Customer Service in Tourism and Hospitality

A fully revised and updated new edition of this bestselling and a unique text that explains not only the theory behind the importance of customer service but also acts as a guidebook for those wishing to put this theory into practice. In essence it is the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’of customer service. Fully updated with current statistics, trends, and examples, it is full of references to all the latest research from both academic and practitioner literature. Chapters cover important topics such as the financial and behavioural consequences of customer service, consumer trends influencing service, developing and maintaining a service culture, managing service encounters, the importance of market research, building and maintaining customer relationships, providing customer service through the servicescape, the impact of technology on customer service, the importance of service recovery, and promoting customer service internally and externally. New material covers issues such as: • the impact of the sharing economy and how hotels are getting ‘social’ to compete; • the latest in technology and its impact on customer service including Virtual Reality and use of robots to enhance the traveller experience; • new demographic and cultural shifts; • New market trends – including how resorts are catering to the demands of the international traveller from emerging markets and the luxury family market; • Using big data to personalize experiences and encourage loyalty. The text has a full suite of pedagogic features to aid learning and understanding, including: • An ‘At Your Service’ Spotlight at the beginning of each chapter focuses on the achievements of successful individuals related to the art of customer service. • Each chapter contains a ‘Service Snapshot’ - short, real-life cases to illustrate a particular concept or theoretical principle presented in the chapter. • Detailed international ‘Case Studies’, which cover a variety of sectors, organizations and regions designed to foster critical thinking, the cases illustrate actual business scenarios that stress several concepts found in the chapter. They analyze customer service in the U.S., South America, South Africa, Europe, Russia, Australia, China, Canada, Korea and Dubai.