Managing Customer Service
BML207: Managing Customer Service Experience Enhancement Pitch
SEMAL Dr Andrew Clegg p. 1
BML207: Managing Customer Service
Experience Enhancement Pitch Introduction and Background Information Farmer Barleymows is a farm-based visitor attraction in the heart of the South Downs National Park. The existing elements of the 100-acre site and operation are:
Product • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Farm animals – emphasis on rare-breeds Small animal feeding area Restaurant and café Outdoor adventure play area Lambing areas Outdoor paddocks Farm trail and woodland walk Pet’s corner Tractor and trailer rides Tractor School - peddle tractors in barn Small retail area Staff - 15 full-time staff / 30 seasonal staff Newly appointed customer services manager Website (dated) in need of complete redevelopment Old barns on-site with development potential.
The main market for the business has traditionally been families, however in recent years, annual visitor numbers to the Farm Park have dropped from 125,000 to 98,000. The owners recently sold the business to John and Erica Haines, who have a long history of working within the leisure and tourism sector across the country. Prior to purchasing the attraction, the Haines employed a local tourism consultancy company to undertake a quality audit of the attraction, and to assess in detail the overall quality of the visitor experience at Farmer Barleymows. The consultants were also asked to provide a critical assessment of current approaches to customer service, and existing management approaches to quality management, product develpment and marketing. As the results show, initial concerns over the quality of the visitor experience offered at Farmer Barlemow’s proved to be correct.
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Your Brief
As part of their long-term management strategy to revive the fortunes of Farmer Barleymows and turn it back to a leading tourist attraction in the South Downs, you have been appointed by the Haines to improve the overall quality of visitor experience at the Farm Park. The Haines have asked you to concentrate your response around a number of key areas that will be central to enhancing business competitiveness and the overall quality of the visitor experience. Strategy and Management
The Haines have also asked you to advise on the development of a new customer service strategy, and the implementation of effective management systems to support and enhance customer service and the overall visitor experience.
Visitor Experience
You must make recommendations to improve the quality of the product and the overall quality of the visitor experience for families. Your are asked to make recommendations for product development, based on the identification of best practice from similar attractions across the country. The Haines are also looking to redevelop the website from scratch and would welcome recommendations on using the website to enhance the overall quality of the visitor experience based on an analysis of competitor websites.
Staffing and Recruitment
You must make recommendations as to how to give staff greater involvement and empowerment in the delivery of customer service. Indicative areas for consideration include: the overall quality of service offered by staff, staff motivation, levels of staff retention and communication between management and staff, induction and training.
Monitoring and Evaluation
The Haines have also asked you to advise on the most effective methods of monitoring and evaluating the quality of customer service at Farmer Barleymows, in the absense of an effective monitoring system.
Note:
These areas must be considered in your strategy but you are free to decide on the respective ordering of their inclusion.
Your contacts:
The key contacts for this project will be members of the senior
(i) John Haines, Company Director
email: barleymowsfarmpark@gmx.com
management team, including:
(ii) Megan Shepherd, Visitor Experience Manager email: service.barleymowsfarmpark@gmx.com (iii) Toby Blackwood, Staff and Volunteer Manager email: staff.barleymowsfarmpark@gmx.com
You can email these contacts to ask questions and to seek further information on the project brief. All correspondence must be written professionally, or will not be responded to by the management team.
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The Haines have specifically asked that any recommendations are based on examples of best practice from within the attractions, tourism and wider service sector, and reflect the latest thinking on customer service and quality management issues. You should present a thorough set of recommendations, referring to the four development areas identified above. As part of the consultation process, you will have an opportunity to interview John Haines during the course of the module. The Haines are prepared to invest to heavily in this new business venture over the next three years, are expecting the consultants to demonstrate a degree of creativity and innovation in their final recommendations. The Haines expect to see a phased action plan included in the presentation, and clear evidence
of benchmarking against other farm-based visitor attractions and a clear appreciation of key customer expectations when visiting farm-based attractions. Some introductory reference to the
external environment, and key trends within the attractions and farm-based tourism sector, should also be included to provide a level of contextualisation for your recommendations. Consultancy
teams not including this information will automatically be excluded from the tendering process. The Haines also wish to point out that is NOT a marketing brief and the focus must remain on customer service and service excellence throughout.
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Presentation Delivery The presentation must provide a coherent and structured vision of how to enhance the quality of the visitor experience, and must refer to the four key areas outlined in the consultancy brief. A number of consultancy companies have been asked to tender for this work, and the Haines will select the company based on the extent to which they meet the following criteria: •
Structure, content and delivery of the presentation Ensure there is a logical progression in terms of the overall structure of your presentation and a clear linkage between the different sections. Make sure you follow the tender guidelines clearly, and make reference to the different sections for consideration clearly. I will expect to see clear aims at the start, and also discussion relating to the farm tourism sector, including, for example, visitor numbers, and wider factors influencing business competitiveness and the importance of service excellence. You also need to think about the potential market, and what visitors to a farm park in 2015 are expecting.
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Appropriate application and relevance of customer service principles in relation to the assessment brief Your recommendations must be based on a clear understanding of the customer service principles covered during the module. Think about the underpinning approach to service delivery that will inform your recommendations - I would expect to see the service excellence model woven creatively into your presentation.
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Evidence of best practice case studies and accurate referencing to the academic literature The Haines are expecting to see reference to industry best practice and so this should be evidenced throughout. Make sure you make full use of the National Farm Attractions Network, and adequately benchmark a large selection of farm attractions as a basis of your recommendations. I will expect to see evidence of background reading, but included to reflect the nature of your audience and the purpose of the pitch.
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Ability to convey information accurately and succinctly A high quality presentation is essential which above all is delivered as a tender pitch - you need to demonstrate that you have understood your audience - which in this instance will be John Haines, owner of Farmer Barleymows.
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The use and quality of visual aids
A high quality and professional presentation will be required. Given the length of the presentation I would advise against using Prezzi.
This is a professional presentation and all consultancy groups are asked to prepare their presentations to the highest standard. The groups are asked to dress professionally for their final presentations. Please note the final presentations will be filmed for dissemination and analysis by the staff team. [NB: The information presented in the brief provides a significant number of clues about the direction in which to take this project, so this project brief should be read thoroughly]
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Quality Audit - Key Findings The key summary points from the quality audit are listed below: •
No customer service strategy is in place
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Little engagement with trade associations which could assist enhancement e.g. National Farm Attractions Network
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Limited awareness within the current management team of sector best practice
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No formal monitoring systems are in place to track and measure the quality of customer service
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No clear operational procedures in place to ensure consistency when dealing with customer complaints
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Business does not have a clear grasp of who there customer is and what there expectations are
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No overall ‘wow’ factor and unique selling proposition
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Overall attraction porfolio needs to be reassessed against customer expectations and sector best practice
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The business is dated in places, and in need of urgent investment and refurbishment
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Excellent range of animals, with a particular emphasis on rare breeds
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One of the most-well established attractions in the South Downs, but now loosing out to other attractions in the region, and new farm-based attractions
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Basic amenities [e.g. toilets] need improvement
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Restaurant provides a range of options, yet there is little evidence of local sourcing, and the overall ambience and service quality needs enhancement
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Failure to gain VAQAS status within the last year
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Shortcomings in relation to the requirements of the DDA, which need urgent attention
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The business is heavily reliant on part-time, seasonal staff
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The retention of full-time staff is low
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Staff are poorly motivated due to a lack of focused leadership and involvement in the management process
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The quality of customer service evident amongst the staff is extremely variable
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No formal staff appraisal system in place
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Staff appear scruffy, and there is no consistent approach to staff uniform
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Staff feel undervalued, yet are very positive about the recent sale to the Haines family
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Staff are paid just above the minimum wage
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Little or no staff training is evident
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No formal induction for new members of staff
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No incentives to encourage repeat business [e.g. member schemes] and build visitor loyalty
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Underused website, which, whilst not maintained regularly at present, provides invaluable opportunities for service excellence, and the starting point for the customer journey
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No evident use of customer details for online promotional campaigns/marketing activity
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Very little evidence of links to the local area, and the business is not maximising its current location
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Indicative Examples of Customer Feedback •
‘The whole place is rather shabby…it would not hurt someone to get out with a can of paint and tidy the place up a bit’
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‘A little dated in places, not really on a par with other farm parks we have visited’
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‘Did not like the way in which some of the animals were paraded’
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‘I came here 10 years, and the place is exactly the same…some new facilities are required’
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‘It would be nice if children could get closer to the animals’
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‘Animals in the paddocks are too far away for children to see’
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‘Not much for very young children to do’
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‘Indoor play area is not really suitable for young children’
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‘Feeding the lambs was great fun, a shame there were not more staff about to give more children a chance to feed the animals’
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‘The state of some of the animals pens was disgusting!’
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‘Overall rather pricey – not what I would call value for money’
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‘The restaurant was a bit limited for children, can you offer more than chips and chicken nuggets’
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‘Overall the food was rather poor…where is the local produce?’
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‘Service in the restaurant was a bit slow’
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‘The queues for the pony rides were a bit of a joke…pony rides need to be offered continually during the day’
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‘A beautiful environment, but more undercover facilities are needed for when it rains’
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‘More information about the animals required’
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‘Nice staff but not enough of them’
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‘Some of the staff needed to tidy themselves up a bit’
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‘Lovely staff in the restaurant, but the young lady on the ticket desk could do with a lesson in customer service’
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‘Baby-changing facilities were not up to much’
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‘A real mismatch of bits and pieces…we have been to better’
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‘The managers should get out a bit more to see what other places are doing’
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‘Some nice animals, but the place is so dated!’
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‘Very little information about other attractions in the area’
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‘The website said that tractor rides would be starting today, but when we arrived we found they are not starting until the weekend…our little boy was really looking forward to that…not very good really is it- in fact the website was horrendous!’
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‘The tractor school is excellent’
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‘More signage and information directed towards young children is needed’
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‘Staff awareness of attractions and other places to visit in the surrounding area was quite limited’
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‘We asked restaurant staff to warm up some food for our baby, they were helpful and accommodating’
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‘A shame the picnic area is so far away from the paddocks - it could be more central so we can see animals while eating’
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‘Overall rather disappointing and failed to live up to our expectations’
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