Student Logbook Before the Training Period

Student logbook – Hospitality and tourism / 1

Table of contents

1Tasks during your work placement period

2aTTENDANCE REPORT

3WBL TRaining checklists

4Description of your work based learning placement

4.1Find and stick here a business card, advertisement, or brochure of your work placement.

4.2Describe your work training placement. What is your first impression?

4.3Draw an organization chart of your training work placement.

4.4Give a description of your training Work placement

5WRITING A DAY REPORT

5.1Day Report

6what should be practiced during your work based training period?

6.1What is Customer Service?

6.2Different types of customers

6.3what is customer care?

6.4personal presentation

6.5Communicating with customers

7Handling complaints

8Communication through telephone

9CUSTOMER WITH SPECIFIC NEEDS

10sELf EVALUATION during THE wbl period

11Dossier – examples of work

1Tasks during your work placement period

During your work placement you will be working on certain tasks (please see possible activities during your training period)

The tasks within your Work Placement -book should be carried out in agreement with your work placement training mentor. You can not do everything at the same time and you cannot solve all the problems at the same time.

Depending on the work situation at your workplace you must see how much time there is left for the tasks in your work placement Log-book.

It is important that you make notes after every working day reflecting on the jobs and tasks you have observed and undertaken. If you have any problems, questions or issues please do not hesitate to discuss these with your training mentor. You can always contact your training counsellor by Telephone.

Activities
It is important to ensure that your training Agreement is signed by your Employer or work placement mentor on the first day of your training period.
It is important that at the beginning of each working day you consult with your training mentor who will advise you of the tasks you will be undertaking. During your placement you may move around different sections. It is important that you agree with your mentor the time period you will be working in each section.
You should consider and identify what tasks within your training log book you can complete.
You should complete your self evaluation document at regular times during your workplacement.
You should ask your training mentor to complete the evaluation documents.

2aTTENDANCE REPORT

Workplace / Mentor / Period

The student must complete the report every day and get it signed by his or her mentor or a nominee at the end of each work period.

Fill in number of hours per day

Week / Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat / Sun / Attend.
Total / Absence
total / Mentor signature
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Signature of mentor / Date
Workplace / Mentor / Period

The student must complete the report every day and get it signed by his or her mentor or a nominee at the end of each work period.

Fill in number of hours per day

Week / Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat / Sun / Attend.
Total / Absence
total / Mentor signature
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Signature of mentor / Date

3WBL TRaining checklists

Checklist for travel agencies and tourist officers - Indicate the characteristics that apply to the business where you are in training.

 Booking system – Amadeus – Another Airline booking system

 Software for contractors – contract forms

 Software for suppliers – contract forms

 Form for different allotments and booking system

 Telephone system – telephone services

 Uniforms/rules (if uniform is required)

 Contracts/travel agency/workplace

 Marketing system or software

 Staff area – coffee room and sitting area

 Client’s reception – table chairs etc.

 Furniture’s for staff and clients

 Management

 Company strategy

Checklist for hotel -Indicate the characteristics that apply to the hotel where you are in training.

 Booking system – rooms – sightseeing etc.

 Allotments

 Telephone system

 Key system

 Safety system and evacuation procedure in case of fire etc.

 Safety box/First Aid

 Uniforms / rules

 Contracts / travel agency

 Laundry service

 Marketing

 Shifts /work duty plan

 Management

 Company strategy

4Description of your work based learning placement

4.1Find and stick here a business card, advertisement, or brochure of your work placement.

Hotel and Restaurant businesses are every where and are very different in terms of their size, the services they provide and the types of customers they serve. Try and compare your work placement to other types of Catering/Hospitality Hotels and Restaurants.

Indicate the characteristics that apply to the business where you are in training.

Try to get as much information from promotional material, business leaflets and perhaps the companies web site.

Type Decoration

 With staff  Modern

 One-man businessTraditional

 Trading partnershipRural

 Family business...

 Chain

 …

Position Accessibility

 RuralPublic transport

 Town centreby foot

 Centre cityCar

 … …

Clients

 YoungOld

 Cost-consciousNot cost-conscious

 Regular customers  changing clients

 Business people …

 Families with children

…

Closing daysOpening hours

 … …

What duties must be undertaken at the beginning of the day?

......

What duties must be undertaken at the end of the day?

......

4.2Describe your work training placement. What is your first impression?

4.3Draw an organization chart of your training work placement.

Make a note the names of the key staff and their roles and functions within the organization.

4.4Give a description of your training Work placement

(How many clients do you serve? How is your work organised? Who is working with you? Who is your supervisor?)

5WRITING A DAY REPORT

Every day of your training period will be different.

Describe or outline a minimum of three events within your report that were special for you. Examples could include the following (your first day, a busy day, a visit from a College representative, or perhaps a new task or job you undertook.

How should you write your report? Some tips.

Note first the date of the event which you will describe.
Give a title to the event, activity …
What was your day schedule / programme / work planning?
Did the day go the way it was planned?
What did you never carry out before?
How have you solved any problems that arose?
What help did you receive from your training period mentor or your colleague?
What should you never forget?

Write in short sentences
Consult a dictionary.
Ask a colleague, training period mentor…to read over your report
Add some documentation (folders photograph).

Please Use the Template on the next page to write your Daily Report

5.1Day Report

Name of the school:
Name of the company:
Name of the student-trainee:
Education:
Name of the training period mentor:
Name of the training period counsellor:
School year:
Module:
Date: / Activity:
Report/description:
Date: / Training period counsellor:
Date: / Training period speculator:

6what should be practiced during your work based training period?

6.1What is Customer Service?

All hospitality organizations need to make sure that their customers are happy with the service they receive. Therefore during your Work based placement you will learn about:

The different needs of customers and how these needs should be met.
The correct way in communicating with customers.
The importance of personal presentation when dealing with customers

Why it is important to keep customer records.

Customers are the most important people in any business. Customer service includes all contact with the customer – in person, by post, on the telephone, or via e-mail.

All businesses mustrecognises that looking after existing customers and meeting their needs and expectations through excellent customer service will lead to repeat purchases and business.

You will need to understand that there are many different situations in which customer service is provided, for example:

Providing information.
Giving advice.
Receiving and passing on messages.
Keeping records and taking information.
Providing assistance.
Dealing with problems.
Dealing with dissatisfied customers.
Offering extra services.

6.2Different types of customers

Hospitality facilities and services are used by a wide variety of people, including those with specific needs, such as disabled visitors and people with young children. All of these customers require a high level of customer service.

To provide excellent customer service, you will need to identify and meet the differing needs of a wide variety of customers, including:

Individuals.
Groups.
People of different ages.
People from different cultures.
Non-English speakers.
Business men and women.
People with specific needs, e.g. sight and hearing impaired people, wheelchair access, facilities for young children.

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CUSTOMERS

Customer service includes providing service to both external customers and internal customers.

External customers are an organisation's consumers or visitors. They often pay for products or services and expect to be treated well. External customers are the most important part of a hospitality business; without customers, there would be no business! They must be given the highest standards of service so that they come back again and tell their friends about the excellent they received!

Internal customers are the people you work with, for example other employees of your organisation working in another department. It might seem strange at first to think of your colleagues as customers, but you have the same responsibility to each other as you do to your external customers.

Student Activity

During your Work based placement make a list of individuals and organizations that you would recognise as either an external or an internal customer.

External Customers / Internal Customers

Benefits of Providing Excellent Customer Service:

Excellent customer service brings a number of benefits for organisations, such as:

increased sales
satisfied customers
more customers through repeat business and recommendations
a better public image
an edge over the competition

It is also very important that all members of staff give a high level of service to each other. Benefits to the staff and the organisation include:

a more pleasant place to work
a happier and more efficient workforce
improved job satisfaction
improved chances of promotion within the organization

6.3what is customer care?

Customer care is about being able to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and to say that you’d be happy to be treated in the same way – to the same standards.

The reasons why an organisation will lose customers….

4% of customers die or move to a new area.

4% of customers float from one organization to another.

7% of customers change to act on a recommendation.

8% of customers are chronic complainers.

9% of customers change to buy cheaper elsewhere.

68% of customers stop dealing with organisations because STAFF are indifferent or show little interest.

All hospitality facilities need to make sure their customers are happy with the service they receive because customers are the most important part of any successful organisation. Customer service includes all contact with the customer, either face-to-face, for example, when selling the organisation's products or services or indirect contact, for example, when dealing with letters of complaint. The nature of the provision of customer service will vary between the various components of the hospitality industry.

Good customer service means putting the needs of the customer first and this should be the main aim of all staff. Good customer service requires you, as a member of staff, to put yourself in the position of your customers. You should be aware of how you would like to be treated if you were a customer and deal with your customers accordingly.

You should understand that Hospitality organisations recognise the importance of good customer service to the successful selling of their products. Many organisations aim to exceed customer expectations in order to ensure that customers enjoy themselves, and return in the future.

6.4personal presentation

First impressions count in any business, particularly in the hospitality sector where dealing with people is such an important part of the work.

First impressions are formed within seven seconds, and you only get one chance to make that first impression!

Understanding the way that you present yourself to a customer can relate to all or a combination of any of following factors:

Dress.
Personal hygiene.
Personality.
Attitude.
Behavior.

Depending on whether you deal with customers face-to-face, over the telephone or in writing, some or all of these points may be important.

Personal Customer Care, points to consider:

Ensure that your appearance is clean, tidy and appropriate to the business.
Make a habit of ensuring that you greet the customer as soon as they enter the establishment.
If you are busy indicate to the client that you know that they are there, and give a smile and make eye contact.
Be polite to customers at all times. Bad moods and personal stress should be left behind, and you should never react badly to a customer or let them ‘get to you’.
Take a lot of time to find out about the products or services of your work place. This knowledge will be the key to interacting with customers in an informed, competent and relaxed way.
Be positive, as dealing with customers is not always straight forward, however if you develop the right skills it can be very rewarding.
Remember that your colleagues are ‘internal customers’ and therefore you should be courteous and supportive of them at all times.

Once you have created a good first impression, it is important that the service which follows is of an equally high standard, especially when dealing with regular customers.

Providing good customer service means going beyond basic manners and politeness. There is no point in being polite without having warmth and sincerity in the way you deal with people. A friendly appearance, style and tone is the sign of a true professional in the Hospitality industry, and moreover in any chosen career.

6.5Communicating with customers

Most people working in the Hospitality Industry will at some time have contact with customers. This may be face to face, over the telephone or in writing. All customers will expect to receive a very high standard of communication.

When communicating with customers you will need to use appropriate:

language
pitch and tone of voice
pauses and silences
body language

You will also need to be able to:

Work accurately.
Listen and respond to customers.
Ask appropriate questions.

In all instances being able to communicate effectively with both internal and external customer provides the vital ingredient to the overall experience that they get when visiting any organisation. Thus, with reference to adopting the correct approach, being positive towards others is a key element in handling any customer service situation. In the list below is an outline why this can be so important:

Staying Positive

Why is a positive style of communication helpful?

It helps keep everyone calm, including you.
Taking control of your actions gives you time to think, observe and stay objective.
It helps prevent the situation from becoming worse, which would only give the customer something else to complain about.
It helps counteract aggression – it’s difficult to shout at someone who is calm and controlled.

Student Activity

The guest in your place of work has just asked for the bill. Before presenting the bill always check that what the customer has ordered is indicated correctly on the bill. Make sure this procedure is done properly to avoid confusion for you and for the customer

Outline below the way in which food and beverages are ordered by a table. Indicate how this is recorded and how the bill is formulated.

......

How is the bill calculated?

Manually

Electronically

Combination; Manually and electronically

Other Method

What in your opinion are the advantages of the system being used?

......

What in your opinion are the disadvantages of the system being used?

......

Please identify who prepares the bills in your work place?

......

Ask your training period mentor what you should do if a mistakeis made withguest aBill?

......

How is the bill brought to the guest and by whom?

......

How can payments be made by customers?
State the different methods.

Do certain payment methods have financial consequences for the Business? What methods can you carry out?

Payment methods / Financial Consequences for the Business / You?

7Handling complaints

You will need to understand that it is important to listen to customers and to keep calm. You will need to know when to refer a customer to a more senior member of staff if you are not able to deal with an enquiry or complaint.

Most of the time, dealing with customers is a rewarding and interesting experience. From time to time, however, you may have to deal with customer complaints. These could be in writing, over the telephone or face-to-face. It is important that you know how to deal with these situations and when and who to ask for help. When dealing with complaints you should always:

Listen carefully to the customer.
Apologies in general terms for any inconvenience caused.
Let the customer know that the matter will be fully investigated and, if possible, put right.
Try to see the problem from the customer's point of view.
Keep calm and not argue with the customer.
Find a solution to the problem, ask them what they want and give it to the customer if possible. If it is not possible explain why not.
Agree the solution with the customer, and do not join in with the customer’s complaint which will only compound the problem. i.e. ‘I know what you mean I keep tripping over that wire myself and the manager still has not done anything about it’.
Be honest and do not make promises you can’t keep.

Student Activity