unit 2 specifications

7/23/2019 Unit 2 Specifications

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• Aim and purpose

The aim of this unit is to enable learners to explore the different approaches tocustomer service, and appreciate how these approaches lead towards meeting the

needs and expectations of customers.

• Unit introduction

The travel and tourism sector is about people who are travelling and on holiday.They all have wants, needs and expectations about the products and services theyare using and have purchased. All organisations need to be successful and to be soin the travel and tourism sector they need to ensure that the products and servicesthat their customers receive meet their needs, are what they expect, give fullsatisfaction and at times exceed expectations.

There are many similarities in the products and services offered by organisationswithin the sector, for example tour operators and travel agents, and it is becomingincreasingly difficult to differentiate by product or price. This unit enables learnersto understand how customer service can be the differentiating factor that willattract new customers and ensure customer loyalty.

Learners will explore how organisations approach customer service. They willcorroborate this by investigating the customer service provision in travel andtourism organisations and considering the systems and processes that are in placeto support the delivery of excellent customer service.

• Learning outcomes

On completion of this unit a learner should:1 nderstand different approaches to customer service in travel and tourismorganisations! nderstand the needs and expectations of different types of customers in thetravel and tourism sector

BTEC First Diploma in Travel and Tourism

Unit 2: Understanding Customer Service in Travel and Tourism

Unit code: F/3/!"#2 $CF Level 2: BTEC First Credit value: % &uided learning 'ours: 3



Unit content

1 Understand di((erent approac'es to customer service in travel and tourismorganisations

Organisations: si"e eg small, medium, large# type eg independent, integrated,private, public

Policies: customer service policy# complaint policy# mission statements

Processes $ interaction between the customer and the organisation: customerinterface %remote, face to face&# reacting to feedbac'# increasing loyalty egrewards# 'eeping records eg customer details, boo'ings and reservations, invoicing#staff training eg induction, specific, ongoing# customer after(sales service egcustomer service call centres

Resources: staffing eg sufficient numbers employed, abilities and disposition,previous experience, )ualifications# organisation approach to staff %internalcustomer service& eg sufficiently trained, treated with respect, valued %pay,conditions, rewards&, staff incentives# financial budgets eg for staff training,budgets to support customer and staff reward schemes, budgets to provideade)uate levels of staff, budgets for uniforms and furnishings

Measuring and monitoring customer service: comment cards# customer service)uestionnaires# mystery shoppers# customer forums*focus groups# customerreviews eg websites# statistics from customer service departments eg number of

customer complaints

! Understand t'e needs and e)pectations o( di((erent t*pes o( customers in t'etravel and tourism sectorDifferent types of customers: age groups# families# couples# singles# groups#ethnicity*culture# special interests# organised groups# customers with special needseg mobility, sensory impaired

Needs: accurate information eg directions, facilities, price, availability, product'nowledge# health, safety and security# assistance eg with luggage, with language,for parents with toddlers# advice eg suitability of a destination or a flight, how to

obtain a visa, in relation to a solving problem# products and services eg provided asboo'ed, specific to a special need

Identification and recognition of needs: customer re)uests to organisation inwriting eg on boo'ing form, in a letter, in an email# customer re)uests torepresentative of organisation verbally %face to face, telephone& eg in resort, onthe tour, at the venue, in the boo'ing agency, via reservation staff# recognisingunstated needs eg by boo'ing agent, by representative, by guide, by cabin crew

Expectations: meeting expectations %level of products, level and efficiency of

service&# exceeding expectations %over and above what is expected, pre(emptingneeds, solving problems&



Assessment and grading criteria+n order to pass this unit, the evidence that the learner presents for assessmentneeds to demonstrate that they can meet all the learning outcomes for the unit.The assessment criteria for a pass grade describe the level of achievement re)uiredto pass this unit.

To achieve a pass gradethe evidence must showthat the learner is able to:

To achieve a pass gradethe evidence must showthat, in addition to thepass criteria, the learneris able to:

To achieve a distinctiongrade the evidence mustshow that, in addition tothe pass and merit criteria,the learner is able to:

1 explain how differenttypes of organisationsapproach customerservice-+ 1, + !/

01 compare how twotravel and tourismorganisations approachand measurecustomer service

1 analyse how approachesto customer service lin' tothe success of meeting andexceeding customer needsand expectations.

! describe the methodsused to measure andmonitor customer service

0! analyse howorganisations meet andexceed customer needsand expectationsof customers through therecognition of their needs

2 review the needs ofdifferent types ofcustomers and how theyare recognised

3 explain how travel andtourism organisationsmeet and exceedcustomerexpectations.

+LTS: This summary references where applicable, in the s)uare brac'ets, theelements of the personal, learning and thin'ing s'ills applicable in the passcriteria. +t identifies opportunities for learners to demonstrate effectiveapplication of the referenced elements of the s'ills

4ey45

+ $ independenten)uirers6T $ creative thin'ers

7L $ reflectivelearnersT8 $ team wor'ers

90 $ self(managers $ effective participators



Essential guidance (or tutors

Deliver*This unit will give learners an understanding of the importance of how travel andtourism organisations approach customer service. Learners should be encouraged tocontribute personal experiences of holidays, school trips, wor' experience andother experiences that they have had as a customer themselves to explore thesubect in group discussions.

9ector visits and guest spea'ers with relevant experience of nderstanding6ustomer 9ervice in Travel and Tourism will enhance the delivery of the unit.8or'sheets could be used to ensure that learners gather relevant informationduring the visit to assist them with the formative assessment. 9ome larger

organisations such as Alton Towers, Thorpe ar' and 6hester ;oo will provideinformation pac's and curriculum activities and presentations as part of the visit.8here opportunities for visits are limited, learners could be shown videos and T<programmes which could provide an insight such as the =fly on the wall> type serieson airports and airlines and in holiday resorts. 6ase studies could be written aroundthese programmes and discussions facilitated.

?y investigating travel and tourism organisations learners will be able to identifysome of the customer types that they serve and recognise the way that theyapproach customer service within the organisation. 8ebsites of larger travel andtourism organisations will give learners an insight into customer service policies,

provision for different customer types and products and services offered. Learnersshould loo' in detail at one organisation specifically and scrutinise its approach tocustomer service including its policies, processes and resources.

+n covering resources teachers should facilitate discussion about the importance tothe organisation of the staff employed and whether or not the right type of staffhave been recruited, and have received the appropriate training and whether thestaffing levels are sufficient to allow the staff to provide the correct level ofservice. <isits to organisations will highlight any staffing issues and enable learnersto recognise that frontline staff are the face of the organisations in relation to theprovision of customer service. Another area of resources is financial andparticularly in relation to budgets for staff numbers, for pay and for staff training.Another aspect of finance is budgets associated with image, for example uniformsand furnishings. +nternal customer service is important and some organisationsrecognise that there is a strong relationship between how they treat their staff andhow their staff treat the customers. Organisations which value their staff andreward them for their wor' and for their loyalty are often those which giveexcellent customer service.

Learners should discuss the different types of customers within the travel andtourism sector and their needs. Once they have identified these needs they should

discuss how these needs are established and how staff can be trained to do this.Again, videos and T< programmes can be used to facilitate this discussion and to



promote understanding of this very important aspect of delivering excellentcustomer service.

Learners must understand what is meant by meeting and exceeding expectationsand lots of examples must be provided through case studies, videos and T<

programmes. +t is a useful exercise for learners to as' their friends and families forexamples of excellent customer service and then to present and discuss these inclass.

To help learners meet the assessment criteria, visits to appropriate organisationsare essential.

,utline learning planThe outline learning plan has been included in this unit as guidance and can beused in conunction with the programme of suggested assignments.

The outline learning plan demonstrates one way of planning the delivery andassessment of this unit.

Topic and suggested assignments*activities and*assessment

+ntroduction and overview of the unit and assessment.As' learners for definition of customer service.iscuss personal experiences of good and bad customer service.6ustomer service video.

Organisational si"e, types and customer interface.

Organisational policies.se Thomas 6oo' customer service commitment and discuss mission statement,customer service policy and complaints policy.

Organisational processes.@irst guest spea'er or a visit to an organisation to investigate organisationalprocesses.6omplete wor'sheet.

7esources $ use the people first T+ case study on investment in staff and TravelTrade a"ette live article %T+&.8or' in pairs to identify organisational approach to staff in relation to customerservice.xamine the importance of investing in staff as a resource.

0ethods of measuring and monitoring.9econd guest spea'er or visit $ complete wor'sheets.9mall group use examples of company )uestionnaires, Travel Trade a"ette mystery

shop articles, comment cards to identify areas of feedbac' relating to customerservice.



+ndependent study and research in preparation for assignment.

Assignment 1: Organisational Approach to 6ustomer 9ervice %1, !, 01&@eedbac' on assessment.

6ustomer types and target mar'ets.se holiday brochures, <isit?ritain website and other resources to identify differentcustomer types.

+dentifying individual customer needsse holiday brochures, <isit?ritain website and other resources to identify howorganisations establish customer needs

0eeting and exceeding customer needs.

9mall(group wor' using case studies to identify the difference between customerneeds and customer expectations.9mall(group wor' using case studies to encourage learners to identify howorganisations can exceed customer expectations without spending money.

+ndependent study and research in preparation for this assignment.

Assignment !: 6ustomer Beeds and xpectations %2, 3, 0!, 1&@eedbac' on assessment and unit review.

Assessment

+"- +2- ."Learners should select a number of travel and tourism organisations to research insupport of this unit. +t is essential that they select organisations which areappropriate to provide them with the opportunity to generate sufficient evidenceto meet the assessment re)uirements. The assessor can preselect organisations andarrange visits and*or guest spea'ers to enable learners to gather relevantinformation to complete assessments.

@or 1, learners must produce evidence which covers all of the prescriptivecontent. The si"e of the organisation, small, medium and large, should be based onthe si"e of the wor'force and in line with the definition for small and mediumenterprises. 6ustomer interface categorises organisations into two types, remote%for example call centres and web based&, and face to face %where customers areface to face with the organisation>s representative&. Learners must explain howdifferent types of organisations approach customer service by providing full detailsof the policies and processes that are in place and explaining how resources%staffing and financial& are used to provide good customer service. Learners shouldprovide examples and for the purposes of assessment should base their findings ontwo or more organisations.



@or !, learners should describe the methods used to measure and monitorcustomer service as outlined in the unit content. Learners should provide examplesand for the purposes of assessment should base their findings on two or moreorganisations in order to cover the content.

@or 01, learners should build on the descriptions given for 1 and ! and comparehow two travel and tourism organisations approach and measure customer service.Learners can use two of the organisations utilised in 1 and ! or they can useothers. +t is essential that all relevant areas of the content are covered in thecomparison. The comparison can be in table format but must be an explanation andnot ust an identification or a description.

+3- +- .2@or 2, learners should review and give details of at least four different customertypes and their different needs. All four categories of need must be reviewed foreach of the four types of customer. The review should state how these needs areidentified and learners must cover customer re)uests in writing, customer re)ueststo representatives of organisations verbally %face to face or telephone&, andrecognition of unstated needs. The latter refers to the ability of the representativeof the organisation to recognise needs that have not been specifically re)uested bythe customer, for example a resort representative notices from the boo'ing formthat there is a large family boo'ing including very young children and ensures thatthe rooms allocated are adacent and in an appropriate position within the hotel# acustomer service agent at the airport notices that the traveller is very elderly andis having difficulty wal'ing and as's whether they would li'e a seat towards thefront of the plane and also whether they would li'e assistance to the gate.

@or 3, learners should explain how organisations meet and exceed customerexpectations by using examples from the organisations they have researched. +t isalso acceptable to use case studies if the organisations previously researched orvisited do not provide sufficient examples.

@or 0!, learners should expand on the explanation given for 3 to analyse the lin'sbetween needs, identification of needs and being able to meet and exceedcustomers> expectations. They should provide examples of the lin's.

D"

@or 1, learners should consolidate all of the information gathered throughout thisunit to analyse and discuss the lin's between how organisations approach andmeasure customer service and the success of meeting and exceeding the needs andexpectations of customers. They should base this analysis on the organisations theyhave researched and discuss the lin's in the format of a report or in a presentationor in a )uestion and answer session with the tutor and perhaps a customer servicespecialist. The evidence should be supported with additional information gatheredfrom organisations, such as customer service articles from the travel trade pressrelating to the organisation, or recognition of excellent customer service from thesector in the winning of awards. Learners can base their evidence on one or moreorganisations depending on the organisations they have researched.



+rogramme o( suggested assignmentsThe table below shows a programme of suggested assignments that cover the pass,

merit and distinction criteria in the assessment and grading grid. This is forguidance and it is recommended that centres either write their own assignments oradapt any dexcel assignments to meet local needs and resources 6

6riteriacovered

Assignment title 9cenario Assessmentmethod

1, !, 01 OrganisationalApproach to6ustomer9ervice

5ou have been as'ed tocarry out research for anarticle which will examineorganisational approachestocustomer service in thetraveland tourism sector.

7eport orpresentation for1,! and 01.

2, 3, 0!,1

6ustomer Beedsand xpectations

5ou have been as'ed towritea review for a travelmaga"inewhich focuses on customerneeds and expectations.

Article for atravel maga"inecovering 2, 3,0!, 1.

Lin0s to 1ational ,ccupational Standards- ot'er BTEC units- ot'er BTECuali(ications and ot'er relevant units and uali(ications

This unit forms part of the ?T6 Travel and Tourism sector suite. This unit hasparticular lin's with:

Level 1 Level ! Level 2

6ustomer 9ervice in Travel

and Tourism

eveloping 6ustomer

9ervice in Travel andTourism

6ustomer 9ervice in Travel

and Tourism

Essential resourcesLearners will need a variety of resources including access to the internet.



Emplo*er engagement and vocational conte)ts

Learners will benefit greatly if employers are engaged in the delivery and*or

assessment of the unit. Tutors therefore need to approach employers early in theplanning stages of the programme in order to try to initiate sustained engagement.mployers could help, for example, with the planning of unit delivery, or provisionof visits and guest spea'ers. They could also help to design assessment tas's.

The delivery of this unit would be enhanced by employer engagement involvinglocal businesses*organisations.

8or' experience or wor' placements could also be used to help learners developunderstanding of customer service in the travel and tourism sector.This unit lin's to the following BO9 in Travel and Tourism:

• TTC3 Assist customers prior to and after travelling

• TTCD ive customers a positive impression of yourself and your organisation

• TT3E ?uild and maintain face(to(face relationships with customers.

ndicative reading (or learnersTe)t4oo0s+ngle 9, 4ing 6, 4err A, Fefferies 0, 7oc' T and 9pencer 6 %editor 8oodhead <& $?T6 Level ! @irst Travel and Tourism 9tudent ?oo' %earson, !C1C& +9?BEGH1H3DECG3E3

+ngle 9, 4ing 6, 7oc' T and 9pencer 6 %editor 8oodhead <& $ ?T6 Level ! @irstTravel and Tourism Teaching 7esource ac' %earson, !C1C& +9?B EGH1H3DECD21!

?radley 9 $ 9*B<I Level 2 6ustomer 9ervice %Jeinemann, !CCG& +9?BEGHC32K3DK!E!

5ournalsTravel Trade a"ette $ 7eed ?usiness +nformation

Travel 8ee'ly $ 6B +nformation

6e4siteswww.beyondphilosophy.com ?eyond philosophy, building great

customer experienceswww.people1st.co.u'*webfiles*7esearch*6ase9tudies*Travel Training 6ase9tudies*T+6ase9tudyOctCH.pdf T+ case study on apprenticeship

programme

www.thomascoo'airlines.co.u' Thomas 6oo' tour operator

www.travelwee'ly.co.u' Travel 8ee'ly

http://www.people1st.co.uk/webfiles/Research/CaseStudies/Travel%20Training%20Case%20Studies/TUI_Case_Study_Oct_08.pdf


http://www.thomascookairlines.co.uk/

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/



http://www.thomascookairlines.co.uk/

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/



Deliver* o( personal- learning and t'in0ing s0ills 7+LTS8The table below identifies the opportunities for personal, learning and thin'ings'ills %LT9& that have been included within the pass assessment criteria of this unit

9'ill 8hen learners areM

+ndependent en)uirers investigating how different types oforganisations approach customer service-+ 1, + !/.

Although LT9 are identified within this unit as an inherent part of the assessmentcriteria, there are further opportunities to develop a range of LT9 through variousapproaches to teaching and learning.

9'ill 8hen learners areM

Team wor'ers investigating how different types oforganisations approach customer service insmall groups and sharing findings

9elf(managers completing assessment tas's to time

ffective participators wor'ing in groups to investigate customerservice $ participating in presentationsand other methods of sharing information

unit 2 specifications

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