Terhi Raudaskoski !

1
1704172
25 January 2018
HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences

Reading circle: Sales and Services (Customer satisfaction and service quality)

Quality in customer service is in the eyes of the beholder. Quality is not a

fact or a reality in tourism companies (Horner, Swarbrooke 2016). Every
person has their own needs - the satisfaction of the customer depends on
whether the company meets the expectations of the customer.

Figure 1. The tourist satisfaction process (Horner, Swarbrooke 2016)

Above the figure 1. presents the process of tourist satisfaction. The

tourism product includes tangible elements, the nature of service which
the company usually provides and the employees. The satisfaction factor
considers the customer’s expectations and the experience - how does the
customer see the product? It also considers uncontrollable factors which
might affect the customer experience. The outcome is created from all of
these earlier factors which are influencing the customer experience.

The service quality is defined by all the customers separately and as they
review the product, the travel agent or other tourism company, an overall
review from the service quality will be given. Reviews, especially
complaints, are important for the company as that is what makes the
improvements possible and makes the satisfaction of the customer more
certain - critique is as valuable as gold, says Elon Musk (Bariso 2018).

TripAdvisor is one of the main channels where a customer goes to seek for
answers - is the hotel clean, how do they treat customers and is there any
surprises? The other customers’ reviews enables to consider whether the
hotel is worth staying at, whether the purchase would be a smart decision.
The only downside in the reviews is that people tend to write reviews only
when treated wrong. What if there were more ”WOW” factors than
disappointed customers?
Terhi Raudaskoski !2
1704172
25 January 2018
HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences

There are more than few main characteristics in excellent service

quality. Creative problem-solving skills come first at hand - the competence
is listed in many places, in such as World Economic Forum (see figure 2.
below), in Formilla (Widmer 2017) and also in HelpScout (Ciotti 2018) by
naming it an ”ability to handle surprises” which means as well to solve a
problem creatively.

Figure 2. Top 10 skills. (World Economic Forum 2018)

The ”WOW” factor is - or should be - every customer service’s goal. It is

what makes the customers’ satisfaction certain and they will be very likely
to purchase the tourism product as well in the future. Widmer (2017) writes
about the ”WOW” factor and its influence - it is the top of the excellent
customer service skills. When creating this reaction in a customer, the
customer has been very positively surprised, the customer’s expectations
have been exceeded and, shortly, their day has been made.

In excellent customer service quality the staff’s courtesy, communication

skills and emotional intelligence are crucial factors (Widmer 2017). The
customers must feel their importance, they must feel valued and welcomed.
When the customers are the first priority and treated right, excellent
customer service is at hand.
Terhi Raudaskoski !3
1704172
25 January 2018
HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences

Table 1. Factors affecting the customer service experience (Lovelock, Wirtz,

Chew 2009)

DIMENSIONS CHARACTERISTICS & QUERIES

Tangibles Appearance of a hotel, equipment,

is the personnel dressed properly
etc.
Reliability Ability to perform the promised
service. Did the service meet the
customer’s expectations?
Responsiveness The will of helping the customers
and providing good customer
service. Does the service provider
care for your problems and
questions and solve them?
Assurance (Credibility) Trustworthiness and honesty of the
service provider. Is the customer
getting what is promised?

Controlling the quality of the service by the companies can be difficult.

There are more factors affecting the satisfaction of a customer than the
receptionist greeting the customer with a high-pitched voice and handing
the keys with a smile on the face. Above in table 1. the different dimensions
affecting the customer experience are represented.

Even though the purchased tourism product would not impress the
customer, for example a hotel room, an excellent customer service and the
atmosphere of the hotel could impress the customer into having a
wonderful time. There are though customers as well who value more the
appearance of a hotel room than the fairness and courtesy of the staff. For
some, the breakfast makes the biggest influence in the satisfaction. All
these must be in a fair balance, but naturally, as each customer has their
own point of view, it becomes rather difficult to please everyone.

In luxury tourism services there are even more factors to take into
account. In different countries and cultures the determination is different for
luxury tourism product as well as for service. As tourism field is indeed
international, the service provider must consider not just the location’s
definition of luxury but as well of other countries, especially of those where
they are expecting bigger tourism flows from. (Lu, Berchoux, Marek, Chen
2007)
Terhi Raudaskoski !4
1704172
25 January 2018
HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences

Group findings
In luxury tourism the service providers must be prepared to answer to
special requirements from the customers. The customers are expecting to
receive creative problem solving and very personalized service, where the
employees work on special needs.

Lapland is a challenging location. The luxury tourism needs professionals

on the field to work and the problem is, many of them do not want to live in
the north of Finland.

Luxury tourism in Lapland must also be Lapland themed - ”basic” luxury is

not enough as the tourists are looking for a special Lappish experience.

References Bariso J. 2018. With a Single Tweet, Elon Musk Taught a Major Lesson in
Emotional Intelligence. Inc.
Accessed: 26 January 2018

Ciotti G. 2018. 15 Customer Service Skills that Every Employee Needs.

HelpScout. URL: https://www.helpscout.net/blog/customer-service-skills/
Accessed: 26 January 2018

Horner S. & Swarbrooke J. 2016a. Consumer behavior in tourism. Chapter

15: Quality and tourist satisfaction. pp. 339-341. Routledge New York.
Accessed: 26 January 2018

Lovelock C., Wirtz J., Chew P. 2009. Essentials of services

marketing. Chapter 14: Improving service quality and productivity. pp.
369. Prentice Hall. Singapore.
Accessed: 27 January 2018

Lu C., Berchoux C., Marek M. W., Chen B. 2007. Service quality and
customer satisfaction: qualitative research implications for luxury hotels.
VOL. 9 No. 2 2015. pp. 180.
Accessed: 27 January 2018

Widmer B. 2017. 10 Excellent Customer Service Skills for 5-Star Support.

Formilla. URL: https://www.formilla.com/blog/customer-service-skills/
Accessed: 26 January 2017
Terhi Raudaskoski !5
1704172
25 January 2018
HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences

World Economic Forum 2018. The Future of Jobs. URL: https://

www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs
Accessed: 26 January 2018