Customer Service and Experience Management

Department

International Program

Course unit code

IFLV6536

Number of ECTS credits allocated

Name of lecturer(s)

Milman Ady, Ph.D.

Mode of delivery

Recommended optional program components

none

Recommended or required reading

1. Understanding and defining the service concept

Gautam, Nitish (2017). The Art of Customer Service: A Beginner's Guide to Understanding Customer Service. Ameyo. (September 18, 2017). Ameyo. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://www.ameyo.com/blog/the-art-of-customer-service-a-beginners-guide-to-understanding-
customer-service

Ramlan, Hafez (2024, July 24). The Art of Customer Service: Tips for Building Loyalty and Retaining Customers. Atomixlogistics. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://www.atomixlogistics.com/accelerator-part-one/customer-service-tips-loyalty-retaining-customers

How to Know What Customers Really Want (Even Before They Do). ProductPlan. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from ttps://www.productplan.com/learn/what-customers-really-want/

2. Meeting customer expectations through service planning

Slotnick, David (2025, December 10). These are America's best airport lounge networks, according to a new JD Power study. The Points Guy. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://thepointsguy.com/news/americas-best-airport-lounge-networks-2025-j-d-power/?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9-d0mO98y0Smgt9OZ9enoPb5d1Q6YcREtUP0JvSkahrJwf484XM8vcH6Kz3aUa7qJcXXpOL7YmVQdJE05VxZeYltL3ew&_hsmi=394058687&utm_content=394058687&utm_source=hs_email

Elliott, Christopher (2025, August 30). Why Your Rental Car Might Not Be As Safe As You Think. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherelliott/2025/08/30/why-your-rental-car-might-not-be-as-safe-as-you-think/?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9UvRq5Irl-WZVVqa-dxq4jjDKkkweMkK67Jp6SmzDAnMaXV_EDj2hCQU1TPpuKg2Dq_0ddwgEKBJV-6T4pM9oEdlfmXQ&_hsmi=379175617&utm_content=379175617&utm_source=hs_email

Effler, Geno (2025, July 15) . Hotel Guests Want Smart TVs and Good Hotel Mobile App, J.D. Power Finds. J.D. Power. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2025-north-america-hotel-guest-satisfaction-index-nagsi-study

Watson, Andy (n.d.) Meeting & exceeding customer expectations: an in-depth guide. Ring Central. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://www.ringcentral.com/us/en/blog/customer-expectations/

3. The Customer Experience

Gilmore, J. H. (1998). Welcome to the Experience Economy. Harvard Business Review, 76 (4): 97-105. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://hbr.org/1998/07/welcome-to-the-experience-economy

KnowMax (2026, Jan 9). CX Trends in 2026: What You Need to Know Now. KnowMax. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://knowmax.ai/blog/customer-experience-trends/

Martin Newman Team (Top 5 Trends in Customer Experience for 2025. Martin Newman. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://www.martinnewman.co.uk/articles/customer-experience-trends

4. Setting the scene for a positive guest experience

HotelLabs (2025, June 13). 10 ways to ensure an unforgettable guest experience in hospitality. HotelLabs. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://hotellabs.com/unforgettable-guest-experience/#:~:text=First%20impressions%20matter%2C%20so%20set,greatly%20enhance%20the%20welcoming%20atmosphere.

Apse, Heather (2024, July 2). Setting the Scene for Experiential Events: The New Frontier for Hospitality. Tripleseat. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://tripleseat.com/blog/setting-the-scene-for-experiential-events-the-new-frontier-for-hospitality/

5. Applying the hospitality service culture in hospitality and non-hospitality organizations

EHL Insights. (2025, July 1).Why is Service Culture important? EHL Insights. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/why-is-service-culture-important

Rey, Catherine (2022, June 9). The top 5 drivers of a successful company service culture. Hospitality Net. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4110933.html

6. Understanding the international consumer culture within the context of service

Eckhart, Allison (2025, January 15). Defining Service Excellence: How culture shapes the customer experience. Forum Expatriate Management. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://www.forum-expat-management.com/posts/defining-service-excellence-how-culture-shapes-the-customer-experience#:~:text=Approaches%20to%20Problem%20Resolution:,viewed%20as%20experts%20or%20equals.

MBLM Blog (2025, June 8). How Culture Shapes Consumer Expectations—and What Brands Can Do About It. MBLM. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://mblm.com/blog/how-culture-shapes-consumer-expectations-and-what-brands-can-do-about-it/#:~:text=Cultural%20values%20serve%20as%20the,the%20product's%20acceptance%20and%20appeal.

7. Fixing service issues of concern

Hurd, Sarah (2024, August 6). 5 Common Customer Service Mistakes That Hurt Your Business (and How to Fix Them). Fayed Digital. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://fayedigital.com/blog/5-common-customer-service-mistakes-that-hurt-your-business-and-how-to-fix-them/

Bocian, Zuzanna (2024, May 16). 15 Examples of Bad Customer Service and the Solutions to Fix It. Help
Desk. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://www.helpdesk.com/blog/bad-customer-service/

Medium (2024, June 24). Solving the 12 Most Common Customer Problems. Medium. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://userpilot.medium.com/solving-the-12-most-common-customer-problems-guide-fd789e89b62f

8. Communicating and delivering service to customers

Cincom (2025, June 13).How to Communicate Effectively with Customers: 8 Essential Practices. Cincom. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://www.cincom.com/blog/ccm/how-to-communicate-effectively-with-customers/

Walden University Online Bachelor's Programs/BS in Communication (n.d.) 8 Effective Ways to Communicate with Customers. Walden University. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://www.waldenu.edu/online-bachelors-programs/bs-in-communication/resource/eight-effective-ways-to-communicate-with-customers

Rastegar-Panah, Mozhdeh (2025, August 12). Customer communication: 8 tips to build an effective strategy. Zendesk Blog. Retrieved on 1/14/2026 from https://www.zendesk.com/blog/customer-communication/Bhutto, M., Dineva, D., Mero, J., & Karjaluoto, H. (2026). Exploring customer incivility in the service sector: a systematic review and roadmap for future research. International Journal of Consumer Studies.

Calza, F., Sorrentino, A., & Tutore, I. (2023). Combining corporate environmental sustainability and customer experience management to build an integrated model for decision-making. Management Decision, 61(13), 54-84.

Chen, Q., Gong, Y., Lu, Y., & Tang, J. (2022). Classifying and measuring the service quality of AI chatbot in frontline service. Journal of Business Research, 145, 552-568.

Evelyn, V. P., Nesilia, J., Grisandha, I. M., & Anita, T. L. Transforming Guest Experiences: The Role of Smart Technologies in Modern. ICT for Intelligent Systems: Proceedings of ICTIS 2025, Volume 8, 361.

Göring-Lensing-Hebben, K., Schmitz, A. K., Fassnacht, M., & Schnabl, L. (2026). How companies leverage consumer responsibilities for sustainability: empirical insights into the consumer-company interplay. Journal of Business Research, 206, 115918.

Goyal, N., & Mehta, S. Green Washing and Consumer Purchase Intentions: Navigating The Impact of Sustainability Claims in Personal Care Products.
Han, Y., Zhang, Y., Liu, X., Liu, Y., Ma, W., & Wen, Z. (2026). Global Coastline Plastic Emissions into the Oceans. Environmental Science & Technology.
Hsu, C. L., & Lin, J. C. C. (2023). Understanding the user satisfaction and loyalty of customer service chatbots. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 71, 103211.

Huang, M. H., & Rust, R. T. (2024). The caring machine: Feeling AI for customer care. Journal of Marketing, 88(5), 1-23.

Mores, R. (2026). Continuous Training and Development Program in Hospitality Industries. Journal of Current Research in Business and Economics, 5(1), 3629-3671.

Mores, R. (2026). Continuous Training and Development Program in Hospitality Industries. Journal of Current Research in Business and Economics, 5(1), 3629-3671.

Smith, R., Cubino, M., & McKeon, E. (2024). The AI Revolution in Customer Service and Support: A Practical Guide to Impactful Deployment of AI to Best Serve Your Customers. Pearson Education.

Väänänen, V. M. (2023). Improving Customer Service with Intelligent Virtual Assistants.

Wanjale, K., Pawale, S., Ahire, T., Mathurkar, P., Wakade, R., & Labhade, A. (2026, January). Predicting Retail Trends: Integrating Comparative Sales Analysis with Consumer Insights. In International Conference on Sustainable Innovation with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning 2025 (ICSIAIML 2025) (pp. 234-243). Atlantis Press.

Additional information about examination modalities

The proportional distribution of the grade will be as follows:

Attendance and participation 10%
Exam on the lectures and content 90%
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Total 100.0%

Level of course unit

Bachelor

Year of study

Spring 2026

Semester when the course unit is delivered

Language of instruction

English

Learning outcomes of the course unit

1. Understand and define service management principles and their applications in the hospitality and service organizations.

2. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of guest services management in the hospitality and service industries.

3. Develop and evaluate tools for innovative solutions to customer service recovery.

4. Define the roles of the service leader and the service providers and suggest strategies for customer service policies in hospitality and service organizations.

5. Help students develop the skills, competencies, and professional orientation that will support their life-long service-oriented operation in a variety of organizations.

Course contents

The course examines the various aspects of effective customer service management in hospitality and service organizations. It will explore the concept of service management from a holistic perspective, encompassing customer satisfaction, organizational culture, operations, marketing, strategy, information technology, and a global cross-cultural approach.

Students will explore, challenge, and enhance the principles of guest service management in a variety of hospitality or service organizations. Students will read, observe, and discuss a broad selection of materials on the topic and then apply the concepts discussed in the classroom to their own work and service experience.

More specifically, the course will cover the following topics:

1. Understand and define the service concept
2. Meeting customers’ expectations through service planning
3. Understanding the customer’s experience
4. Setting the scene for a positive guest experience
5. Applying the hospitality service culture in non-hospitality organizations
6. Understand the international consumer culture within the context of service
7. Fixing customer service issues or concerns
8. Communicating and delivering service to customers
9. Developing organizational service policy
10. Social Responsibility and Sustainability

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The class will incorporate lectures, PowerPoint presentations, class discussions, and short student group projects. The class will also have a site visit to Alpenzoo Innsbruck to reflect real-life situations of customer service.

Work placement(s)

none

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