Customer Service in Leisure and Recreation Essay Example for Free

Customer Service in Leisure and Recreation Essay The Importance of Customer Service Increased sales are one of the key ways to tell how well the company is doing. Excellent customer service means customers will buy more and recommend more products and services other people, which will add to the increase in sales. While sales are very important to leisure and recreation organisations, another way to measure the success is in terms of customer numbers, which is particularly true for non-profit making organisations. Customer service plays a major role in attracting new customers and the main source of this is the powerful influence of word of mouth. Existing customers who are impressed by the customer service at an organisation will tell other people about it. This means that an organisation keeps its existing customers as well as gaining new ones. An effective customer service policy is that customers will view the organisation in a positive way. This means the image of the organisation will be enhanced by the standard of customer service. Having a good public image is very important for: * Attracting new customers * Retaining existing customers * Reinforcing customer satisfaction * Securing repeat business * Gaining an edge over the competition An organisations public image is the mental picture that we have of the organisation. This can be based on our own experience, what others have told us about it or on what the organisation itself has told us about via its marketing activities such as advertising and public relations. Read more:Â  Recreational Activity Example Television programmes such as Watchdog also help us for an image in our heads, especially when they start reporting viewers complaints. This could have a very bad effect on the organisation. Good customer service can also enhance the image of an organisations individual products or services. For example, customers may have a positive image of a sports centre, but also have a positive image of the individual products and services such as the reservations system and changing facilities. Good customer service gives an organisation a competitive advantage. If you sell a similar product or service, you gain an edge by offering a better quality service and this gives a greater chance of attracting customers. A pleasant working environment is another benefit of good customer service. If customers receive good customer service, they will respond in a friendly and appreciative manner. Customer satisfaction is extremely important in a business and this means the organisation must meet the needs and expectations of the customers. Customer loyalty is very important in a business and good customer service helps reinforce customers loyalty to the organisation with every visit they make. If customers are loyal, they are likely to return and these people are known as repeat customers. This means the customers of the past become the customers of the future. If an organisation has poor customer service, they will suffer from: * Decreased sales * Fewer customers * A poor public image * An absence of competitive edge * An unhappy and less efficient workforce * Dissatisfied customers * Lack of customer loyalty and repeat business Personal Presentation The first impression the customer gets of personal presentation is very important as it is one they will never forget. It directly influences customers satisfaction and the image they have of the organisation. Personal presentation includes appearance, personal hygiene, personality and attitude. Appearance covers everything from clothes and footwear, to hair, make-up and jewellery. The reasons for providing staff with a uniform are: * It helps create a positive first impression * Staff are recognised instantly as working for a specific organisation * It is easy to identify a member of staff when a customer needs advice or assistance * It can indicate the department in which a member of staff works * It helps to create a professional corporate image A lot of organisations now provide their employees with a uniform. Organisations rely on their employees judgement for deciding what is and is not acceptable in terms of appearance. Some organisations set ground rules and to a large extent, this reflects the nature of the organisation and the type of customer it serves. For example, a five star hotel will be very strict with the dress code of the employees who work at the front-of-house. They will be required to wear a uniform and it may also include rules on footwear, hairstyling and make-up. The most important point is to make sure that dress and general appearance suit the job, the organisation and the customers expectations. On the other hand, the organisation should make sure that the uniform is comfortable, easy to maintain and look appropriate for staff of all builds. Anyone serving customers should have excellent standards of personal hygiene. Different types of organisations will have different standards of personal hygiene, for example, anyone who works in the food industry will be expected to wash their hands at least a dozen times a day. First impressions also come from the employees own personality. Again, different jobs require different personalities. A childrens sport coach will require a different personality to a personal fitness instructor because they are working with different types of people. From the personality of the employee, people can tell a lot about the organisation itself. The employees attitude towards the customer is critical. The customers feel that they want as much attention as possible when they go into a workplace and if an employees attitude is poor, they may feel neglected and not wanted. Types of Customers Customers have different needs depending on who they are and the circumstances. There is a difference between internal and external customers. Internal customers are members of staff or outside suppliers who contribute towards the service provided for the external customers. External customers are the people who actually buy or use the organisations products and services. External customers are then categorised into individual, group, age, culture, language spoken and specific needs. Many leisure and recreation providers serve groups and the individuals who compromise them in ways that enhance and promote customer service. Customer age groups are classified as children and adults. Although the companies feel the age of the customers is important, they also feel it is important not to make assumptions about customers needs based solely on age. Cultural background influences peoples traditions, tastes, preferences and opinions and it will therefore influence the type of service they need and expect. It is also important not to make assumptions on the culture of the customer. Foreign visitors are an increasingly important part of the UK tourism market. People still want to feel that they can be dealt with even though there is a language barrier. Large organisations often employ multi-lingual staff to communicate with non-English speaking customers. Some customers have specific needs that may require special customer service in addition to that provided to meet the general needs of everybody. These include sensory disabilities, mobility problems, literacy, dietary requirements and people with young children. Dealing with Customers Almost everyone working in the leisure and recreation industry has to deal with customers, whether be face-to-face, on the phone or in writing. Face-to-face communication has many advantages but only the staff use it well. For example, your presentation can help create a positive image. You can also use facial expressions and gestures to help communicate more effectively. Telephone communication is used in most leisure centres and it provides an essential part of customer service. Some organisations even use the telephone as the main method of dealing with the customers. For some organisations, written communication is the main way of keeping in touch with customers. Menus, tariffs or price lists and letters are all forms of written communication, along with bills, advertisements, notice boards, tickets, e-mails and timetables. Non-verbal communication comprises all forms of communication that are spoken or written down. 80% of communication is non-verbal, so it is clearly very important in customer service. Body language is the main form of non-verbal communication and people can tell how interested the staff are just by looking at them. Selling Skills Selling skills are an important part of customer service. Every time somebody asks for help, advice or information, it is probably a selling situation. As a member of staff, you should be helping customers a lot and to be able to do this effectively, you should have good knowledge of the products and services you are trying to sell. Customers can only buy products and services from an organisation if they know they exist, therefore raising customer awareness is a key part of selling skills Establishing rapport with the customer means encouraging a conservation in which the staff and the customer are both communicating on the same level. Within this category, you must also make the customer feel they have your undivided attention without being too over the top. The easiest way for staff to identify the customers needs is to ask if they need any help. From the reply, the staff will be able to decide what further questions to ask to identify the customers specific needs. Presenting the product or service to the customer in an appropriate way is important. For example, is someone wants to buy something but cannot afford it, then the staff should suggest something of a similar range but at a less expensive price. Closing the sale means actually getting the customer to buy the product or service you are offering. Some people may wish to go away and think about the offer that has just been made and in this case, it is probably a good idea to reserve the product or service. Taking a customers payment is also included in closing a sale. This should be done cheerfully, politely, friendly and gratefully to make the customer feel that they have made the correct choice by buying this product or service from this store or centre. Customer service does not end when the customer hands over their money. This is known as after-sales service and sometimes this will be immediate such as asking the customer of they have enjoyed their visit. Sometimes, if people subscribe to a gym for a year, they may need help in using the service after a couple of months. This is where after-sale service comes in useful. A technique known as AIDA is used in the design of advertising and promotional material and when considering effective selling skills. A stands for attention, I stands for interest, D stands for desire and A stands for action. If you use this technique, it will result in the customer desiring the product and therefore taking action by buying it.

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Abe Lincoln was Americas 16th president. He had served from 1861-1865 he had a vice president his name was Hannibal Hamlin. He had supported the Republican Party. Which means he believed each person is responsible for his/her own rights in society. Abe was 52 at the start of his presidency. Abe had little to no knowledge of anything, but he had a very strong interest in books this is where he obtained most of his knowledge. So you could say that Abe was a self-taught man. When Abe was a kid he had a variety of jobs such as: a shopkeeper, a surveyor and postmaster. For a while he even chopped wood. After that he had started his place in the government. He won a seat in the Illinois legislature when he was 25. Abe served in Illinois for several terms when he had served in Illinois he had started to study to became a lawyer. He had ended up running for U.S congress. He eventually ended up winning the seat. Abe served as a congressman for one term. A term is approximately 2 years. He tried to run for senate. Abe did not win. When he did run though his concern for slavery caught some people’s attention. In 1860 Abe ran for president. He was fairly new in the Republican Party which back then had a meaning that the northern states didn’t allow any states to succeed from the US. Or in other words leave the country and form there own. They were also against slavery. Abe was inaugurated in 1861which means he became president. The southern states did not want Abe to be president. Abe didn’t want slavery so all the southern states were getting mad because slaves could go to the north and be free. Before Abe officially became president the southern states began to succeed. The first to leave was South Carolina. Soon 6 more would leave ... ...d been bumped to General-in-chief of the whole union army. Grant led the union army against Robert E. Lee in Virginia. The both of them battled for over a year with grant winning over Lee in Virginia ion April 9th 1865 Grant offered some generouse terms for the confederate army so that they did completely destroy the south and there army. When Grant took office his popularity becamne more thatn ever before but when he tried to rin for his third term he was accused that his whole presidency was a scandal. Many of the people in his administration had stolen from the gaverment. After he didn’t win his third term he decied he should travel the world and meet all the countries leaders. Upon returning he tried to run for offcice again but was unsuccessful. So he started to write an auto biography. He later had died of throat cancer due to smoking cigars his whole life.

Stalin did more harm than good to Russia

The role of Joseph Stalin in the history of post-revolutionary Russia is remarkable as well as the history of the USSR itself. Stalin is associated with great purges, repressions, victory over the bloodiest regime in the WWII, mass deportations and the executions. Stalin’s name is also associated with the huge industrial raise of the USSR at the pre-WWII period, forcible collectivization of peasants and relocation of hundreds of thousands of people. He is also responsible for the bloodiest repression system known as Gulag and suppression of any manifestations of oppositions.The roots of â€Å"the red terror† in Russia go back to the attempt of assassination of Lenin in 1918. The thesis of â€Å"class struggle† became the dominating one and the ideology of the newly established state was programmed for the violence. This thesis correlated with the general course of the Bolshevik’s propaganda of the â€Å"global revolution† and establishing the Commun ist rule globally as the final aim. Joseph Stalin, a student of the Orthodox seminary in Georgia was grasped with the ideas of Karl Marx and joined the students in their protests against tsar.Stalin joined the radical organizations attempting to protest against authorities, was arrested by police and exiled to Siberia. Stalin escaped in Siberia several times, made friends with Lenin and became growing in the hierarchy of the Communist Party. After the revolution of 1917 he took the leading posts in the Communist Party. He took on the roles of political commissar for the Red Army during the civil war, and was the editor of Pravda translated as â€Å"truth,† In these capacities, Stalin was able to become a powerful figure within the party, but he did make enemies.One of them was another key revolutionary figure, a man named Leon Trotsky. By 1922, Stalin was powerful enough to take on the role of General Secretary of the Communist Party. 1 After the end of the Civil War the Bols heviks started to re-evaluate the political course. There were several groups advocating various ways of the future development. Before his death in 1924 Lenin warned his colleagues on the rudeness of Stalin and Stalin opponents tried to get the chance to back him from the power.Stalin presented an argument that Lenin before his death was sick and all his warnings should not have been taken seriously. Ideologically Stalin in contrast to Trotsky advocated an idea of building the socialism in the particular taken country. It contradicted the idea of the global proletarian revolution supported by Trotsky and his followers. Before his death Lenin introduced NEP, the new economic policy based on the partial liberalization of economy, turning it partially to the private sector. This measure was considered to be temporal and brought certain results.Before the revolution Russia was one of the main exporters of grain. After getting power Stalin took certain steps to renew the image of Russia as the main grain exporter. The former economic relations had been destroyed and the new ones were not built. The first wave of repression known as collectivization began. Peasants were forced to enter the collective farms, more or less well-to-do peasants were exiled and their property was confiscated. The military units collected the harvest by force and sent the products to cities.The repression machine started working and people were prosecuted and sent to prison even for to gleaning. One of the most striking phenomena of the 30’s Soviet Union was famine which burst out even in the rural regions of Ukraine famous for its fertile soil. The agricultural products were forcibly collected and sent to the cities. Of course, Stalin was responsible for this. Meanwhile the inner ideological struggle between the Communist Party leaders was going on. Stalin tried to eliminate any influence of the exiled Trotsky.The advocates of the Stalin’s rule stated that the situation of the USSR was difficult, it was surrounded by the countries with the hostile according to Lenin ideologies and the country needed the strong leader to renew the industry and provide the economic growth. Having nothing but the repressive machine Stalin started the great renewal of the industry. The huge repressive machine started its operations in 1936 after the assassination of Kirov in 1934. Huge formation described by Alexander Solzhenitsyn as â€Å"Archipelago Gulag† was established.GULAG is the abbreviation from Russian of Main Department of Prisons. NKVD (secret police) tried to unmask imaginary anti-Stalin conspiracies throughout the country. One of the most tragic consequences of the Stalin’s repression was the elimination of the Soviet military elite before the WWII. Almost all outstanding military leaders were repressed and executed. At the same time all remarkable pre-WWII industrial achievements were associated with Stalin and mass repressions. Article 58 of the criminal code presupposed severe repressions for being â€Å"the people’s enemy†.The interpretation of the code was very broad. The representatives of intelligentsia, science, and army were imprisoned according to this article. This article could be applied to anyone and condemned had to work hard building the hydropower stations, plants, roads and channels. The cheap labor of Gulag was the main reason of the industrial achievements of the 30’s. At the same time the cult of the Stalin’s personality was steadily growing. A number of songs, poems and films were devoted to â€Å"the Father of Peoples†.The adoration was reaching absurd forms very often and it was nothing more but fear to be repressed moved the Stalin’s admirers. This is one of the examples of widely used odes to Stalin: O great Stalin, O leader of the peoples, Thou who broughtest man to birth. Thou who fructifies the earth, Thou who restorest to centuries, Thou who makest bl oom the spring, Thou who makest vibrate the musical chords†¦ Thou, splendour of my spring, O thou, Sun reflected by millions of hearts. 2 The USSR was completely unprepared to the WWII known as the Great Patriotic War in the history of the Soviet Union.It is very complicated issue to discuss the reasons of the war but the role of Stalin was remarkable. By 1941 when German fascists attacked the USSR the personality cult of Stalin was successfully formed and played its certain (though questionable) role in the consolidation of the nation. The political biography of Stalin is a remarkable phenomenon. Millions of people were executed and the bloodiest human hating fascist regime was eliminated. He turned the theory of socialism upside down; he replaced the original thesis â€Å"socialism for people† by his own â€Å"people for socialism†.His saying â€Å"there is no problems if there is no a person† reflects his style of leadership. Outstanding scientists were intentionally imprisoned to work in the secret closed scientific institutes developing the mass destruction weapon. Stalin played his certain positive role in the WWII, but the causes and consequences of the war have not been yet still clearly defined. The victory over Nazism is sometimes presented as the Stalin’s personal achievement and historians sometimes don’t care about the 200 million people and brilliant military leaders who directed Soviet soldiers.The historical evaluation is very difficult thing and the responsibility of Stalin for genocide against the Soviet people is unquestionable. At the same time the dictators are not just villains. This would be a very simplified approach. Soviet people under the guidance of Stalin built one of the world’s most powerful economies though it cost millions of innocent victims. The Soviet leader of the 60’s Nikita Khrushev admitted and unmasked the cult of personality of Stalin but system changes took place o nly in late 80’s under the guidance of Gorbachev

Basking Shark Facts (Cetorhinus maximus)

The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is an enormous plankton-eating shark. After the whale shark, it is the second-largest living shark. The shark takes its common name from its habit of feeding near the sea surface, making it appear to bask in the sun. Although its large size may seem threatening, the basking shark is not aggressive toward humans. Fast Facts: Basking Shark Scientific Name: Cetorhinus maximusOther Names: Bone shark, elephant sharkDistinguishing Features: Large gray-brown shark with highly enlarged mouth and crescent-shaped caudal finAverage Size: 6 to 8 m (20 to 26 ft)Diet: Filter feeder with a diet of zooplankton, tiny fish, and small invertebrates Lifespan: 50 years (estimated)Habitat: Temperate oceans worldwideConservation Status: VulnerableKingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: ChondrichthyesOrder: LamniformersFamily: CetorhinidaeFun Fact: Despite its enormous size, the basking shark can breach (jump out of the water). Description Thanks to their cavernous mouths and well-developed gill rakers, basking sharks are easily recognized when near the surface. The shark has a conical snout, gill slits extending around its head, and a crescent-shaped caudal fin. Its color is usually a shade of gray or brown. Adult basking sharks typically reach 6 to 8 m (20 to 26 ft) in length, although specimens over 12 meters in length have been reported. Notably, the basking shark has the smallest brain for its size of any shark. Basking shark corpses have been misidentified as belonging to plesiosaurs. Distribution As a migratory species found in temperate water, the basking shark enjoys a large range. It occurs along continental shelves, sometimes venturing into brackish bays and crossing equatorial waters. Migration follows plankton concentrations, which vary according to the season. Basking sharks frequent surface waters, but can be found at depths of 910 m (2990 ft). Basking shark range. maplab Diet and Predators A basking shark feeds on zooplankton, tiny fish, and small invertebrates by swimming forward with an open mouth. The sharks gill rakers collect prey as water rushes past. While the whale shark and megamouth shark can suck water through their gills, the basking shark can only feed by swimming forward. Killer whales and white sharks are the basking sharks only predators. Reproduction and Life Cycle Many of the details of basking shark reproduction are unknown. Researchers believe mating occurs in early summer, when the sharks form sex-segregated schools and swim nose-to-tail in circles (which may be a courtship behavior). Gestation lasts somewhere between one and three years, after which a small number of fully developed young are born. Female basking sharks are ovoviviparous. Only the right ovary of the female basking shark functions, although researchers have not yet discovered why. Basking shark teeth are small and useless in adults sharks. However, they may allow young to feed on the mothers unfertilized ova prior to birth. Basking sharks are thought to reach maturity between the ages of six and thirteen. Their life expectancy is predicted to be about 50 years. Basking Sharks and Humans In the past, the basking shark held commercial importance. It was widely fished for its flesh for food, liver for squalene-rich oil, and hide for leather. Presently, the species is protected in many regions. However, it is still fished in Norway, China, Canada, and Japan for its fins for shark fin soup and its cartilage for an aphrodisiac as well as traditional medicine. Within protected areas, some specimens die as bycatch. Basking sharks are not aggressive and cannot eat people. JohnGollop / Getty Images The basking shark tolerates boats and divers, so it is important for ecotourism. The species is not aggressive, but injuries have been reported when divers brushed against the sharks highly abrasive skin. Conservation Status While the basking shark does not face habitat loss or degradation, it has not recovered from past persecution and over-fishing. Its numbers continue to decline. The basking shark is categorized as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Sources Compagno, L.J.V. (1984). Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species to date. Part I (Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes). FAO Fisheries Synopsis, FAO, Rome.Fowler, S.L.  (2009).  Cetorhinus maximus.  The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. e.T4292A10763893.  doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2005.RLTS.T4292A10763893.enKuban, Glen (May 1997). Sea-monster or Shark?: An Analysis of a Supposed Plesiosaur Carcass Netted in 1977. Reports of the National Center for Science Education. 17 (3): 16–28.Sims, D.W.; Southall, E.J.; Richardson, A.J.; Reid, P.C.; Metcalfe, J.D. (2003). Seasonal movements and behaviour of basking sharks from archival tagging: no evidence of winter hibernation (PDF). Marine Ecology Progress Series. 248: 187–196. doi:10.3354/meps248187Sims, D.W. (2008). Sieving a living: A review of the biology, ecology and conservation status of the plankton-feeding basking shark Cetorhinus maximus. Advances in Marine Biology. 54: 171–220.