Chapter 3 Understanding the consumer Hudson Hudson Customer

Chapter 3 Understanding the consumer © Hudson & Hudson. Customer Service for Hospitality & Tourism

‘At Your Service’ Spotlight: Joe Nevin – Bumps for Boomers Ski For Life™ o Senior travel market • Lucrative and unique (e. g. not tied to seasonal travel) • Growing - 115 million 50+ in the US by 2020 • Zoomers (boomers - born between 1946 and 1964) with zip o Aspen location • Luxurious resorts (e. g. sidewalks with underground heating) o Tailored training techniques • Peer groups and age-peer instructors • Skiers grouped by pace • Best practices • Personal touch (visit each group of students)

Service providers and expectations o Customer expectations • May vary within a sector (e. g Easy. Jet vs. Singapore Airlines) • May change over time o Includes three components • Expected service • Desired service • Adequate and predicted service o High quality service • Expectations meet or exceed expectations • Customer loyalty

Factors influencing customer expectations of service

Customer tolerance and delight o Zone of tolerance • Extent to which customers willing to accept variations in service • Tolerance levels may vary over time • Service outside range results positive or negative reactions o Customer delight • Positive affect resulting from unexpected pleasure, elation • Exceeds customers’ expectations to a surprising degree • Does not necessarily lead to loyalty. • Effective for connecting emotionally with consumers

Customer experience o Physical environment e. g. Ambience, multisensory impact, space and function, signs and symbols o Human interaction e. g. Service consumption in the presence of staff and other customers o Personal characteristics e. g. Cultural differences o Trip-related factors e. g. Social and intellectual needs versus physiological needs

Blueprint for Overnight Hotel Stay

Snapshot: Welcoming the world at the London Olympics ‘‘…we can effect a cultural change in the perception of the warmth of the UK welcome, which currently lags far behind other countries’ o The People 1 st Training Company mandated • To train the 70, 000+ volunteers • Address bad publicity (e. g. 2011 riots) • Tradition of poor service (e. g. second-class occupation) o World Host™ provided ‘toolkit’ • Modules e. g. service across cultures • Workshops ‘beyond service with a smile’ • Holistic customer service delivery

Importance of emotions o Provides opportunity for differentiation o Consumption emotions have an impact on behavioral intentions (e. g. Word of mouth) o Consumers often highly emotional and intuitive in behaviors o Measures of consumer emotions • Consumption emotion scale • Perceived service fairness • Service personnel’s appearances, attitudes, and behaviors • Positive displays of emotions predict consumer emotions • Cognitive theory of emotions

Brand-infused causal loyalty model

Impact of rational and emotional motivation across regions

Impact of rational and emotional motivation on B 2 C and B 2 B

The Lovemark Grid

Understanding cross-cultural differences Human culture is generally defined as the meaning and information system shared by a group and transmitted across generations o Five dimensions of cultural variability Hofstede (2001) • Individualism Versus Collectivism • Power Distance • Uncertainty Avoidance • Masculinity • Long- Versus Short-Term Orientation o Cultural globalization, Western consumption and lifestyles o Important cross-cultural differences for customer service remain

Global trends in consumer behavior o Experiences • Services as stage, goods as props, to create memorable event o Ethical Products • Responsible tourism as a significant trend o Health-Consciousness • Influence of the baby boomers o Customization • Personalized vacations o Convenience and Speed o Service Quality • Differentiate services, products and build competitive advantage

Case Study: Bruce Poon Tip, G Adventures ‘‘…. I launched G Adventures with the belief that other travelers would share my desire to experience authentic adventures in a responsible and sustainable manner. ’ o 4 levels of service • ‘Basic’ - authentic, local • ‘Standard’ – in keeping with destination • ‘Comfort’ - upgraded • ‘Superior’ - topnotch o You Only Live Once program o Life-time deposits o Bear-an-Tee