QCF Level 3
BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Travel & Tourism
UNIT 4 – Customer Service in Travel and Tourism
Assignment Sheet
Assignment
Customer Service in Travel and Tourism
Lecturer/Assessor
Denise Robinson
Internal Verifier
Adele Pearson
Distribution Date
w/c 06th December 2010
Final Completion
w/c 07th March 2011
Learning outcomes
On completion of this unit you should:
1)
Understand the importance of providing excellent customer service in
travel and tourism organisations
2)
Know how travel and tourism organisations adapt customer service to
meet the needs of individual customers
3)
Know the customer service skills required to meet customer needs in
travel and tourism contexts
4)
Be able to apply customer service and selling skills in travel and
tourism situations
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Introduction:
The aim of this unit is for you to gain understanding of how excellent customer
service contributes to the success of travel and tourism organisations. You will
develop the knowledge and skills to provide customer service and achieve
sales in travel and tourism situations.
Scenario: Your new posting within your travel agency of Customer Service
manager means you are responsible for maintaining the standard of customer
service. You are asked by your area manager to ensure the staff within your
company are trained to the highest standard. You will therefore be responsible
for organising the training of the staff so your agency can maintain competitive
advantage. You will need to complete a number of tasks to organise the
training needed.
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Assignment 1: Hand in: w/c 17th January 2011
Scenario: You will visit two travel and tourism organisations these will be
discussed with your manager. Then you will produce a report or a
presentation that will explain to the staff the importance of excellent customer
service to a travel and tourism organisation, customer and employees.
A) Explain the importance of providing excellent customer service in
travel and tourism organisations.
This will provide evidence for the P1 criteria
B) Describe customer service provision in travel and tourism
organisations to meet the individual needs of different types of
customer
This will provide evidence for the P2 criteria
C) Assess how customer service provision meets specific customer
needs in travel and tourism organisations
This will provide evidence for the M1 criteria
D) Make recommendations how a travel and tourism organisation can
improve the customer service provision to meet specific customer
needs
This will provide evidence for the D1 criteria
Information for Assignment 1 A, B, C, D:
Customer Service: first impressions; company image e.g. logo, premises,
organisational efficiency; speed and accuracy of service; products and
services offered; consistency; meeting customer needs; offering information
and advice; dealing with complaints; dealing with problems; meeting and
exceeding customer expectations
Importance to the organisation: keeping existing customers satisfied;
increasing customers’ loyalty; ensuring repeat business; enhancing an
organisation’s image; providing and edge over the competition; increasing
sales and usage by attracting new customers; the consequences of poor
customer service for the customer, the staff and the organisation
Importance to the customer: meeting individual needs; exceeding
customers’ expectations; safe and secure environment for internal and
external customers
Importance to the employee: a happier working environment; job
satisfaction; job security; higher-self esteem; possibility of promotion
Different types of customer: individuals, eg leisure; business; groups
Individual needs: products and services; stated; unstated; special needs eg
medical conditions, mobility, customers with cultural and language needs;
other needs eg relating to age, gender, socio-economic group, family
circumstances
Functional Skills: ICT and English
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Assignment 2: Hand in: w/c 08th March 2011
Scenario: Your manager wants you to develop a customer service manual
to give to staff, which describes the customer service skills required in the
travel and tourism industry.
A) Describe the customer service skills required to meet customer needs
in travel and tourism contexts.
This will provide evidence for the P3 criteria
You are now asked to demonstrate these skills through a number of roleplays:
B) ) Demonstrate customer service skills in travel and tourism situations
This will provide evidence for the P4 criteria
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
Replying to a letter of complaint - written
Offering advice and information by telephone - verbal
Dealing with a customers problem at the airport – face to face
C) Deal independently with customers in travel and tourism situations
This will provide evidence for the M2 criteria
D) Demonstrate selling skills in a travel and tourism situation
This will provide evidence for the P5 criteria
Finally you are required to participate in a selling role-play that will
demonstrate that you can:
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Building a rapport
Establishing customer needs and expectations
Showing product knowledge
Features and benefits
Overcoming objections
Closing the sale
Complete documentation
E) Demonstrate effective selling skills in a travel and tourism situation
This will provide evidence for the M3 criteria
F) Demonstrate good product knowledge, customer service and selling
skills to provide a consistently high standard of customer service in
different situations.
This will provide evidence for the D2 criteria
Functional Skills: English speaking and writing
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Information for Assignment 2A:
Communication skills: face to face; telephone eg call centre; building a rapport;
effective listening; questioning; developing a dialogue; non-verbal communication
eg body language; eye contact; written communication
Presentation: of self eg hygiene, dress, personality, appearance; of working
environment.
Teamwork: eg motivation, team roles, delegation of tasks, lines of authority;
benefits of teamwork to colleagues, customers and the organisation
Business skills: completion of documentation eg tickets, forms; use of IT eg email,
computerised reservation system (CRS), internet; business standards eg accuracy,
legibility, business conventions
Complaint handling: listening; questioning; empathising; understanding the
problem; taking control of the situation; agreeing solutions; follow up
Selling skills: building a rapport; establishing customer needs and expectations;
product knowledge; features and benefits; overcoming objections; closing the sale
Information Assignment 2 B, C, D, E, F
Customer Service: providing information and advice; providing assistance; dealing
with complaints; dealing with problems eg overbooking, lost property; making sales;
after sales advice; product knowledge
Situations: verbal (face-face, telephone); non-verbal (written, electronic); holiday
sales eg accommodation reservations, flight bookings, ticket sales, excursion sales;
requests for information eg flight and journey details; requests for advice eg visa
and health requirements; complex requests eg airport assistance, priority seating
and flight upgrade; complaints eg flight delays, poor quality accommodation
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Useful Resources
Textbooks

Dale G — BTEC National Travel and Tourism: Student Book 1, (Pearson
2010) ISBN 9781846907272

James E, Thirlaway J and Woodhouse U – BTEC National in Travel and
Tourism
Websites:
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www.thomascook.co.uk
www.tui.co.uk
www.thistlehotels.co.uk
www.haystravel.co.uk
www.yorkdungeons.co.uk
www.nrm.gov
You could check the websites for local travel and tourism
businesses:
Museums
Art Galleries
Hotels
Resturants
Transport companies
Travel agents
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Plagiarism
Your tutor requires you to work by yourself and to produce original work. You
should not share work with other learners. You are required to sign that work
submitted is your own. Information taken from sources for research e.g.
Internet and textbooks must be identified and NOT presented as your own
work. You should list the sources used.
You are not allowed to copy from textbooks, websites, handouts etc you may
use them to help you understand your work. Any of this reference material
must be referred to and sourced in your work.
If any student is found to have copied work from another student, with or
without their permission, both students will fail that piece of work and will risk
failing the course. Both students will have to rewrite and submit the piece of
work in question.
We operate a zero tolerance policy on the above issue and if anyone is
suspected or found guilty they will be dealt with severely.
Assignment
You must abide by the following for the completion of your tasks:
Font: Arial size 12/14
Complete with front cover, which includes your name, college name, course
title and unit number, subject tutor name
Contents
Bibliography
You must present your completed assignment in a professional manner.
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Functional Skills Opportunities
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Definitions of Key Words used in Assignment Tasks
Identify
Describe
To select and list appropriate items from
information that you have been given or
collected
To paint a picture in words
Interpret
To define the meaning of
Demonstrate
To use or show a particular skill in a practical
situation
To give reason and /or the procedure for the’
how ‘of a situation. You would normally
introduce the topic and then provide details
showing depth and breadth of knowledge and
skills.
For example: the invention of the motorcar
increased travel in the UK because it made it
easier for people to get about.
To examine a topic from all angles
Explain
Investigate/Explore
Discuss
Compare
Contrast
Summarise
Analyse
Justify
Evaluate
Critically Evaluate
To put forward both sides of an argument
either through group discussion or in writing
To show the similarities and differences, or
advantages and disadvantages between two or
more items/procedures/situations. This may
also be actioned by bringing together the
findings in a description.
Show the differences between two or more
items/procedures/situations
To bring together all the main points of the
topic
To examine closely and break into
components that enable results to be
interpreted and findings presented
Clarify your point of view/opinion with reasons
that explain how you arrived at this point of
view/opinion
To carry out a review of the information and
bring it together to form a conclusion
As for evaluate, but including precise and
detailed information, looking at alternatives
and their strengths and weaknesses if they
were applied
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