V. EXTRADICIÓN PASIVA
V.1. FASE GUBERNATIVA (I)
Customer Importance 5 4 5 4 3 4 4 5 4 4 4 3 5 4 3 4
The third QFD focus group meeting in the principal implementation began with the design of a House of Quality matrix. As shown in Figure 4. 1 2, the relationships between each customer requirement and the operational requirements were determined after
careful discussions among the focus group members. For example, there was a strong relationship between the customer requirement for "plenty of seating in the concert" and the operational requirements of the "facilities in the coach, seating and stage" and "quality and range of equipment", but a moderate relationship with "control of village capacity". The customers required "easy and quick payment procedure" which is strongly related to the operational requirements of "queue management during payment process" and "control of village capacity" and moderately related to "staff training" in tenns of customer service. Customers need to "know where they are and feel comfortable during the tour" which is strongly related to the "guide service and transport to accommodations", but moderately related to the other operational requirements such as "allocation of village activities" and "facilities in the coach,
seating and stage".
The "roof' of the House of Quality indicates the interrelationships between some of the operational requirements. The focus group agreed that the "promotion of the retail shops" would support the improvement of "allocation of village activities" and "pricing policy" for the whole village experience. There is a positive relation between "preparation of commentary" and "interaction and consistency of performance" of tour guides and concert perfonners, and "staff training". The only negative relationship existing between the operational requirements are "quality and range of equipment" and "pricing policy" for the tour package. The updating of village equipment was considered to be a financial challenge in the short tenn. Therefore, a compromise has to be made in terms of what equipment should be purchased based on the current budget levels.
After calculating the values in each cell of the relationship and interrelationship rooms, the absolute value for each of operational requirements was generated on the bottom of the House of Quality (see Figure 4 . 1 2). The results show the prioritised areas of quality improvement according to the summary of the absolute value of importance. The operational elements that are in need of improvement are discussed and analysed below:
1 ). Guide services and transport to accommodations (1 08)
In Tamaki Tours, bus drivers are also the tour guides. They accompany the customers for three hours, from picking up in the tourist accommodations, providing introductions
and entertainment on the bus, guiding activities in the village through to returning the customers back to their pick-up point at the end of the show. Tour guides are the front line staff who provide the "moment of truth" for tourists, and can make or break their satisfaction with their tour experience. The production of a quality service for tourists is essential to the success of the tourism industry and to the reputation and image of the destination. A tourist not only views the local sights from a coach, but also interprets the sights through the guide's commentary. Ryan and Dewar (1 995) claimed that tour guides' communication with tour groups can increase both group morale and social interaction. It has been suggested that tour guides are responsible for tourist satisfaction with the service provided by destinations (Zhang & Chow, 2004). In the QFD focus group, the staff identified the issues with the guiding service during the village tour. For example, some customers were wandering around the village without following the other tourists, others would not know what was next after being to the Maori concert. Clear and constant directions given by the drivers are considered critical for the satisfactory experience of the tourists and the smooth running of the village activities.
2). Staff training (96)
Implementing procedures for the induction and training of all new employees and training and appraisal programmes for all staff were recognised as being paramount b y
the focus group. Staff training and multi-skilling are required i n this Maori tourist attraction. Multi-skilled staff can be shifted to meet capacity changes. Everyone employed in Tamaki Tours is seen as a representative of the living Maori culture. The training and development initiatives on the skills needed for quality customer service are seen as leading to an increase in staff morale, which has an incremental effect on customer satisfaction. Staff training in Tamaki Tours has been recognised as an ongoing programme and it was related to all the departments.
3). Control of village capacity (93)
Due to the increasing popularity of the Maori tourist attraction, the company received large numbers of bookings especially during the summer season. It has become a common issue that the village has become overcrowded at times and gone beyond the physical carrying capacity of such a tourist attraction. As Ryan (2003, p. 1 45) argued, there is little to be gained from increasing visitor numbers if the result of such numbers is an increasing hostility towards the tourists, and a downgrading of the very factors that
attracted the tourists in the first place. Tourists need space to appreciate the attraction and enjoy the activities. The planning and monitoring of tourist flow in the Maori village are therefore vitally important steps to the long-term development of the attraction.
4). Planning and production of the hangi (76)
One traditional fonn of Maori cooking, hangi, is a feast cooked in an earth oven. It
takes three hours to prepare for service. The planning and production of the Maori hangi is a fundamental part of the "behind the scene" service to ensure that the food provided is authentic and meets the customer' s requirements. The ongoing demonstration of hangi cooking outside the buffet restaurant is an add-on to the whole dining and cultural experience. Therefore, the schedule of hangi cooking and other village activities also need to be planned to enhance the tourists' experience, especially as visitor numbers increase and double shifting comes into play. This occurs where there are two end-on end cycles of visitors follow through the village, which puts logistical pressures on staff to keep quality service levels high.
5). Quality and range of equipment (72)
A visitor attraction offers both real products and service component to deliver a mixture of tangible and intangible experiences. The physical framework and associated technology and equipment remain vital to the creation and delivery of these experiences (Swarbrooke, 2002). For this reason, the quality and range of equipment available for the customers, especially those with special needs are important factors influencing their accessibility to the tour and their judgement of the service offered.
6). Queue management during payment process (60)
There have been issues with the payment procedure in the head office at Tamaki Tours. Sometimes around 30 to 40 minutes passed before customers could get payment completed for the tickets booked. Waiting in the queue could change a customer' s perception about the whole tour experience. The QFD focus group discussed the reasons for the long waits and options were identified to speed up the payment procedure and to encourage the customer to enjoy the other facilities, such as the souvenir shop and the cafe.
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Queue management also requires further staff training in friendly customer service such as smile, tone of voice, attitude, empathy and responsiveness.
7). Updating information on the marketing brochure and website (52)
It was considered as urgent to update the products and services available to the market especially for the overseas visitors who rely on the internet for their bookings in their home countries. A marketing campaign, for example, based on a new brochure and a webpage "designed to supplement existing knowledge and give consumers expectations that buying a particular branded item would be satisfying and pleasurable" (Leiper, 2003, p. 78) especially for a well-known New Zealand Maori cultural attraction like Tamaki Tours. To support the marketing message, the fact that the company is a New Zealand Tourism Awards winner and a Qualmark endorsed tour operator needs to be communicated to the target market.
8). Preparation of commentary (5 1 )
Giving introductions to Maori culture on the bus i s the very beginning of the Maori village tour. The bus drivers/tour guides were trained to present their commentary in an informal but entertaining style. However, it is not easy to balance the consistency of drivers' presentation and the flexibility needed for each tour. Thus, preparation of the contents and style of the on-bus entertainment becomes a serious business. Unless the drivers prepare their programme carefully and deliver it with passion and pride in their
culture, the quality of the cultural experience for the tourists could be compromised. Preparation of a good commentary will also enhance the professional performance of the drivers.
9). Regular servicing in toilets (45)
One of the service areas in Tamaki Tours which was identified with a relatively low level of customer satisfaction was the toilets. Firstly, the numbers of toilets available in the head office and the Maori village were not enough to accommodate the daily visitor numbers. Secondly, the cleanliness of the toilets was considered as not satisfactory. Page (2003, p. 239) pointed out that the cleanliness of toilets is one of the key service components which can destroy the overall visitor experience if proper care is not given. The management of an attraction can influence the visitor' s experience through design and resource issues such as building of sufficient numbers of toilets. Swarbrooke (2002)
argued that a range of elements affect the visitor's experience on site beyond the core focus of the attraction. These are the tangible elements of the product, such as retail outlets, cafes, toilet facilities and site cleanliness. With the feedback from the customers and the analysis from the operational staff, an action plan of building new toilets in the village and scheduling for toilet servicing and maintenance was established.
1 0). Interaction and consistency of performance (45)
Interaction, entertainment and legitimacy of performance are the basic expectations for cultural tourists. This is because cultural tourism is experiential tourism, based on being involved in, and stimulated by, the performing arts, visual arts and festivals (Hall, 2003, p. 401 ). To provide a performance the customer expect from different bus drivers and concert groups without surprise and the consistency of that service is important for the success of the attraction. While performers at Tamaki Tours endeavoured to entertain customers in an interactive way, such as getting visitors involved with singing and dancing in the concert and multi-language greetings on the bus, the level of consistency
of commentary from each driver and the programme for each show are hard to maintain.
The drivers and entertainers were trained to be flexible and to perform with personality
and cultural authority to different market groups. However, as shown by the results of
the driver comparison there is a variation from driver to driver and as a result, professional and operational standards for these front line staff are required to ensure the quality of the individual delivery.
1 1 ). Construction of the Maori village with native materials (45)
One of the customer's expectations about the physical appearance of the Maori village was its authentic physical setting. Authenticity as viewed by Hall (2003, p. 287) is one of the key motivational forces for those tourists with an interest in foreign culture and destinations. Therefore, the attraction created or staged for tourists should be as realistic and particularly authentic. For Tamaki Tours, the challenge is to ensure that the Maori village, which was located in a natural bush environment, should be built with native materials.
1 2). Structure and display of the head office (45)
The Tamaki Tours head office located in the Rotorua town centre is the first stop for the customers to organise their payment for the village tour, get information about the
village activity, wander around the souvenir shop and enjoy the cafe facilities before their departure to the Maori village. The physical facilities such as buildings, signs, lighting, and decorations are considered very important to the customers. A good first impression can be achieved by ensuring that materials associated with the service are visually appealing. This includes the stand displaying the brochures and the appearance of staff unifonn. A welcoming atmosphere can be created with suitable "tangible" surroundings.
1 3). Facilities in the coach, seating and stage (39)
The SERVQUAL survey results have shown problems with facilities such as the microphone on the bus, the narrow seats and the poor lighting on the stage in the Maori concert. Based on customers' feedback and through the QFD meetings, decisions were made to change the seating arrangement in the concert hall and a new stage was set up with modem lighting and sound systems.
1 4). Regulations and standard of health (39)
One of the important features of the Maori village tour at the Tamaki Maori village is to experience the buffet dinner cooked in a Maori hangi. While maintaining the authentic cooking style, the company has to establish acceptable health standards and to follow the regulations which have been set and audited at the industry level. There is a challenge between traditional cooking and serving food in a pleasant and comfortable environment. Therefore, updating and monitoring the health standards in the food and beverage department have become the essential tasks for this operational area.
1 5). Pricing policy (36)
Setting price points, especially in the retail areas, is a challenging task for Tamaki Tours. As Kotler et al. ( 1 999, p. 4 1 1) argued, pricing requires more than technical expertise. It requires creative judgement and awareness of buyers' motivations to buy. Recognising the target market and their different perceptions of price and value and other external factors influencing consumers' buying decisions are the most important in the company's pricing policy. The QFD focus group examined customers' feedback about the price level and identified the groups of customers who had similar perceptions and requirements regarding the prices being charged for products, such as wine and
souvenirs. Customer feedback has become the guideline for understanding special market needs in the retail department.
1 6). Allocation of village activities (32)
The three-hour Maori village experience involves sightseeing, a cultural ceremony, dining, entertaining and shopping activities. Each of the activities needs to follow a clear sequence and schedule. Delay in one step could ruin the whole experience and result in dissatisfied customers with the waiting time, the overall length of the show and so forth. The allocation and integration of village activities require the cooperation and support from staff of different departments. The QFD meetings helped the staff team to work together as one group with the ultimate goal of maintaining the successful running of each show instead of focusing on one's own department only.
17). Promotion of retail shops (30).
There are three retail shops located in the Maori village selling New Zealand made arts and crafts, music, garments, and souvenir products. The visitor survey results show that "there was not enough time for visitors to look at the shops". Some did not even notice that there were shops at all. There has been a conflict between retail shops and the bus drivers. For example, due to time constraints, the drivers tended to "rush" the customers to the buffet restaurant immediately after visiting the concert hall. Those who were shopping had to leave because the bus was returning to the city. These logistical conflicts between retail shopping and transport needs have caused unsatisfied customers and disagreements between staff members. The QFD meetings gave the staff the opportunity to integrate the overall interest of the company as well as that from each operational department. The promotion of retail shops and re-organisation of the village activities were able to be planned after the focus group sessions.