The holidays are almost upon us and up and down the country B&Bs, visitor attractions, beach-side cafes, campsites and luxury golf resorts are gearing up for what they hope will be a long, hot summer of fun.
Tourism across the UK is worth £106 billion and supports 2.6 million jobs, many of which are customer service roles, dealing directly with the public.
If you work in this sector, give yourself a big pat on the back because according to the latest figures you’re doing a mighty fine job.
The UK Customer Satisfaction Index has revealed that tourism generates fewer problems for customers than any other sector in the UK.
Just 9% of customers had a problem in the three months to January 2017, compared to a national average of 13.1%.
And the reason? It turns out customer service staff who work in tourism are ultra-helpful. Yes, they really do go the extra mile.
Of course, it takes more than a smile and a cheerful word to ensure that visitors and guests will return. Organisation, co-ordination and high levels of training are all essential.
But sometimes it really is a friendly face that proves to be the icing on the cake – the gamechanger that makes holidaymakers feel they really are welcome.
Now for the really good news. Did you know working your facial muscles into a big smile, even when you don’t feel like it, not only works on guests but will make you feel good too?
When we smile we rewire our brains for happiness, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s fake or genuine – the effect on our mood will be the same.
And here’s the magic bit. Smile frequently and those around you will smile back – that way the effect is multiplied. You create waves of happiness that boost everyone’s mood and create excellent customer satisfaction.
So next time you find yourself faced with a queue of customers demanding 99s when the ice cream freezer has gone on the blink, or rain has stopped play and you have to play host to coach load of grumbling golfers, soothe their woes with a great big grin.
In customer service terms this is called taking charge of the emotional temperature. We like to call it being the boss of ‘having a good time’.
There are lots you can do to set the emotional thermostat for customers but it all starts with a smile.
Now raise your happiness levels even higher by finding all the latest Customer Service vacancies with s1jobs.