1. Understanding the consumer Chapter 3 © Hudson & Hudson. Customer Service for Hospitality & Tourism

2. ‘At Your Service’ Spotlight: Joe Nevin – Bumps for Boomers Ski For Life™ o Senior travel market Lucrative and unique (e.g. not tied to seasonal travel) Growing - 115 million 50+ in the US by 2020 Zoomers (boomers - born between 1946 and 1964) with zip o Aspen location Luxurious resorts (e.g. sidewalks with underground heating) o Tailored training techniques Peer groups and age-peer instructors Skiers grouped by pace Best practices Personal touch (visit each group of students)

3. Service providers and expectations o Customer expectations May vary within a sector (e.g EasyJet vs. Singapore Airlines) May change over time o Includes three components Expected service Desired service Adequate and predicted service o High quality service Expectations meet or exceed expectations Customer loyalty

4. Factors influencing customer expectations of service

5. Customer tolerance and delight o Zone of tolerance Extent to which customers willing to accept variations in service Tolerance levels may vary over time Service outside range results positive or negative reactions o Customer delight Positive affect resulting from unexpected pleasure, elation Exceeds customers’ expectations to a surprising degree Does not necessarily lead to loyalty. Effective for connecting emotionally with consumers

6. Customer experience o Physical environment e.g. Ambience, multisensory impact, space and function, signs and symbols o Human interaction e.g. Service consumption in the presence of staff and other customers o Personal characteristics e.g. Cultural differences o Trip-related factors e.g. Social and intellectual needs versus physiological needs

7. Blueprint for Overnight Hotel Stay

8. Snapshot: Welcoming the world at the London Olympics ‘‘…we can effect a cultural change in the perception of the warmth of the UK welcome, which currently lags far behind other countries’ o The People 1 st Training Company mandated To train the 70,000+ volunteers Address bad publicity (e.g. 2011 riots) Tradition of poor service (e.g. second-class occupation) o World Host™ provided ‘toolkit’ Modules e.g. service across cultures Workshops ‘beyond service with a smile’ Holistic customer service delivery

9. Importance of emotions o Provides opportunity for differentiation o Consumption emotions have an impact on behavioral intentions (e.g. Word of mouth) o Consumers often highly emotional and intuitive in behaviors o Measures of consumer emotions Consumption emotion scale Perceived service fairness Service personnel’s appearances, attitudes, and behaviors Positive displays of emotions predict consumer emotions Cognitive theory of emotions

10. Brand-infused causal loyalty model

11. Impact of rational and emotional motivation across regions

12. Impact of rational and emotional motivation on B2C and B2B

13. The Lovemark Grid

14. Understanding cross-cultural differences Human culture is generally defined as the meaning and information system shared by a group and transmitted across generations o Five dimensions of cultural variability Hofstede (2001) Individualism Versus Collectivism Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Masculinity Long- Versus Short-Term Orientation o Cultural globalization, Western consumption and lifestyles o Important cross-cultural differences for customer service remain

15. Global trends in consumer behavior o Experiences Services as stage, goods as props, to create memorable event o Ethical Products Responsible tourism as a significant trend o Health-Consciousness Influence of the baby boomers o Customization Personalized vacations o Convenience and Speed o Service Quality Differentiate services, products and build competitive advantage

16. Case Study: Bruce Poon Tip, G Adventures ‘‘….I launched G Adventures with the belief that other travelers would share my desire to experience authentic adventures in a responsible and sustainable manner.’ o 4 levels of service ‘Basic’ - authentic, local ‘Standard’ – in keeping with destination ‘Comfort’ - upgraded ‘Superior’ - topnotch o You Only Live Once program o Life-time deposits o Bear-an-Tee