The MacDonald chain of luxury hotels serves business and leisure customers across the UK. People are integral to their success. This film goes inside one of its hotels to discover what they do.

Duration: 30 mins
Year: 2008
DVD - VHS
Support Booklets:
   Printed Book        e-Book

The MacDonald chain of luxury hotels serves business and leisure customers across the UK. People are integral to their success. This film goes inside one of its hotels to discover what they do.

SERVICE IS EVERYTHING: There's premium on customer service. Guests have to be greeted with a smile. One of the first people you're like to meet is Neil, the concierge. He's virtually a "personal organiser" for everyone who visits the hotel, taking on everything from arranging trips to the airport to finding parts for a 1933 Ferrari! The receptionist is in the front line, too, checking people in, dealing with angry customers, but also the occasional celebrity.

STILL WAITING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS: Giuseppe, the head waiter, has been in the restaurant business for over 30 years. He prides himself on the confidence his customers have in him. But things aren't what they used to be, he reckons - and many guests fall below his standards. They don't know what to wear, what to order or even how to eat their food.

THE CONFERENCE BUSINESS: Long gone are the days when big hotels relied on selling people a bed for the night to make their money. Now the big market is the corporate market, hosting things like conferences.

Conference and banqueting manager James has to meet the whims of his business customers - and take it all with a smile.

TRAINING: Human resources manager Fiona says you can train someone to lay a table but not to be good at caring for customers - it's all a question of choosing the right people.

THE MYSTERY SHOPPERS: Colin and Wendy are mystery shoppers who visit hotels undercover to check they're keeping to their standards. A lack of nibbles in the bar or newspapers which they order but don't turn up and Colin and Wendy marks the hotel down.

HIGHS AND LOWS: Working in a hotel is a bit like being on stage. The highs come when you meet your goals, the lows when you fail to make a customer happy. For the receptionist, drunken guests are the biggest problem. Working in the hotel and catering industry takes lots of energy and the ability "to talk to anyone".

THE OTHER SIDE OF HOTEL WORK: By no means all hotel workers find their jobs satisfying. A foreign hotel worker describes experiences of outrageous sexual harassment and bullying. She says she would never let her child work in the industry.

Duration: 30 mins
Year: 2008
DVD - VHS

Duration: 29 mins
Year: 2008
DVD - VHS
Support Booklet:
Support Booklets:
   Printed Book        e-Book

Without happy customers a business can't survive. But how do you make them happy? How do you keep them happy? This film visits the Dickens World theme park and the upmarket MacDonald hotel chain to find out.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: A friendly smile and open body language are vital to customer service -- but it's also important to realise that every customer is different and have different needs. First impressions are critical.

THE WEBSITE: But these days customers often get their first impressions from a company's website. The key to a good website is make it accessible and easy to use. The hotel's website adds extra value by providing visuals of the building and its rooms.

COMPLAINTS: Handling complaints is an essential part of customer service. It's important to apologise - even if it isn't the company's fault. You need to stay calm - even if the customer isn't. You have to listen to the customer - so you can understand what they're complaining about. And you must take responsibility for the problem and deal with it.

DIFFICULT CUSTOMERS: In theory the customer is always right - but what about difficult customers or people who complain in the hope of getting something free? Hotel concierge Neil sees difficult customers as a challenge: "If you can change a bad situation into a good situation you're doing your job properly."

INTERNAL CUSTOMERS: Customers can be inside the company, too - in other words, members of staff. Happy customers inside the company will mean happy customers outside the company. Staff will provide better service if they feel valued and their morale is high.

KNOW THE PRODUCT: You can have the best smile in the world, but if you don't know what you're talking about it, it won't help you. Whether it's a hotel or a theme park, staff have to know their product to give customers good service.

COMPLAINTS ARE OPPORTUNITIES: A complaint may be less a problem, more an opportunity - to turn unhappy customers into happy ones. But companies can also learn from complaints. You can pick up trends in the things going wrong and anticipate problems in the future.

STANDARDS: To maintain levels of customer service businesses set standards and then monitor how well they meet those standards. This means questioning their customers and using mystery shoppers - people who pose as customers and go undercover to test out how well the organisation is performing.

THE WOW FACTOR: But it's not enough to have happy customers - businesses want to do things to surprise and delight customers: the "wow" factor. Health and safety and data security are integral to good customer service, too.

TEAMWORKING & TRAINING: Underpinning customer service in both McDonald hotels and Dickens World theme park is a system of close-knit team-working. Everyone has an important part to play. Training is essential - not just in dealing with customers but in all aspects of the business. In the hotel mentoring plays an important part in training new staff.

WORD OF MOUTH: Good customer service is all about people telling their friends, which in turn creates new customers. This can often mean the difference between the success and failure of a business.

Duration: 29 mins
Year: 2008
DVD - VHS

“I want my money back!” But are you entitled? Three lively scenarios illustrate customer’s rights and explain the laws which apply.

Duration: 27 mins
Year: 2001
DVD - VHS
Support Booklet:
   Printed Book

Three lively scenarios illustrate customer’s rights and explain the laws which apply.

I WANT MY MONEY BACK: Barney takes a faulty vacuum cleaner back to the shop. He wants his money back. But the shop say they only need to repair it. Is this true?

THE EXTORTIONATE KITCHEN: Mrs Keating buys a kitchen on credit, but she discovers the interest payments are extortionate. Can she cancel the agreement?

FOOD POISIONING: Mr Geddes blames a restaurant for giving him food poisoning. The restaurant manager thinks Geddes is “trying it on”. Who's in the right?

Customers' feedback: “Thought-provoking. It has proved really useful for the students.” Valerie Jones, Swanshurst School, Birmingham.

Duration: 27 mins
Year: 2001
DVD - VHS
Support Booklet

How do you coach people in customer care? Three case studies illustrate the problems.

Duration: 37 mins
Year: 1999
DVD - VHS
Support Booklet:
   Printed Book

How do you coach people in customer care? Three case studies illustrate the problems.

1 - Receptionist Janet is off-hand with customers, but when her manager mentions it, she feels upset. What is she doing wrong?

2 - John is an experienced salesman and responds badly to being ticked off in public for a minor fault. How should he have been treated?

3 - Cheryl is failing to communicate with clients, but Frazer's attempt to coach her just confuses her. In the end he shows her exactly what he means.

Customers' feedback: “A rich source of interesting material.” People Management.

Duration: 37 mins
Year: 1999
DVD - VHS
Support Booklet

A travel firm sets out to improve its approach to customer care. But can even the best techniques make up for a shoddy product?

Duration: 32 mins
Year: 1996
DVD - VHS
Support Booklet:
   Printed Book

A travel firm sets out to improve its approach to customer care. Secret filming captures where staff go wrong. Role play exercises demonstrate how to get it right. But what about the tour guide with his own eccentric approach to customer care? And can even the best techniques make up for a shoddy product or a poor holiday? The film ends with a dramatic confrontation between the boss of the firm and a member of staff who claims their customers are being short-changed.

Customers' feedback: “Useful in bringing real situations to life.” Linda Whiter, Seevic College.

Duration: 32 mins
Year: 1996
DVD - VHS
Support Booklet

A secret camera explores what happens to a variety of customers in the real world.

Duration: 25 mins
Year: 1993
DVD - VHS
Support Booklet

A secret camera explores what happens to a variety of customers in the real world. Includes examples of customers being treated with tact, incompetence and rudeness, both on the phone and face-to-face.

NOTE: This is NOT a guide to giving customer care: it shows what happens in the real world and provides on-screen questions to stimulate viewers to consider the issues raised.

Customers' feedback: “Good practical introduction to the meaning and importance of customer care.” Anthony Williams, Hammersmith & West London College.

Duration: 25 mins
Year: 1993
DVD - VHS
Support Booklet