Service Quality in Tourism

TOPIC

Jl IKPN Bintaro No 1, Pesanggrahan, Tanah Kusir, Jakarta, Special Capital Region of Jakarta 12330, Indonesia

Walk-Through Audit

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A. Walk-Through Audit

What is walk-through audit?Delivery of a service should conform to customers’ expectations from the beginning to the end of the experience. Because the customer is a participant in the service process, his or her impressions of the service quality are influenced by many observations. An environmental audit can be a proactive management tool for the systematic evaluation of a customer’s view of the service provided. A walk-through audit (WtA) is a customer-focused survey to uncover areas for improvement.

Fitzsimmons and Maurer developed such a walk-through audit for full-service sitdown restaurants. The audit consisted of 42 questions spanning the restaurant dining experience. The questions begin with approaching the restaurant from the parking area, then walking into the restaurant and being greeted, waiting for the table, being seated, ordering and receiving food and drinks, and finally receiving the check and paying the bill. The questions include nine categories of variables: (1) maintenance items, (2) person-to-person service, (3) waiting, (4) table and place settings, (5) ambiance, (6) food presentation, (7) check presentation, (8) promotion and suggestive selling, and (9) tipping. WtA is focused on the details of the service delivery process in an effort to uncover actionable items for improvement.

The WtA is an opportunity to evaluate the service experience from a customer’s perspective, because customers often become aware of cues the employees and managers might overlook. There is no inherently superior service design. There are, instead, designs that are consistent and that provide a signal to customers about the service they can expect. Providing tangibility in a service invilves giving the customer verbal, environmental, and sensory cues that create a pleasant experience and encourage repeat visit.

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Now, we’re learning how to design a Walk-through Audit.

The first step in designing a WtA is the preparation of a flowchart of customer interactions with the service system. A WtA is constructed as a questionnaire. The questionnaire is divided into five major service delivery process sections (i.e., ticketing, information, experience, facilities, and satisfaction). Within each section a number of statements are made concerning observations that a customer would make (e.g., signs give clear information about exhibits’ locations). The statements must be phrased as declarative sentences rather than questions. A five-point Likert scale is used to gauge customer perceptions (i.e., 1=strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Other questions of interest to management are included such as: “Where did you hear about the event” to gauge the effectiveness of advertising. It is also useful to leave a final section for “comments” that may provide customer insights not anticipated in the questions asked. To avoid overwhelming the customer, the WtA should be limited to two pages printed back-to-back.The WtA can be administered in several ways (e.g., mail, telephone interview, in person) but the most effective methods is in person immediately following the service expectance. Rewarding the customer with a gift certificate or money off on a return visit has significantly increased participation. Survey design issues such as sample size and stratifying the sample to poll all customer segments should be considered.

Let’s read the table below to have better understanding about WtA.

Purpose Conduct a systematic assesment of the entire customer service experience from beginning to endFocus Measure customer perceptions of the effectivenes of each stage of the service delivery processProcess 1. Flowchart the service delivery process from the customer’s perspective.

2. Design, test, and administer questionnaire to a sample of customers, management personnel, and/or customers at benchmark organizations.

3. Summarize and analyze survey results with emphasis on low rating relative to benchmark firms and gaps between management and customers.

4. Determine deficiencies and implemet improvement.Features 1. Questionnaire is completed by customers during or immediately after receiving service.

2. A comprehensive audit of the customer’s total service experience of all five dimensions of the service package (i.e., supporting facility, facilitating goods, information, explicit service, implicit service).

3. Usually conducted by operations personnel.4. Emphasis is placed on the customer’s evaluation of each stage of the service delivery process

and his/her overall impression of the organization’s performance.

Finally, we will see The Design of WtA for Helsinki Museum of Art.(Sources: Prepared by Eivor Biese, lauren Dwyre, Mikes Koulianos, and Tina Hyvonen under the supervision of Professor James A. Fitzsimmons).Learn the PDF of questionnaire below:

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Hello, we are from the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration and we are conducting a survey to find out, what do people think about the service experience when visiting this museum. Please answer the following questions.

All information in this questionnaire is strictly confidential!1. Was it easy getting to the museum? Yes No

2. Are the museum’s opening hours acceptable? Yes No

3. Did you arrive alone or with others? Alone Others No.in party:.....

4. Where did you hear about this event: (check all that apply)

Newspaper: Internet: Magazine : Friends or relatives: Tourist/ City guide: Passing by: Radio: Other: (Specify):

5. Did you come here to see: Brooching it diplomacy: The Holy Cross: All exhibition: Wine-nectar of God: The permanent exhibition:

6. Which of the following facilities did you visit? Cafeteria: Gift shop: Restrooms:

ii7. How many hours did you spend in the museum?..............hours

13 Comments

The WtA can be a useful diagnostic instrument for management to evaluate the gaps in perception between customers and managers of the service delivery system. Customers visit a site less frequently than do managers and, thus, are more sensitive to subtle changes (e.g., peeling paint or worm rugs) than are managers who see the facility everyday and who are likely to overlook gradual deterioration of the supporting facility. The quality of customer service also can deteriorate and be less noticeable to employees as well as managers.

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To test this use of WtA, the same Helsinki museum of Art and Design audit that was given to customers was also given to the managers and employees. The responses for each item on the audit were averaged for the three groups.

Let’s see the PICTURE of diagnostic:Diagnostic 1: Ticketing and Information

Diagnostic 2: The Experience, Facilities, and Satisfaction

iiThis Picture of diagnostic highlights the gaps in the service perceptions among management, eployees, and customers. Some of the gaps are not surprising , such as: “There was enough information about the objects.” This is because the employees are quite familiar with the exhibita. Other gaps suggest some improvements are in order: for example “It was easy to get additional information from the staff” and “The staff helping you are friendly.” It is interesting to note where management and employee perception deviated, such as “The explanations provided on the objects were clear” and there is enough opportunity for intercation with the displayed objects.” In both cases, employees were more in agreement with the statements than customers were and management agreed least.

Based on the two diagnostic above, could you mention TWO OTHER GAPS in each diagnostic between the perceptions of customers, managers, and employees?

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