Carefully read the case study below and complete the questions. Answers need to be as detailed as possible.
Chapter 1 The Lopesan Group, Gran Canaria, Spain (p. 16)
Here are my questions for all case studies:
1. What were the issues?
2. How could these issues have been avoided?
16 Customer Service for Hospitality and Tourism In the UK, according to the Institute of Customer Service (2017) customer satisfaction levels rank higher for the tourism industry than many other industry sectors including finance, public services, telecommunications, transport and utilities. P&O Cruises, Virgin Atlantic, Marriott, Center Parcs, booking.com and Premier Inn appear in the list of 50 highest scoring organizations in the country. However, the Institute suggests that although many organizations are performing better on some of the essential elements of customer service, it has become more challenging to convert improvements in customer service to tangible customer loyalty and advocacy. However, as mentioned earlier, KPMG (2015) have found that you are six times less likely to have a great customer experience in the UK than in the US, because US organizations are further along the customer service maturity curve, and are more likely to focus on inspiring and exciting customers. According to the same report, the 2016 'Customer Service Champions' in the US were USAA, Disney Parks, Publix, Amazon, Chik-fil-A, Costco, H-E-B, Wegmans, Southwest Airlines and Zappos. Customer service levels may be inconsistent in the West, but in Asia the tourism and hospitality sector is often commended for its high levels of service. In a 2011 customer satisfaction study in Singapore, the sector performed particularly well, with The Ritz-Carlton, Singapore Airlines, Swissotel The Stamford, Shangri-La and Grand Hyatt, taking the top five spots across all sectors. The Ritz-Carlton's director of sales and marketing, Andres Kohn said: 'Knowing our guests and their prefer- ences helps us to understand their needs, and in turn, we are able to anticipate their requests before they even ask for assistance' (Xuanwei and Chan, 2011). The satisfaction index, implemented by Singapore Management University, measures customer satisfaction across eight economic sectors and 102 organizations. Case Study: The Lopesan Group, Gran Canaria, Spain Everything is topnotch at Lopesan's Meloneras resort in Gran Canaria, a Spanish island off the northwest coast of Africa. Owner, Eustasio Lopez had a vision to create an upmarket enclave in the sandy south of the island, incorporating five-star hotels, beach, restau- rants, shopping malls, golf course, conference center and entertainment facilities. Since 2000 he has built several huge, high-class hotels in the resort and also taken over existing properties to revamp and reinvent. It is a huge undertaking but Lopez is unfazed by scale. His signature hotel, the four- star Costa Meloneras comprises 1250 rooms amidst opulent decor and lavish landscape ing featured prominently by Conde Nast magazine. It is the company's cash cow, with high occupancy almost year round. Gran Canaria hoteliers benefit from the mild winter weather - which attracts millions of European visitors every year - as well as a dependable summer season. The five-star, 570-room Villa del Conde is modeled after his home town of Aguimes and includes all the buildings that a typical Canary village would incorporateIntroduction to Customer Service as well as a gigantic, central cathedral which is actually the hotel reception. Many of the visitors to Gran Canaria are quintessential sun, sea and sand seekers and so Lopez has brought the culture of the island to the guests rather than have them go out and nd it. The African-themed Baobab Hotel in Gran Canaria His latest hotel, the African-themed Baobab cost 1 10,000,000 Euros to build, and exudes Africa with jungle foliage, rivers, bridges, thatched roofs, bamboo furniture, animal pelts and wood-posted balconies, emulating the architecture in rotunda-style villages. Lopez doesn't stop at architecture and interior design he wants to appeal to every sense and lls his hotels with smells and sounds appropriate to the ambiance. At the Baobab, guests are surrounded by jungle calls as they enter the reception area over a draw bridge. All the hotels have exotic scents pumped out via the air conditioning. One concrete way of previding better customer service is in the amenities of a hotel. As patrons enter any of the Lopesan resorts, they are immediately aware of the spaciousness. There has been much attention directed towards keeping a reasonable ratio of guests to available square footage both in the rooms and in the public areas. By the pools, there are far more sunbeds available than guests. With multiple interests to cater to from families, to honeymooners, to golfers, to seniors there are many different areas and pools in each resort. Each pool area is protected _ and effectively soundproofed - from the next by dense foliage and interestingly shaped landscaping. Naturally customer service is high on Lopez's list of priorities and the rst inkling of this is when waiters deliver cooled cocktails to anyone waiting to check in at reception. Accord- ing to Lopesan's quality control manager, Pablo Lorenzo, Lopez holds to the Spanish saying 'there's no second chance for a rst impression'. His aim is to make guests feel as if they have stepped into a different planet. 'The president wanted to promote a different 17 18 Customer Service for Hospitality and Tourism conception of Canary Island tourism in this area,'says Lorenzo.'| think his vision is a bit like Vegas, not for the casinos. but he would like a very big resort with thematic variety. hence the African and colonial themes: The Lopesan mandate is to give more value for money and attract a high-class segment of tourism to Gran Canaria. a destination which has habitually promoted cheap package deals since the 1 9605. Exceptional service doesn't stop at reception though. Once in their rooms, Lopesan guests nd televisions already tuned into the correct ia nguage channel for them. Later, if they order a particular drink on their room key card, the next day the waiters will already know thei r favorite tipple. 'This makes a customer feel special: explains Lorenzo, who says that innovative ideas come from both customer and staff feedback. if guests return more than three times, they are considered 'repeaters' and will be greeted in their rooms with complementary drinks and fruit. But how does he ensure consistently high standards of customer service with 3500 employees and 12,000 beds in his Canary Island properties? Lorenzo says the group invests a lot of money and time on training the staff, 50% of whom are on xed con- tracts and the remainder on seasonal, six month contracts. 'It is very important to keep high standards in training to keep a consistent top level of service across the whole hotel chain: he says They also offer higher wages than their competitors in order to attract the best employees. Staff are incentivized by career opportunities within the huge company which owns hotels in the Canary Islands, Germany and Punta Cana. 'We have a large human resources department with a section each for every department in each hotel. Each hotel is audited regularly and there are nancial bonuses for managers and second- tier managers: says Lorenzo. He compares his job to that of 'reman', putting out res in all the departments. He also has special personnel responsible for service recovery when problems arise. trained to calm customers and negotiate compensation within already decreed limits. So where does Lopesan get its high standards for service? First the business is family-run, employing both of Lopez's sons as well as his wife. who were all brought up on Gran Canaria. Also. son Francisco manager for golf, canferences. marketing and communi- cations studied in the US, bringing back many ideas and inuences from his years in Florida. With 40% of the customers designated 'repeatersi he is very aware of the need , to keep thinking of new things with which to wow guests. Son Roberto is operational manager, also responsible for supervising HR. The family keeps a tight rein on the archi- tecture. interior design. culture and ambiance of the hotels, retaining as much Canary Island heritage as possible. Lopez and his wife still live nearby in the south of Gran Canaria. Lopez hasn't nished building his dream resort yet. Right next to the Baobab Hotel there is a huge acreage of land - thoughtfully shielded from view by a dense thicket of banana trees where there are forward plans to build another shopping center. utilizing an underground area. with extravagant owers and trees above. All around Meloneras. Introduction to Customer Service 19 visitors see the Lopesan logo, a dynamic dolphin leaping out of the water - it is Lopez's symbol for leaping up a notch and it will be very interesting to see what he puts his progressive logo on next. 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