual. Not only will families expect multi-lingual staff in order to provide successful communication, they will also expect a variety of choices for accommodation to suit all socio-economic groups but still provide the highest quality customer service customers will want and expect. Disneyland Paris does offer these needs by having a range of hotels from the most expensive at £298 per night being the Disneyland hotel itself and the cheapest £122 per night is the Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe with a selection of hotels in between these price margins. Families will also need and expect a wide selection of food provided for them by the Disneyland Paris resort, this could be because younger children tend to be fussy eaters and having a variety of different foods available to them will be essential. This is also key to any customers who have any special dietary requirements such as a customer with any allergies, a vegan or vegetarian and religions that state specific foods are forbidden etc. These customers will be expecting food that has been special catered to suit their needs provided for them throughout the duration of their stay at the Disneyland Paris resort.
Individuals and Groups/Parties (schools, organisations etc.)
For Disneyland Paris to be able to cater for individuals, organisations and large groups/parties, Disney employs special cast members to take care of these customers throughout their stay at the Disneyland Paris resort. The special cast member’s job roles include; meeting and greeting new arrivals, showing customer to their rooms, giving a general tour which includes the basic facilities and health and safety rules (fire exits etc) and be on hand to deal with any problems or queries customers may have. All external customers will need and expect different factors from Disneyland Paris and just like families, individuals and groups will also expect a variety of food and accommodation that suits their needs as well for example individuals make require single beds in their rooms and groups may need enough beds to house the numbers. Disney does provide seven different hotels and when booking customers can request bed requirements which will then be tailored for their needs.
Disabled
On average around half a million disabled customers visit the Disneyland Paris resort each year, and currently employ 460 disabled people as part of their team. For obvious reasons disable customers need and expect more care and help. Disneyland Paris is able to accommodate for the customers as they have knowledge and understanding from disabled employees on what they need and expect from the resort. Disneyland Paris has facilities available for those with reduced mobility, visual or hearing impairment and mental disabilities; Disneyland Paris has disability in mind and enables customer’s access to all rides, attractions, shops and accommodation. This gives disabled customers reassurance they will be fully catered for and looked after adequately throughout their stay at the Disneyland Paris resort. Disneyland Paris has received various awards for their excellent hospitality and catering facilities towards disabled customers.
External Customers of Marks & Spencer’s
External customers are M & S’s biggest maker of profit, as they are the biggest buyer of their products. M & S offer more than just a regular store in order to be successful. These are things such as special occasion’s products; they offer foreign currency and a credit card. They categorise their external customers into, socio – economic groups, Families, OAP’s and Business customers.
M & S offer perks to their customers these include cash back, this is good if there are not any or very few cash machines around you can still get this cash. They offer security to their customers by using CCTV, this makes the customers feel safer while shopping. Heating and air conditioning are used sometimes to persuade customers for example if the weather is really cold outside the heating will make them want to come inside. Mystery shoppers are used to test/grade the stores this is used to identify weak/poor staff and see were improvements need to be made. These results are place on a notice board. If customers have any problems or queries they are able to go to a customer service desk, this avoids any waiting in queues, to then be directed to the right desk. It also saves the queue times for others paying customers.
Families
Families consist of parents with one or more children aged between 0 and 16 years. The products which tend to be bought by families include; food, electronics and clothing. The most likely items of clothing for a family to buy from Marks and Spencer would be school uniform, as it’s well known for the high quality, durability, long lasting and affordable brands covering all of Marks and Spencer’s clothing range. Not only do families want and expect high quality, long lasting products, but a comfortable and hassle free way to shop. Marks and Spencer meets these needs from customers by offering shopping trolleys with specially designed seats for younger children, or adapted spaces for the younger children’s car seats. Adequate toilets equipped with changing facilities for babies in almost all stores, which are constantly monitored and kept well maintained, cleaned and dependable to all users.
Socio – economic groups
People will still buy products regardless of what brand it is, this is because Marks and Spencer’s adapt their products to suit the different income ranges and therefore would expect that Marks and Spencer provide a range from low priced goods right up to high priced goods. The different types of food budgets include Marks and Spencer ‘wise buy’ products which are low budget product. Even though these ‘wise buy’ products are a low budget product, they are still made to a high quality standard and would still be very nutritious and appealing. The higher priced products would include their finest range. This would still be a healthy option but, a more expensive option. Marks and Spencer also produce their clothing range with different Socio-economic groups in mind. This collection would include the ‘Per Una and Blue Harbour’ which is the lower budget choice of clothing. However, this is the lower priced clothing but still to outstanding, durable quality and will have lifelong. The more expensive Marks and Spencer clothing range would be ‘Autograph’ which is part of both the male and female ranges, and are made to the same standards as all there other ranges just higher priced, and packaged differently.
OAP’s
Elderly people would expect that the majority Marks and Spencer stores have the same or a similar layouts, this would mean that when they enter the store they are greeted by the similar isles. This would benefit the elderly people in navigating their way around a store in a more efficient way, without getting irritated when they are unable to find a product in which they wish for. Marks and Spencer also has numerous signposts in a variety of locations throughout the store such as; toilets, cafe, checkouts, customer service desk etc. are all clearly noticeable. An additional expectation for the elderly customers who shop at Marks and Spencer would be that they would imagine everything would be positioned on one level, otherwise if this is not possible they expect a range of methods to navigate through the floors, this would include a lift, escalator or stairs as all possible options. Marks and Spencer also please elderly people by keeping their slightly older clothing range separate from the new, more fashionable clothing range. They also base their slightly older range in the same place in each and every store.
Business
Business customers would expect to purchase items in which they can use within their own business, for example these items would include; food for a café or items for an office. They also would expect that the items in which they purchase can be delivered as they may purchase larger items which would include furniture for a new bar for example.
Factors which affect both internal and external customers needs
There are a number of different factors in which affect customers needs both internally and externally. I have researched into these different needs for both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer.
Disneyland
I have identified family status as my first factor in which affects customers both internally and externally. This need would affect Disneyland’s internal customers as with families, they may require flexi-time which would enable them to attend to their families when needed and make up the time when they are not needed. This would be important as if they couldn’t attend to their families they may choose to work somewhere in which they can be granted flexi-time. They may also need transport to and from Disneyland if they live close, but not in walking distance of the Resort. This first need would affect Disneyland’s external customers as they would expect there be different packages for them, depending on income or the age of the family’s children. In order to suit this need, the customers would expect Disney provide various deals, including; special offers, discounts or family tickets. I have researched into some of these different packages in which Disney provide, these include:
Save up to 30% off your hotel, park tickets and now even transport with selected partners
For arrivals from 9th January 2011 to 7th November 2011 on a minimum stay of 2 night/3 days this package includes:
- Accommodation
- Tickets to both Disney Parks each day
- Breakfast in your selected hotel
- AND 30% off transport with either Eurostar, Flybe or P&O Ferries
This package is most likely to benefit people of the lowest income who want to visit the Disneyland resort, as it offers a large discount off the total cost of the visit as long as they visit between the selected times which are usually off peak.
Another deal Disney is offering is:
Kids under 12 stay and play for FREE
For arrivals starting 1st January through to 5th April 2011.
This type of deal/offer would suit those families with slightly older children, and are looking for a quick, last minute deal. This would attract those customers who may have little disposable income and want a quick get-away.
By Disney having these different offers available to customers it would help to boost sales therefore revenue for Disney as it is enabling customer from all socio-economic groups and family sizes are able to receive some form of discount or offer therefore visit the resort. This is offering good customer service by opening the offers to a variety of potential customers thus increasing the customer satisfaction received. Disney has similar deals and offers available on a regular bases, drumming up potential for repeat and loyal customers.
Another need in which family status would depend on would be that Disney has provided a range of facilities. These facilities would include, baby changing, toilets, rooms/accommodation. These various different types of facilities would be vital for Disneyland’s customers with younger children and must be kept to a high standard at all times. Families visiting the Disneyland Resort in Paris would need Disney to provide a range of different food establishments in both the hotel and parks at different budgets. For example, the McDonalds in Disney would be a low budget restaurant in which may appeal to children as it is a common restaurant throughout Europe. On the other hand, there is Planet Hollywood, which is a high budget, upper class restaurant in which would appeal to business customers or adults. Lastly, customers visiting Disneyland would expect that there was a variation in rides, including high-thrill rides and rides for the children. This would be important for families as they may wish to take younger children who may enjoy a ride such as ‘It’s A Small World’, however, they may take teenagers who would enjoy rides such as The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
I have identified individuals as my second factor in which affects customers both internally and externally. Individuals would include either business trips in which people would need to travel alone or adults who may wish to stay on their own. This second need would affect these customers as they would need various different things in order for a satisfied stay in the Disneyland Resort. The first thing would include that Disney provide single rooms for these individuals to stay in. This would be important as they would not wish to pay for a room for two people at extra cost if it was only themselves staying in the room. Individuals would also expect that Disney provide restaurants in which include tables for one in order for them to eat alone.
The final factor I have identified as a factor in which affects customers both internally and externally is couples. The needs of couples would include tables for two in the various restaurants located around the Disneyland Resort. This would be important as if the couples could not sit together and had to sit with people they don’t know, they would have low customer satisfaction which in turn could lead to bad word of mouth for Disneyland. Another need for couples would be that they expect to be more than one seat on a ride so that couples could sit together or at least be on the same ride together. If this was not the case they may get frustrated and have low customer satisfaction. Couples would also expect that Disney provides doubles bed in specific accommodations. Finally, couples visiting Disney may wish to be placed in a hotel with a little amount of children or no children staying in the hotel. This would be because they want a peaceful get-away or they have decided to visit Disney in order to get away from their own children, this therefore would have to be catered for.
Marks and Spencer
Similar to Disney, I have identified family status as my first factor in which affects customers both internally and externally. This need would affect Marks and Spencer’s internal customers as with families; they would require different working hours. For example, employees with older children may want extra money and would therefore require overtime from Marks and Spencer in order to gain this money. On the other hand, employees with younger children may request flexi-time. In order to meet this need, Marks and Spencer give their employees a total of 20 hours a week to work in which they can decide when they want to work this 20 hours throughout the week. This would benefit their internal customers as they would be able to work when their children are in nursery and leave to pick them up from nursery. This first need would affect Marks and Spencer’s external customers as families would have different income and therefore would expect a range of different budget foods or clothing. The different types of food budgets include Marks and Spencer ‘Ready Meals’ which are a low budget product. Even though the ‘Ready Meals’ are a low budget product, they would still be very nutritious and appealing. The higher priced products would include a bag of grapes. This would be a very healthy option and yet a more expensive option. Families would also wish to purchase different types of food; including food for babies, small children, teenagers, adults and various ingredients in order to make their own food. Whereas the different clothing ranges would include the ‘outstanding value’ which is the lower budget range of clothes. However, this range is low priced it is still excellent quality and would be long lasting. The more expensive Marks and Spencer clothing range would include ‘Autograph’ for men and ‘Per Una’. Families would find it essential to purchase different clothing ranges, including; adults and children’s clothing of all ages. In Marks and Spencer, teenagers clothing ranges are less thought of and would usually finish at 13 years old as they would be much less likely to purchase clothes from Marks and Spencer.
I have identified individuals as my second factor in which affects customers both internally and externally. These individual customers would be affected as they may need to purchase cheaper clothing ranges as appose to the more expensive brands in Marks and Spencer, therefore, having the ‘outstanding value’ range would appeal to this need. Individual customers would also expect that Marks and Spencer provide food in which are portioned to individuals. This would be an important need for individuals as they would not want to waste food if they were forced into purchasing meals for two people or more. The last need individual customers of Marks and Spencer would expect is smaller trolleys. As they are only shopping for themselves, they may not wish to fill a whole large trolley and would therefore expect a smaller size.
The final factor I have identified as a factor in which affects customers both internally and externally is couples. Marks and Spencer would be expected to provide clothing ranges in which appeal to both men and women. They have met this expectation by providing their ‘Autograph’ range for men and ‘Per Una’ range for women. Couples would also expect that there be set meals for them to purchase, in order to meet this aim Marks and Spencer have created the offer ‘two dine for only £10 (two courses + wine inc)’. This would help to entice couples to shop at Marks and Spencer for their excellent offers and prices on food. Couples who maybe homeowners or own a flat would expect that a ‘Home’ section be located somewhere in the store. In most Marks and Spencer’s across the UK, there is in fact a ‘Home’ section already located in store; this range provides a number of products ranging from sofas to beds and wallpaper to paint.
Age
I have identified different age ranges of customers whom would visit both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer and placed them into different groups; these groups include people aged between; 0-2 years old, 3-5 years old, 6-12 years old and teenagers. Disneyland hotels in which would be suitable for young children located in these age bands would include Disney’s Davy Crockett Ranch, Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe or Disney’s Hotel Cheyenne. I have sectioned people into different age bands as they would also expect and need different things from both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer.
Disneyland
The first age band in which I identified for Disneyland covered children aged between 0-2 years old. This age band would need and expect that there be a number of baby change facilities throughout the park in which a retained to a certain cleanliness and quality. It would be important that Disneyland retain these facilities to a high standard and cleanliness as customers would not bring their children to Disney if they had nowhere in which to change their children, therefore Disney would lose customer and in turn revenue if this high standard wasn’t retained. Customers with children of this age band would also expect that their be a number of rides in which are suitable to such a young age; these rides would need to be slow and gentle rides which young children would enjoy, an example of this would be the teacups. Disney also provide customers with children of this age band with a baby sitting service (crèche) in which children will be looked after if their parents want to day to relax and experience some high thrill rides which aren’t appropriate for children of such a young age. Disney provide a range of highchairs in the different restaurants located throughout the park in which would be suitable for children situated in the 0-2 years old age band.
The second age band in which I have identified for Disneyland would cover children aged between 3-5 years old. Once again customers with children of this age band would require slow, gentle rides such as the teacups in which would be suitable for their children. They would also expect that highchairs be provided in the numerous restaurants located throughout the park in order for their children to sit at the table with their parents. As children in this age band are slightly older they would be able to sit in a travel cot as a means of easy transport for their parents in case the get tired and fall asleep, therefore it’s important that Disney provide a travel cot for their customers. As children of this age would tend to work off and be overwhelmed by the action on going throughout the park they may get separated from their parents and lost in the park. As a means to contact children who are lost in the park, parents would expect that Disney have a tannoy system throughout the park. Children of this young age should be kept separate from alcohol and pubs; therefore, Disney allocates areas of the park (Sports Bar and Hurricane Night Club) as the only places alcohol can be bought and consumed. Children under the age of 21 aren’t allowed to enter these allocated places.
The next age band I have identified for Disneyland covers children aged between 6-12 years old. Children situated in this age band would expect that Disney provide them with a number of thrill rides in order to keep them entertained; these thrill rides would include: Crush's Coaster, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster – Aerosmith, etc. They would also require night time entertainment; this would include Disney’s own ice rink and Disney’s village with numerous shopping facilities situated inside the Disney resort.
The final age band I have identified for Disneyland covers teenagers. Again this age band would require high speed, thrill rides in order to keep them entertained. These rides would include the likes of Crush's Coaster, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster – Aerosmith, etc. Teenagers of an appropriate age would expect pubs and clubs be situated in the Disney resort; Disney have allocated the Sports Bar and Hurricane Night Club as places in which alcohol can be served, however, as they need to comply with all worldwide laws, the drinking age is 21 throughout the park (American Law). The village also provides teenagers with a place to shop and purchase things such as sweet, presents or souvenirs.
Marks and Spencer
The first age band in which I identified for Marks and Spencer covered children aged between 0-2 years old. This age band would need and expect that a verity of baby items were on sale in store. These items would include products such as baby food, baby clothing and toys. All these products must be suitable to children situated in this age band and must contain no small parts in which children could easily choke on. All these products must be hard wearing and of a high quality. Children of this age who would be shopping with their parents would be hard to manage as well as a trolley, therefore, Marks and Spencer offer trolleys with seats or a place for the child’s car seat in order to easily manage their children and still concentrate of the shopping. Marks and Spencer also offer their customers with children situated in this age band with clean/high standard baby change facilities which are retained regularly.
The second age band in which I have identified for Marks and Spencer would cover children aged between 3-5 years old. The first expectation of parents with children situated in this age band would be that breakable items are placed higher up on the selves as children of this age tend to pick things up and throw them in the trolley or on the floor. If breakable goods weren’t placed high up on shelves children could smash these products and cause injury to themselves or other people in the store. Also the edges of shelves can be sharp and could potentially cause injury to young children who may fall into these edges, therefore, Marks and Spencer put protective casing over these sharp edges and corners. Similar to customer’s needs and wants of Disneyland, children in this age band have a tendency to wander off and may get separated from their parents, as a result of this, Marks and Spencer have a tannoy system throughout the store to easily locate lost or missing children. Children of this age may have a tendency to roll or play on the floor, consequently, if the floor was dirty children could pick up illnesses from this and blame Marks and Spencer which could result in bad press and in turn a negative effect on Marks and Spencer’s image. Marks and Spencer also prove an excellent customer support system in which parents of this age band may require.
The next age band I have identified for Marks and Spencer covers children aged between 6-12 years old. Children of this age band would require healthy options such as salads or fruits therefore Marks and Spencer cater to these needs and provide both fresh fruit and salads. Children situated in this age band would also want snacks during meals or packed lunches for school; consequently, they would want cakes or ready made sandwiches for these lunches.
The final age band I have identified for Marks and Spencer covers teenagers. Teenagers generally wouldn’t shop in Marks and Spencer and this has been identified by Marks and Spencer. As a result of this they generally don’t provide teenagers with much options for buying foods, however, teenagers would expect that Marks and Spencer provide them with a number of snacks or meal deals for their lunch as a means of a quick, easy and cheap lunch.
Personality, Interests and Lifestyle
I have identified that interests, lifestyle and personality are factors in which will affect the level of customer service which needs to be provided to customers who visit both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer.
Firstly, I have identified that within both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer’s there will be customers who will have different personalities and may act in different ways, some of these ways include; being shy, aggressive, outspoken, picky, etc. As there are these different personalities, employees must quickly recognise which personality they are dealing with and change the way they act towards this customer. For example, if a customer had an outspoken, aggressive personality they must be treated and talked to in a calmer manner in order to try calm them down and get them to speak rationally, whereas if the customer had a more picky personality both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer must cater for this and provide a wide selection of products/services.
Another factor in which would affect the level of customer service required would include interests, I have identified that different interests would affect the level of customer service expected and required, for example; customers of Marks and Spencer’s who may be interested in electronics would be more bothered about the service they receive whilst browsing the electronics section of Marks and Spencer, on the other hand, customers of Disneyland may have an interest about theme parks and would expect and require high levels of customer service when riding these rides. Employee’s and cast members must be trained in order to deal with these expectations and requirements of the customer and this would lead to an increased level of customer service and in turn may lead to repeat custom for either Disneyland or Marks and Spencer. This increase in both customer service and repeat custom would lead to an increase in sales as good word of mouth would be spread about the excellent service received.
Lastly, lifestyle would be a factor in which affects the level of customer service which is required. I have identified that customers of Disneyland who are of a younger age would require their favourite characters to be friendly with them, sign autographs and be in pictures with them. If this was achieved the younger customers of Disneyland would be extremely happy and would beg their parents to take them back to the Disneyland resort which would lead to repeat custom and increase sales and revenue. Late teenagers have also been identified as a group of people who would expect different levels of customer service. This would be the case as they would expect an exhilarating night life, therefore, to meet this expectation, Disneyland provide late teenagers with places in which they can consume alcohol, these would include both the Sports Bar and the Hurricane Night Club. People whom have an interest in sports would also require different services, in order to cater for this, Disneyland offer hotels which are situated near golf courses, have swimming pools, gyms and the Sports Bar which is located in the Disney Village. On the other hand, customers of Marks and Spencer would expect different levels of customer service. For example; young couples who may have recently bought a house/flat would expect there be furniture and home items available to them, whereas families who shop at Marks and Spencer may wish to purchase uniform or other equipment for school.
Gender, Disability and Culture & Language
I have identified gender, disability and culture & language as different groups of people who would both visit Disneyland and Marks and Spencer. These groups of people would require specialised help or features in order to satisfy their needs and expectations. These needs and expectations for both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer would include:
Disneyland
Firstly, depending on gender Disneyland’s customers would want and expect different things throughout their stay at the Disney resort. Females visiting the resort would expect a certain level of cleanliness throughout the entire park, from clean toilets kept up to a high standard to no rubbish around the park. In order to meet this expectation Disney provides a number of bins located around the park where rubbish can be easily disposed of and clean toilets regularly. Females visiting the park also would expect that there be a number of shopping facilities located in the resort or near the resort. Located just one train stop from the Disneyland resort is the Val D Europe shopping centre (left) which provides customers with all shopping needs from low budget clothing ranges to designer clothing ranges. This will be a great incentive for females to take their children to the Disneyland resort, while they enjoy the rides, the mothers can visit this amazing shopping centre. Females visiting the Disney resort would expect that there are a wide variety of restaurants are made available to them in which offer a wide choice of different foods and budgets. Some examples of restaurants in which Disneyland offer would include: Plant Hollywood in which is a formal, high quality and priced restaurant or the slightly cheaper, lower quality restaurant, McDonalds. On the other hand, males would expect that Disneyland provide them with a bar or somewhere in which they can relax and enjoy a pint of beer. To meet this expectation, Disney has provided their male customers with the Sports Bar in which alcohol will be served and general sports can be watched. There is also the Hurricane Night Club, which is an alternative place in which males can drink and enjoy themselves.
Secondly, I have identified that people who are disabled visiting Disneyland resort would want and expect different things throughout their stay. An example of the wants and expectations from disabled customers would include that there be a series of ramps and chair lifts throughout the resort in order to navigate stairs or steep hills. An example of how Disneyland overcomes the problem of navigating stairs for disabled customers is shown to the right. Disabled customers would also require specially designed rooms in order to cater for their needs, examples of how a disabled specific room would differ from a normal room would include; wider doors for wheelchair access, larger room space, handle’s situated around the room, etc. Disabled customers would also expect that some rides be made available to them so they can enjoy the full Disney experience, an example of a ride which caters for this need would include Disney’s ‘’. Disabled parking at Disneyland would also be a necessity, this would be the case as disabled customers who may wish to visit the resort may not be able to walk large distances or may be wheelchair users; if this is the case they should be situated as close to the resort as possible by the means of disabled parking (left). Lastly, as Disneyland currently employ a total of 285 disabled people, they can fully understand the needs of the customer and cater around these needs to provide a top quality experience for their customers.
Finally, depending on culture and language Disneyland’s customers would want and expect different things throughout their stay at the Disney resort. As Disney is situated in Paris it is at the heart of Europe and is a gateway for many different cultures and languages to pass through. As there will be a variation of external customers who speak different languages, they must be able to communicate with staff at the Disney resort. In order to meet this requirement Disneyland employ a range of internal customer of whom can speak a variety of different languages and are from different cultures. In order to overcome this language barrier, the Disney signposts located around the park and maps available are all bilingual and make use of universal symbols; to the right is an example of a signpost located at Disneyland to show the use of universal symbols. This will be useful for both Disneyland and the external customers as it will enable them to communicate with cast members and locate various places even if they cannot read the language presented. People from different cultures may also require different types of food from various restaurants located around the resort; examples of different cultures which require specially made food would include Jewish – Kosher, Muslim – Halal Meat, etc. It would be essential that Disneyland meet this requirement as if not, certain cultures would not be able to visit the resort and in turn Disneyland would lose both sales and revenue.
Marks and Spencer
Firstly, depending on gender Marks and Spencer customers would want and expect different things throughout their visit to Marks and Spencer. Females visiting Marks and Spencer would expect to purchase low fat foods in which would be very beneficial and healthy for them, whereas men shopping at Marks and Spencer would be more likely to purchase different products from women and wouldn’t be as conscious about healthy foods. The different products men may purchase different from women would include different clothing ranges; Per Una for women and Autograph for men or for example different magazines; Hello! magazine for women, Nuts magazine for men. The last point I have identified as a factor in which would require specialised features in order to satisfy both males and females needs and expectations whilst visiting Marks and Spencer would include that there be different changing rooms and toilets for both males and females throughout the Marks and Spencer stores and that these facilities are kept apart from each other. This will help to make Marks and Spencer’s customers feel more secure whilst in the store if they decide to try an item of clothing on or need the toilet, an example of this is shown on the left.
Secondly, I have identified that people who are disabled visiting Marks and Spencer would want and expect different things throughout their visit. An example of the wants and expectations from disabled customers would include the use of ramps, chairlifts and lifts throughout the store if it is situated on a number of floors, this would enable disabled people or people whom are in wheelchairs to easily navigate and access the whole store with fewer problems. This in turn would help to increase customer service for Marks and Spencer’s customers and increase sales as more customers would have access to more products. Once again like Disneyland, Marks and Spencer offer their customers disabled parking slots which are situated close to the store for easy access to and from the store as disabled people may not be able to walk far on may be in a wheelchair, therefore it they are situated as close to the store as possible, it would make life much easier for them and show them they are valued by Marks and Spencer. Marks and Spencer also offer their customers with trolleys in which are lower down for disabled people whom may be in wheelchairs, this will make it much easier for wheelchair users to navigate and shop in Marks and Spencer and once again make them feel like a valued customer. Lastly, I have identified that Marks and Spencer offer their disabled customers with larger toilets in which accommodate both wheelchair users and people with disabilities.
Finally, depending on culture and language Marks and Spencer’s customers would w ant and expect different things throughout their visit to the Marks and Spencer stores. As Marks and Spencer have stores worldwide, they must incorporate a specific image, for example, if someone from the UK was to visit a Marks and Spencer store in China, they must be able to easily recognise the Marks and Spencer stores and goods inside the store. In order to achieve this Marks and Spencer maintain the layout of all their stores worldwide, for example; the drinks and situated first, followed by tinned goods, etc. They also maintain the same logo worldwide in order for easy recognition. Below is an example of what Marks and Spencer stores look like in both the UK and France.
UK France
This shows that if you lived in the UK and visited France you would still easily recognise the Marks and Spencer stores. This would help to increase sales for Marks and Spencer as they can be easily recognised and people will feel safe and secure shopping there whilst abroad as they are a well known company. In stores which are situated outside of the UK Marks and Spencer ensure that packaging is bilingual to ensure the customer knows exactly what they will be purchasing, this would again help to increase sales and revenue for Marks and Spencer as their customers will feel safe when shopping there. In order to appeal to all cultures, Marks and Spencer offer a wide variety of foods throughout their stores including Jewish – Kosher, Muslim – Halal Meat, etc. This would help to increase sales and revenue for Marks and Spencer as they are appealing to wider cultures needs and expectations.
Income and Employment
I have identified both income and employment as factors in which will affect what customers of both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer will want and expect and also the type and level of customer service they would expect from their chosen companies. As customers whom generate more income will have more money to spend after paying all their bills and living costs (disposable cash) they will be able to afford higher quality holidays/products regardless of the price. Whereas customers whom generate a lower income will have less disposable cash, they would expect a better value for money, such as; packaged holidays, special offers/deals, readymade meals, etc. Employment will be a factor in which will affect how much disposable income a customer will have. I have also identified that sometimes, depending on the employment, this could have an effect on the level of customer service they would expect. For example; customers who are employed as a manager would expect things being done exactly how they want it, on the other hand, people employed as a waiter may expect to do more things themselves and not have such as high expectation of customer service. The internal customers of both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer are going to want and expect to be paid minimum wage, otherwise they won’t be motivated at all and may get legal advice and try to sue. This would have a negative effect on the business as they could be faced with a court battle which in turn would lose them money, also they would unmotivated workers. If workers were unmotivated they would be more likely to provide poor customer service and not have a love for the job. If poor customer service was provided, this may deter repeat custom as customers may not feel respected or valued. This in turn, would have a negative effect on the companies as they would lose out of sales and revenue.
I have identified different socio-economic groups as factors in which may affect customer spending at both Disneyland and Marks and Spencer. This would be the case as upper to middle class groups A to C2 would have more disposable cash to spend whereas lower class groups D to E would have less disposable cash. However, this is not always the case as lower class groups may have saved up for a year to visit Disneyland and would have large amounts of cash to spend. Depending whether a customer is ranked upper to middle class or lower class they would want and expect different quality of products/services. Examples of different quality goods from Disneyland would include; the Hopper Pass which is basically a fast pass for rides as appose to normal park tickets, Food from Planet Hollywood is priced on average at 25 Euros per meal which would be high quality as appose to food from McDonalds priced at 6 Euros on average which would be lower quality, different accommodations around the park with different costs; Disneyland Hotel in which would be high quality is priced at £281 per night whereas Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe is priced at £114 per night and would be of a lower quality. Marks and Spencer’s ranges in quality would include their clothing ranges for both men and females, with high quality clothing for women titled ‘Per Una’ and ‘Autograph’ for men and low budget clothing for both genders being titled ‘Outstanding Value’. Another example would be, Marks and Spencer’s ready meals which would be of low cost and in turn quality as appose to their higher quality ingredients and meals. Children would usually want to purchase different merchandise or memorabilia from Disneyland; however, as the prices for these goods are usually expensive, depending on the children’s socio-economic placement they may only be able to afford one of two pieces of merchandise or memorabilia. Therefore, depending on customer’s socio-economic placement, they would be expected to purchase different ranges in quality and price for goods/services.
Students, Unemployed & Pensioners
I have identified students, unemployed and pensioners as groups of people who would be a low or minimal income. This would be due to the fact that each group would not currently work and would rely on benefits or pension as a means of living costs. They would all want and expect that both Disney and Marks and Spencer provide a large range of cheap products in which are still at a high standard/quality.
Disneyland
Firstly, students visiting Disneyland would want and expect that Disney provide them with a range of different deals and packages in order to pay for their holidays. This would prove to be much cheaper for them than purchasing a full priced holiday in a peak time of the year for Disney. An example of a cheap holiday package in which Disneyland currently offer is shown below:
“Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe - £286 includes 40% Discount
Arrive 7th June, 2 Nights for 2 Adults. “
This would help to encourage students into visiting Disneyland Paris as they may be able to afford these cheaper package options as appose to a much more expensive holiday elsewhere. Students would also want and expect that if they were travelling in large groups that they be situated in accommodations close or right next to each other as if they were located all over the resort, it would not be ideal to socialise late at night. Students visiting Disneyland Paris may also expect that alcohol be made available to them with a thrilling night life also provided. In order to meet this need, Disney provide two places in which students can drink late at night; these places include the Sports Bar and Hurricane Night Club.
Secondly, you may not expect Old Aged Pensioners (OAP’s) to visit Disneyland, however, I have identified that a large number of OAP’s in fact take their grandchildren to the Disneyland resort Paris. This section of people’s budget would differentiate depending how long they have been planning the holiday, for example; last minute holidays would be of a low budget, whereas, if it was a planned holiday and money could have been saved up over the year, it may be classed as a high budget holiday. When visiting the resort, grandparents may wish to do other activities if their children are old enough to visit the park themselves, therefore Disney must cater for this need. In order to do this, Disneyland have partnered up with a hotel in which is situated right next to an 27 hole gold course. Details of this hotel are shown below:
“ Radisson Blu Hotel – “ Fancy a little luxury? Then this spacious and modern hotel set in beautiful surroundings is for you. If golf is your passion, it just happens to be on the doorstep of Golf Disneyland®. “4 Stars - £ 172 per night. “
OAP’s may also expect that while their grandchildren are playing in the Disney Theme parks, that they have somewhere in which they can sit and relax. In order to meet this need, Disney provides a number of different café’s throughout the park where grandparents can grab a cup of tea and some food. Examples of these different café’s around the park include; Rainforest Café, Café revive, Sports Bar, etc. OAP’s would also want and expect that there are shopping facilities provided for them. In order to meet this expectation, there is a shopping centre one train stop away from the Disney resort titled Val D Europe which provides all shopping needs from low budget clothing ranges to designer clothing ranges.
Lastly, unemployed customers visiting Disneyland would want and expect that Disney provide them with similar packaged holidays to the student’s holidays. These packages would have to be low budget and excellent value for money as unemployed customers would have low or no income.
Marks and Spencer
Firstly, students visiting Marks and Spencer would want and expect that Marks and Spencer provide them with job opportunities. This would be the case as students are always in need of some extra money. In order to meet this aim, Marks and Spencer offer a range of jobs in different departments to suit all needs and job roles in which students could manage, these jobs can also be worked part-time or full-time in order to further meet students needs from Marks and Spencer. Below is a link to the different departments in which Marks and Spencer’s are currently recruiting in:
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Students visiting Marks and Spencer would not be able to afford most of the Marks and Spencer’s product ranges as they would be on little or no income, therefore they would expect that Marks and Spencer provide a range of snacks or meal deals in which they could go there for lunch instead of doing large shops there.
Secondly, I have identified Old Ages Pensioners (OAP’s) as a group of people who would need and expect a variety of things from Marks and Spencer. The first of these things would include that the food provided for them is suitable. This suitable food would include food of small portions at high quality. OAP’s would expect food of small portions as they would not want to waste any food and they would expect the food to be very nutritional as they may have dietary needs which requires them to eat certain foods. When out shopping OAP’s would usually require toilets in various stores and would chose Marks and Spencer’s over other competitors as they are renown for their high cleanliness toilet facilities. It would be important that Marks and Spencer retained this image as to not lose custom and in turn sales and revenue. OAP’s shopping in Marks and Spencer would also expect that the clothing in store would be suitable for them; these clothing ranges would include plain and simple designs. However, as OAP’s would have a low income, they would want these clothing ranges to be affordable but of a high quality.
Lastly, unemployed customers visiting Marks and Spencer would want and expect that Marks and Spencer provide them with low budget product ranges, including items of food, clothing, home-ware, etc. This would be due to the fact that unemployed customers would have low or no income and won’t be able to afford expensive food ranges or clothing ranges. The low budget food ranges Marks and Spencer offer are ‘Ready Meals’ and the low budget clothing ranges Marks and Spencer offer is the ‘Outstanding Value’ range. Unemployed customers would expect that these lower budget ranges still be of a high quality and standard.