Center Parcs: An Essay Overview" (38 Characters)

1.Define the types of customers in the travel and tourism industry. 

2.Analyse the effectiveness of customer service and the use of quality systems in the travel and tourism industry.

3.Examine the solutions of customer queries’ and complaints in travel and tourism.

Different Types of Customers

Center Parcs is a holiday company which developed in Holland. Its primary purpose was of providing people with that of short break in the midst of nature. Piet Derkson who was a Dutch was responsible for establishing Center Parcs and he created short holiday break in the year 1967. It led to the opening of the first holiday village called De Lommerbergen within Holland (Centerparcs.co.uk, 2018). Center Parcs linked the factor of business development to that of responsibility in relation to land management. It signalled the opening of an environmental movement that was based on sound ecological principle. Center Parcs UK started business after opening of Sherwood Forest village. The principles of ecological design have become a part of the accepted vocabulary of the urban population. They are appreciated by the broader public at the present age. The book of Alan Ruff called “ Holland and the Ecological Landscapes” brought in the development of a new environmental movement. Nature Conservation Law refers to the legal framework in relation to the management of the protected areas. It can help in affording protection to the nature areas which have not been managed properly. This report throws light on the different kind of customers that visits Center Parcs and their needs that make them visit the holiday resort. It also discusses about the major techniques that can be used by Center Parcs in order to analyze effectiveness in relation to customer service. It also elaborates on the quality system that can be made use of in order to increase the performance of the company. It also talks about the guidelines that can be implemented in Center Parcs in order to improve the experience of the customer.

The kinds of customers that visit Center Parcs are of different types who want to fulfil different motives. Young people will visit Center Parcs for the different sports facilities like that of squash courts, snooker tables, table tennis and aerobics studio. The themed restaurant can satisfy the appetite of the younger crowd who can also enjoy the luxurious food. They can even visit the sportswear shop where they can buy the necessities related to their activities (Kandampully, Zhang and Bilgihan 2015).  They can also enjoy the benefit of the village spa that has different kinds of themed rooms along with a central pool. There is also a bowling alley along with that of arcade games that can be enjoyed by the young people. Discount offers are provided to them so that they can enjoy the luxury of Center Parcs at a low price. The second kind of customer are the families who plan the trip in advance. They will be interested in the organized tours along with that of children friendly activities (Radojevic, Stanisic and Stanic 2015).  They would need tour information and Center Parcs can provide them with the local maps that can guide them when they are in the holiday village.

Techniques to Analyze Customer Service Effectiveness

The business travellers lay more emphasis on the factor of convenience and they are less bothered about the prices. They travel to Center Parcs if there is any business nearby and they stay at the village hotel in order to enjoy the serenity of the surroundings (Buhalis and Amaranggana 2015).  It can provide them with the opportunity to escape from the stress and hustle of daily life in the peaceful surroundings of Center Parcs. There are around 200 indoor along with outdoor activities and they help to provide recreation to the business people. It can help in calming the creative instinct of the people and the spa treatments offered at Center Parcs can ease their tension and relieve them of their mental stress. There are also various kinds of water sports that these kind of customers can enjoy. The activities can be booked from beforehand so they do not necessarily have to spend time on the process of booking after they visit the holiday village. The lodge accommodations have all the essentials that makes one feel as if they are at home like bed linen, cooking utensil and tea bag. There is also a subtropical swimming paradise and the travellers can enjoy the rides. The temperature of the pool is heated at an optimal temperature providing relaxation to the travellers.

Another kind of traveller comprises of those who are economically strong and they visit Center Parcs in order to revel in the beauty of the place. The restaurants of Center Parcs offer breakfast and dinner and people can come together and have conversation. Retail therapy can relax the visitors who can treat themselves to luxury designer accessories (Chathoth et al. 2016). There is a supermarket that has all the favourite brands of fruits and vegetables. The Aqua Sana Spa can relax the travellers and the body treatments can bring out the natural beauty of an individual (Kim, Vogt and Knutson 2015).  The economically advanced class can reap the benefit of the facilities offered at Center Parcs that can help the traveller to reconnect the mind with that of nature.

Holiday Village Center Parcs can satisfy the distinctive need of all kinds of customer. Need act as the engine in relation to human conduct and the urge of travelling comes from inside of an individual. Push along with pull factors can act as external motives in the sector of tourism which can influence the tourists. The pull factors create the desire that makes a person feel as if they are personally deficient and some desire of the individual is not satisfied. There are impulses in an individual that compel an individual towards that of a certain direction. The holiday village refers to an isolated place that can satisfy the various need of the vacationer like that of food, drink, entertainment and that of shopping (Neirotti, Raguseo and Paolucci 2016).  Center Parcs provide different kind of amenities like entertainment along with recreational activities. Lighter dishes are offered to the customers in order to serve the purpose of healthy eating. Burgers, salads, coffee and ice cream are also available and it can satisfy the appetite of all kinds of customers. The holiday villages can help people to strengthen the relationship and it helps the customers to escape from the stress of daily life. Center Parcs provides opportunity to the customers to come together and build lasting relationships. The social interaction that is made during the course of a trip can help an individual in getting away from the worries of daily life. Escaping to the forest can help the customers to enjoy quality time. One can create wonderful memories by travelling to a holiday village. The need of the customers for entertainment is served by the help of different activities that are offered at Center Parcs. The children can enjoy different kinds of indoor activities from that of crafts to that of climbing. On the event of the weather being bad the customers can enjoy the indoor activities like activity den and that of indoor climbing adventure.

Total Quality Management for Improved Services

The popularity of Center Parcs is owing to the facilities that are offered by the Holiday village and it is the top travel company that has featured in the Customer Satisfaction Index. The customers have helped Center Parcs to become a popular travel company. Center parcs has provided the customers with satisfaction and in return they have helped Center Parcs in becoming popular in Holland, Belgium and in UK. Center Parcs has started a new environment movement that is based on sound ecological principle (Wilson et al. 2016).  With the soaring popularity that they have gathered from the customers they have been able to acquire land outside that of the town of Ballymahon in Ireland. They have created a public footpath around that of the site in order to preserve the access of the public. Serving the local stakeholders are their aim and this has ensured their success with the customers. Center Parcs ensures that the guest go away with excellent memory so that they visit the place again. Around 96 % of the guest have rated the holiday break to be excellent (So et al. 2016). The Government had introduced National Living Wage for the employees who are above the age of 25. Excellent results are delivered by the Holiday Village of Center Parcs and a sum of Euro 7.56 in an hour is offered to the employees.

Major techniques that they can use to analyse effectiveness of customer service Evaluation of effectiveness in relation to customer service is crucial for the success of an organization. Net Promoter Score can prove to be effective in order to understand whether the customers are happy with Center Parcs (Dhar 2015). The number of people who would recommend the Holiday Village Center Parcs to that of other people can be a great indication of the effectiveness of that of customer service. Average Resolution Time is another important means that can help in understanding about the effectiveness of that of customer service. It has been found that if the issues are resolved within a limited timeframe and provide them with good answers then they are pleased with the experience. The resolution time being relatively low points forward to the effectiveness of service of that of Center Parcs. Complaint Escalation Rate is another important means that can help in gauging the effectiveness of service of Center Parcs (Lee, Verma and Roth 2015).  Large number of complaint indicates that the customer is not satisfied with the quality of service that has been provided by Center Parcs. Keeping a watch over the rate of escalations can help in ascertaining about the success of customer service. Cash Flow is another important performance indicator that can help in understanding about the success of the business. Customer service can have tremendous amount of impact on that of the bottom line. The service being bad will drive the customers away and decrease the number of referrals.

Organisations should apply new management approach that can that can help them in responding to the challenges of the present age. Total Quality Management (TQM) can be taken recourse to in order to improve the services of that of Center Parcs (Morena, Truppi and Del Gatto 2017). It can help in improving the productivity and increase profitability of Center Parcs. The needs of the customer are constantly changing and they are becoming more demanding. TQM can help in improving the flexibility of the customer services of Center Parcs and pave the path for efficient business performance. In order to achieve quality it is important to concentrate on the factor of planning and less on the factor of control in Center Parcs. The new trends that can help in ensuring quality in relation to Center Parcs is focussing on the arena of planning, team work, business performance and orientation towards that of total business performance. The Holiday Village offers different services like that of lodging, entertainment, cultural activity, environment protection and shopping. The quality system should comprise of the seven elements of safety, freedom, aesthetic, honesty, variety, reliability and ease of that of communication (Adalilar, Alkibay and Eser 2015).  Quality can be evident with the help of work standards. The quality of the hotel personnel can be determined with the help of different elements like knowledge, skill, appearance and behaviour. Use of internet can help in enhancing the experience of the customers. The inappropriate allocation of the resources can be handled by taking recourse to internal audits that can ensure the accountability in relation to the resources (Ezeamaka and Oluwole 2016). Acquiring the certification of ISO 9001: 2008 can help in ensuring the superior quality of service of the service industry (Koh, Chan and Ho 2016).  Center Parcs should get hold of the certification that can help in managing data, handling risks and improve the quality of services of the Holiday village.

Handling customer Complaints

Do’s- Listening very closely to complaints: Center Parcs should not try to deflect blame and put themselves in the shoes of the customer in order to understand the issue from the point of view of the client (Youssef 2017)

Complaints should be seen as opportunity to improve: The complaints provide an opportunity that can help the company in improving the services of Center Parcs

Dont- Not arguing with the customer: The situation has to be handled in a professional manner and one should not get into argument with the customer.

Making the same mistake more than one time- The same mistake should not be repeated in order to provide the customers with superior service

Dealing with a difficult customer

Do’s- Getting control of oneself: One should not argue with the customers and lose control.

Letting the customer to vent his grievances: The customer should always be acknowledged and listened to very attentively.

Don’t-Not making promises that cannot be kept: Making promises and not being able to keep them can severely damage the reputation of Center Parcs.

Not blaming the customer or the company: The indirect approach should always be used and one should not acknowledge that either the company or the customer is to be blamed.

Effective communication over telephone

Do’s- Speaking clearly at a moderate space: It is important to grab the attention of the customer over the phone and speaking loudly can help in this regard.

Being assumptive: One should be assumptive that can help an individual in achieving the end result

Don’t- Not being sincere: One should avoid scripted greetings that sound inauthentic

Not holding conversation in an environment that is noisy: Getting to answer in an atmosphere that is quiet can help in avoiding confusions that may arise later on.

Principles of letter-writing when corresponding with customers queries

Do’s- The customers should always be thanked because of their custom: Business have a tendency of taking the customers for granted and the customers should always be thanked by mentioning “We appreciate the service”.

Adding real touch: Customers want to feel that the service providers are run by people who are real and the customers should be made known with whom they are dealing

Dont- using complex language:  In the event of the customers having to decode the correspondence they would not be encouraged to use the services of Center Parcs.

The name should not be spelled wrongly: The people should always be addressed by the right name otherwise it would have a bad impression on the customer

Listening Skills

Do’s- Maintaining eye contact: it is important to main eye contact that can make the customers feel as if they are being listened to attentively

Giving nonverbal messages: Providing nonverbal messages like nodding and smiling is crucial in relation to listening

Don’t- Being impatient: Showing the signs of impatience while listening is not an effective trait of an ideal listener

Having preconceived ideas: Having expectations can lead to problems and one may assume things that may not have been true

Conclusion:

Center Parcs helped in linking business development to that of the process of land management. Center parcs helped in bringing about an environment movement on the basis of sound ecological principle. The different kinds of customers who visit Center Parcs include that of the young people, families and that of the business travellers. The different kinds of needs of the customer like that of food, drink, entertainment and that of shopping can be fulfilled by the help of unique services of Center Parcs. The techniques that can be made use of in order to analyze effectiveness in relation to customer service is inclusive of Net Promoter Score, Average Resolution Time and that of Complaint Escalation Rate. Total Quality Management system can be used to improve services of Center Parcs. The action guidelines that can help in improving the quality of service relates to handling of the customer complaint, dealing with that of a difficult customer, effective communication over that of the telephone and that of the listening skills.

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