Summary
This study examines the customer service of front line core service personnel in entrepreneurial businesses service businesses that serve the tourist markets in four countries. We assess the influence that seasonality might have on the utility of a selection inventory for predicting levels of customer service. Subjects included 309 core employees servicing the tourist industries in San Francisco, United States; 257 in Vienna, Austria; 250 in Zurich, Switzerland; and 255 in London, United Kingdom. Subjects were surveyed and assessed along dimensions of customer service orientation by trained assessors while serving customers. Response rates exceeded 90 percent as the business owners saw the study as an opportunity to understand how to earn greater revenues from their businesses. The mean service orientation ratings ranged from 3.53 in Austria to 3.62 in Switzerland during off-season or the non-peak tourist time and from 3.92 in Austria to 3.99 in the United Kingdom during the peak tourist season. Results support the use of a biodata inventory as a cost-effective means for small businesses to develop and retain competitive advantage relative to their larger rivals.
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Extract
Customer Service During Peak (in Season) and Non-Peak (Off Season) Times: A Multi-Country (Austria, Switzerland, Uk &Amp; Usa) Examination of Entrepreneurial Tourist Focused Core Personnel
INTRODUCTION
Changes in marketing in recent years have affected small and large businesses alike (Garg & Chan, 1997). Many small firms have discovered that an emphasis on service orientation is more important today than ever before. Because customers have become more selective and conservative in their buying habits and larger companies are more forceful in attaining target markets, small businesses often focus on meeting customer needs effectively in order to retain their loyalty (Oh, 2000; Skogland & Siguaw, 2004). Attention to personal service can provide competitive advantage vis-à-vis larger, less personal competitors. In some respects, the small business manager or owner can no longer think of service as one aspect of the business but rather as the reason for its existence (Mill, 1986; Potter, 1988).An organization's success depends on effective customer relations, a role played predominantly by its customer service employees. As such, firms often attempt to shape their images with customers by managing the types of behaviors employees display (Froehle & Roth, 2004; Hipkin, 2000). This is especially important in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) where nearly all employees have contact with customers on a daily basis (O' Gorman & Doran, 1999; Parnell, Carraher, & Odom, 2000; Zinger, LeBrasseur, & Zanibbi, 2001). Research suggests that firms emphasizing customer service report higher...See the full content of this document
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