Investigating the Importance of Customer Service, with examples from a hotel business in Limerick.

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Amy McNamara        Assignment 1        Customer Service


Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION2

Define and explain Customer Service and it significance to modern organisations.

Customer Service

Brief Customer Service History 3

Describe your chosen organisation

The Pier Hotel

Comprehensively discuss the different types of customers in your organisation

Customer Categories4

Internal Customer of The Pier Hotel

External Customers of The Pier Hotel5

Corporate Customers of The Pier Hotel

Discuss the principles of a customer orientated organisation

Customer Orientated Originations6

Construct a comprehensive organisational chart(s) for your chosen organisation

Organisation Charts

Proposed Organisational Chart 7

The Pier Hotel Organisational Chart8

Provide a comprehensive sumary of customer service responsibilites based on your chart(s) (Discuss specifically the role of frontline staff)

Customer Service Responsibilities of The Pier Hotel9-10

Evaluate customer service policy as seen in your organisation (Mission Statement, Vision Statement Customer Charter etc.) on the practices of the organisation

Mission Statements

My Proposed Mission Statement

Vision Statements

My Proposed Vision Statement11

What is a Customer Charter

Customer Charter of The Pier Hotel

My Proposed Customer Charter for the Pier Hotel12

What you should expect from us

Frequently asked Questions13-17

Hotel Facilities17-18

Contact Information18

Bibliography18

 

 


Introduction

Over the past thirty years Customer Service has been evolving, and will continue to do so the more we practice in organisations. The significance of customer service does not go unnoticed. There are many attributes involved to make it successful in practice. Customer Service has to be a team effort and not just the responsibility of the staff dealing with the public directly. Most customers have the option to go elsewhere is the quality of service is lacking, which in my opinion makes good customer service a source of competitive advantage.

In this assignment I have looked at different aspects of what customer service brings to a company. I have researched customer service in its past and have done a comprehensive summary on an organisation I have chosen to illustrate how customer service is used in present day and the significance in evolving customer service in the future. Exploring subjects such as the importance of customer service and the different categories of customers an organisation have contact with on a daily basis. I will demonstrate customer service policies in reference to my chosen organisation and the practice of customer service in practice using customer charts, mission statement and the staff roles that contribute to the quality of service in the company


Q1. Define and explain Customer Service and it significance to modern organisations.

Customer Service

The importance of customer service can never be underestimated as it is a vital part of any business. Customer service can be defined as the delivery in which the service you give is received, whether that is before, during or after a customer purchase. The goal of this is to increase customer satisfaction by the trait and manner in which the product or service is given. (Wikipedia (2012) ‘Customer Service’)

Brief Customer Service History

Goods were scarce in the late 19th and early 20th century, it was because of this that workshop owners were able to produce what they wanted and the public had no choice but to purchase what they offered. This time was known as the production era, and it was at this time the main focal point for business was mass production. This meant that corporations wanted to create goods in great amounts but at low cost with a fast rate of production. For example, if a company was selling arm chairs, the arm chair in question would be produced in one fabric, with one colour and one design with no options to change. During the mid-1920’s into the early 1950’s it was believed by manufacturers that they needed to persuade customers to buy their products. This was known as the sales era as the needs of the supplier were greater than that of the customer, or offering customer satisfaction. It was from the 60’s-70’s that businesses embarked on the thought that customers are different, and aggressive selling techniques were to be avoided. They began to rethink their attitudes towards the customer, finding out what they wanted rather to force them to buy a particular product. Every person/family is uncommon, with singular taste whether it is in décor, food, cars, holidays etc. which gave corporations insight that the customer was the key part of their business. In the 1980’s, customer service branched out getting customer feedback to make products of variety. This meant that companies were now meeting the needs and wants of customers and delivering on that product. Relational marketing was now used by businesses as it focuses on their dedication to customers and the service they provide to be of high standard, and to generate customer loyalty as result. Harrell (2002) defines relationship marketing as progressing and preserving relational exchange successfully by collaborating reciprocal connections between customers, organisations and other participants of mutual benefit. (Twomey 2012, p.1/2)

Customer service is extremely important in modern organisations. It does not matter what merchandise you sell or the service that you provide, the question you need to ask is how happy are my customers? Customer service is constantly being improved, what companies practiced one or two years ago is not what they would practice today.

The coined saying “the customer is always right” is obsolete as far as today’s standards go. In my opinion the phrase should be “keep your customers happy, and your business will be happy”, as this would be more relatable in modern organisations

Q2. Describe your chosen organisation

The Pier Hotel

The organisation I have chosen for my assignment is The Pier Hotel. This is a small business located in the heart of Limerick city. It has 55 bedrooms and is home to The Quays Bistro Bar and Restaurant, which is a modern sports themed bar.

The building is located on Sarsfield Street, Limerick and was previously used as an apartment building with a café on the ground floor called Blueberry Hill. In 1999 the building was sold and the new owner opted for construction for a new business. He had the building renovated into a hotel and leased it out as The Sarsfield Bridge Hotel. It was a thriving business from the week of opening boasting river and castle views, beautifully decorated rooms and restaurant which served great food at reasonable prices. The Sarsfield Bridge Hotel was taken over by new management in 2004, but the reputation of the hotel only grew.

In 2008 shortly after the recession hit Ireland the Sarsfield Bridge Hotel closed due to insufficient business levels. Later the same year The Kenny Group, a local Limerick based company, turned the hotel into a hostel for people seeking refuge.

The potential in the hotel was seen again by a local business man; he bought the property and refurnished the establishment in an attempt to bring it back to its original success as it was as The Sarsfield Bridge Hotel. He also renamed the hotel to The Pier Hotel. Although, it has yet to reach the level success it used to maintain before recession The Pier Hotel has upheld business and gained more popularity in the past year alone. I really
wanted to choose this particular business because of its history. I
thought that good or poor customer service would have been a major
factor in varying success under different management

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Q3. Comprehensively discuss the different types of customers in your organisation.

Customer Categories

The hotel is home to many differ types of customers, internal, external and corporate.

Internal:        An internal customer is someone who works within a business and works as part of a team to provide the best possible service. Take a hairdressers for example; a receptionist makes appointments, the hairdresser styles/cuts hair and the apprentice cleans the area used by the hairdresser. If the receptionist logs an appointment incorrectly it can have a bad effect on the hairdresser and the customer. Or if the apprentice does ...

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