1. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Delivering Quality Tourism
Services
DESINGED BY
,MR.P.SURESH

2. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Learning Objectives
Use the Service Encounter Diagram to explain the different
factors that affect a guest’s service experience
Explain how a person develops expectations of a service and
how tourism can meet or exceed these expectations
Name and describe the five service-quality dimensions
Explain how a comparison of service expectations with the
actual service encounter can give rise to three possible
satisfaction levels
Explain what tourism managers can do to ensure high-quality
service
Explain how negative “breaks from the script” should be
handled in order to “turn a frown upside down” and create guest
loyalty
List the important aspects of a service guarantee

3. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Introduction
Quality and hospitality are inseparable in the
case of tourism
Quality is more important as the industry
becomes more competitive

4. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Quality
Definitions of quality
Synonymous with excellence
A form of measurement, an amount of quality
“Eye of the Beholder”
Value-Based definition: Trade-off between quality
and price

5. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Quality, continued
Higher quality has been found to yield three benefits
Commands higher prices
Increases market share
Yields truly brand-loyal customers
Quality Differences
Service quality more difficult to define than quality of goods
Consumer’s skill, decisions and companions can affect
service quality

6. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Service Encounters
Every interaction between a service employee and
customer is a service encounter
Service Scripts: encounters follow similar steps
“Moments of Truth” during which quality is judged
Service encounter diagram
Quality assurance in tourism services is a
management challenge

7. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Service Quality Model
Customer has certain expectations regarding
service’s quality
Word-of-mouth from friends
Personal needs
Past experiences
Marketing communications
Five quality dimensions
Tangibles
Reliability
Responsiveness
Assurance
Empathy

8. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Quality and Customer Satisfaction
Customer compares expectations to service
received and determines satisfaction level
If perceived “actual” quality is better than
expected: Highly satisfied
If perceived “actual” quality is less than what
expected: Dissatisfied
If perceived “actual” quality is about what was
expected: “Just” satisfied

9. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Quality and Customer Satisfaction,
continued
Value of highly satisfied customers (HSC)
HSC pass more word of mouth than “just satisfied”
customers tend to
HSC are more likely to purchase again and spend
more in the future
HSC are less likely to respond to competitors’
promotions than “just satisfied”

10. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
We Experience What we Believe we Will Experience
Expectations may be more important than reality
Sequencing effects
Duration effects
Rationalization
Last impression not the first impressions endures in
consumers’ memories
Quality and Customer Satisfaction,
continued

11. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Human Resources: The Key to High
Quality of Service
Service organizations depend on everyone at all
levels to deliver customer satisfaction
Need to develop learning organization, dedicated to
continuous improvement
Utilize industry best practices
Understanding and meeting guest needs
Learn and understand customer needs and expectations
Employee selection
Employee training
Building service teams

12. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Service Mistakes
Can have a break from the customer’s service script
Mistakes happen
Most customers give the provider a chance to make
things right
Satisfied guests represent potential future income
flows - dissatisfied guests represent opportunities lost
Be a Can-Do Problem Solver
Making things right involves a few simple actions

13. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Service Guarantees
Difficult to replace or repair a tourism service
Guest often must complain face-to-face to
provider
Good idea to provide variety of problem
solutions to ensure that guest is happy

14. Cook: Tourism: The Business of Travel, 3rd edition (c) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved
Service Guarantees, continued
Offer guarantee that has five features
Unconditional with regard to elements under the
service provider’s control
Easy to understand and communicate
Should be meaningful
Easy to collect
Appropriate restitution/compensation for
customer’s trouble