Cover -- Title page -- Contents -- 1 Introduction to Customer Service -- Customer service defined -- A history of customer service -- The role of customer service -- The marketing mix for services -- Customer service in the tourism and hospitality sector -- Case Study: The Lopesan Group, Gran Canaria, Spain -- 2 The Financial and Behavioral Impacts of Customer Service -- The relative importance of the service economy -- Impact of service quality on market share growth, prices and profits -- The behavioral consequences of customer service -- The service profit chain -- Offensive and defensive marketing effects of service -- Financial implications of poor customer service -- Case Study: Profiting from culinary tourism in Stellenbosch, South Africa -- 3 Understanding the Consumer -- Customer expectations -- The customer experience -- The importance of emotions in the service experience -- Understanding cross-cultural differences -- Global trends in consumer behaviour -- Case Study: Bruce Poon Tip, G Adventures - understanding today's traveller -- 4 Developing and Maintaining a Service Culture -- Internal marketing -- Establishment of a service culture -- The importance of empowerment -- Development of a marketing approach to human resource management -- Dissemination of marketing information to employees -- Implementing a reward and recognition system -- Case Study: Micato Safaris - simply the best in the world! -- 5 Managing Service Encounters -- The employee role in delivering service -- Customer service training -- The customer role in delivering service -- Case Study: Hotels getting social to compete with the sharing economy -- 6 The Importance of Market Research -- An introduction to research in tourism and hospitality -- The Gaps model of service quality -- Measuring service quality -- Common research errors.

Effective use of market research in decision making -- Case Study: Martinhal in Portugal - staying sensitive to the consumer -- 7 Building and Maintaining Customer Relationships -- Relationship marketing -- Retention strategies -- Loyalty programs in tourism and hospitality -- Benefits of relationship marketing -- Targeting profitable customers -- Case Study: African-American travelers an increasingly profitable market -- 8 Providing Customer Service through the Servicescape -- Elements of the servicescape -- The strategic role of the servicescape in delivering service -- Developing servicescapes -- Servicescapes and consumer behaviour -- Waiting line strategies -- COVID-19 and the servicescape -- Case Study: Attention to detail at Cavas Wine Lodge, Argentina -- 9 The Impact of Technology on Customer Service -- The impact of technological developments on tourism and hospitality -- Using technology to improve service during the consumer decision journey -- Delivering service through electronic and robotic channels -- Case Study: Vail Resorts using apps to capture memories on the mountain -- 10 The Importance of Service Recovery -- Service recovery -- The service recovery paradox -- The service recovery process -- The consequences of an effective recovery process -- Guidelines for soliciting, tracking and handling complaints -- Service guarantees -- Case Study: Adaptability key to pandemic recovery for Australia's tourism industry -- 11 Promoting Customer Service Internally and Externally -- Developing an integrated communications strategy for customer service -- Managing service promises -- Ethical issues in communication -- Case Study: Promoting the spirit of India -- 12 Customer Service Training Handbook -- I Index.

A fully updated new edition of this bestselling 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. With 10 new international cases focusing on how some in the hospitality sector have adapted - and thrived - during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.