BTEC Travel and Tourism - Unit 4 - Customer Service
P3
P3 asks learners to describe the skills required to meet the needs of customers in travel and tourism contexts.
Learners should cover communication skills, presentation, teamwork, business skills, selling skills and skills
needed to handle co...
btec travel and tourism unit 4 customer service p3 p3 asks learners to describe the skills required to meet the needs of customers in travel and tourism contexts learners should cover communica
It includes written and oral communication skills. Body language is more important than the
words we say to the customers. Face-to-face communication means communicating directly
with each other. People communicate face-to-face on buses, trains, flights, in travel agencies,
information offices and at tourist attractions, for example, when we buy tickets in the ticket
office. When we communicate, we should be aware of our tone of voice. We can read our
customers’ body language and get to know them by using face-to-face communication. Eye
contact is crucial, as a look can tell the customers everything. We should smile with our eyes
and we should not stare. Our eyes reflect what our mouths are doing. Smiling both with our
eyes and mouths will have a positive effect.
For communication on the telephone, we need effective listening
skills. It means we must not interrupt the speaker and we must
stay focused and listen to the customer. We must listen to the
tone of the voice and what the customer says. We cannot read the
body language and gestures on the telephone, so we need to
check if the customer understood us. Speaking clear is crucial If
we smile during making telephone calls, it is shown in the tone of
our voice and customers will have a positive first impression. For example, Dawson &
Sanderson’s employees speak clear and slowly and they smile while on the telephone. They
avoid jargons as well.
To build a rapport the welcome is important. These are some suggestions to create a warm
welcome:
The premise should be clean and organised
Display positive body language
Use positive tone of voice
Smile
Offer a seat
If the customer is a retail customer, ask him/her how he/she is
Create an environment with no background noise
We will always need to ask questions from colleagues and/or customers. There are four types
of questions: closed, open, reflective and leading. We should not use leading questions, as it
can affect negatively. Closed questions are used to clarify facts. For example: Do you need
travel insurance? These questions can be answered by yes or no. Open questions are the most
used questions and we should almost always use them. They cannot be answered by yes or
no. They are used to gather information. An example would be: where would you like to travel
to? Or how can I help you? We can check understanding by reflective questions, for example:
so you need car parking? We can develop a dialogue by using effective listening and
questioning skills. We can build a relationship with our customers by developing a dialogue.
We will know their requirements and needs by getting to know the customers. Body language
includes how we sit or stand, hold our hands, use eye contact, our gestures and our facial
expressions. It is really important to be aware of our body language. We can also recognise
the customers’ needs and feelings. Our written communication skills need to be excellent, as
we might have to write messages for colleagues, answer to customers’ e-mails and complete
enquiry forms. Our handwritten needs to be readable and clear. It needs to be spelled
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