Customer Service

The essentials of Excellent Customer Service

In terms of customer service probably the two most important touch points are the booking process and the arrival.

Whether customers book online, via email, phone or by post how the booking process goes can make a difference to their overall holiday. Think about how you and your staff treat customers on the phone or the tone of your emails.

The quality of the welcome that your guests receive on arrival is crucial to the overall experience of the trip. Some guests appreciate a personal welcome but if this is not practical a simple welcome pack can be provided by your housekeeper. A small hamper of local produce, fresh flowers or a home-made cake don’t cost too much but provide a really good first impression.

Information Provision

Information provision is an essential part of good customer service. As a starting point guests need to know how everything in the property works, including rubbish and recycling information. Make sure there are clear and simple instructions for all appliances including controls for heating, TV, Wi-Fi etc. Most importantly make sure they know who to contact if something goes wrong – where the local doctor is or what to do if the boiler packs up.

To help guests make the most of their stay include information about what there is to do in the area. A local map may help along with leaflets from local attractions, restaurants and pubs. Recommendations are often welcome – perhaps from other guests by use of a visitor’s book.

Tips for providing excellent service face-to-face

Whether you are selling a product or promoting a service, face-to-face, it takes only seven seconds to form a first impression and after 30 seconds for that impression to be set.

Body language represents up to 55 per cent of a person’s first opinion of you, so make sure you smile! Make direct eye contact and try to make your conversation personal. Listen carefully to your customer and make them feel important.

Build a relationship by using positive words and phrases like “good value”, “family friendly”, “convenient” and “no problem”. Be positive. Don’t say “can’t”, “don’t know”, or “maybe”, and saying “I’ll see what we can do” is infinitely better than “no”!

Once you have made a good first impression there are a number of essentials to think about in your on-going communication with your customers.

Try your best to get to know your client. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to find out what customers already know, and be ready to offer accurate and up-to-date advice when they seem unsure. The customer might not always be right, but he or she is always important. Most people are very understanding – if you have to refuse a particular request, explain why.

Customer Service Policy

As the proprietor you may be confident that you always treat customers in the way you would like to be treated yourself. But the same may not be true of your staff. Write a Customer Service Policy and make sure it is communicated to staff. Welcome to Excellence https://www.welcometoexcellence.co.uk/ run courses to support development of customer service strategy.

Training and Development

In the Tourism industry there are two standard customer service training programmes – Welcome Host and World Host. They are very similar in content, just presented slightly differently, but both offer an excellent introduction to the importance of customer service and how to deliver it effectively in the workplace.

Both are delivered all over the country often with local partner organisations offering destination specific content.

For certain destinations the NCTA offers free online customer service training with destination specific content. Check out Bournemouth, Dorset or Lincoln Ambassador.