Internal Customers: The Asset of the Humanistic Workplace

Abstract

Internal customer service is a concept that has in recent years come to the limelight in discussions about customer satisfaction. However, the focus is usually on internal customers who deal directly with the external customers. We know for a fact that having unhappy external customers is a big enough issue to threaten the existence of any business. As a result, much emphasis is placed on training the front-line personnel.In hospitality and tourism, however, all stakeholders should be concerned with and care about customer service. The internal structure of the organization plays a role in the quality of external customer service. This is where internal customer relationship and service is vital.Internal customer relationship works best when the organization has an internal structure based on business processes as opposed to functional departments. These business processes involve a certain level of communication and cooperation across units within the organization, such that everyone is implicated in the satisfaction of the external customer. Important aspects such as respecting the dignity of the internal customer, and understanding the humanistic workplace as a venue for human flourishing are considered in this chapter. In addition, the chapter shows how an internal customer care approach can be applied to managing people in hospitality and tourism, with its implications and outcomes.KeywordsInternal customer satisfactionOrganizational cultureBusiness processHospitality and tourismInterpersonal relations