This website serves Farmers and Ranchers in the Kansas AgriTourism Industry.
Welcome to Kansas AgriTourism!
This website has been developed specifically for Kansas farmers and ranchers involved in AgriTourism, rural properties where the traveler has an opportunity to experience farm and country life far from the hustle of the city.
the Kansas Agriculture Marketing Division and the Travel and Tourism Division of the Department of Commerce
and with financial assistance from Frontier Farm Credit.
We invite to begin exploring this website to find a variety of news stories, articles, announcements regarding our 2005 AgriTourism Workshops, and much much more.
Do be sure you bookmark this website and return often... we are just getting started!
The Kansas AgriTourism
Advisory Council
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From the Department of Commerce
Division of Travel and Tourism
Customer Service Is Vital
by Sarah Larison
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Sarah Larison is an Agritourism Marketing Specialist for the Kansas Department of Commerce |
Stop for a moment and think about your favorite restaurant. What makes you keep going back to that place time and time again? Is it the food? The atmosphere? The way the staff treats you?
I personally have a favorite restaurant that I love to go to. The food is good…sometimes. The atmosphere is okay…but the best part is that the owner knows me. He knows my name, he knows what I want to order before I get to the counter, and when he has a moment, he will stop at our table to see how we are, not only with our dining experience, but outside of the restaurant as well. It may take a long time for my food to arrive, but it is always served with a smile! I feel like part of his family when I am dining at his restaurant.
On the other hand, think of a time that you’ve gone to a restaurant where the food was good, the atmosphere was pleasing, but the wait staff was unaccommodating or rude. Did you ever go back? How did the way that you were treated by that staff color your view of the experience?
How does this all fit into agritourism? The one thing that I always know I will get at my favorite restaurant is customer service. I know that I will be taken care of, treated like a family member, and that outweighs any other potential negatives that I may experience.
How do you provide customer service in your agritourism operation? Do you make people feel like family…or do they feel like they are intruding upon your private space? When starting an agritourism operation, one of the first questions you want to ask is, “Do I enjoy meeting people?” If the answer to this question is no, is there someone else in your family or business operation that can be the “front person” for your agritourism business? Are you ready to change hats—from the production hat of farming to the customer service hat of agritourism?
According to the Agri-Business Council of Oregon’s Agri-tourism Workbook, the number one marketing idea for agritourism operations is:
“Happy customers are the most important key to success. Customer service is the most critical element. The level of customer service will determine repeat visits and “word-of-mouth” advertising. Learn their names. Remember what they like and have it ready for them. Keep a database if you can’t keep it all in your head. The little touches make all the difference.”
This is true not only for you as the owner, but for your staff as well. Having a customer service plan that addresses your business customer service polices will allow your employees to know exactly what you expect in the form of customer service. Everyone involved in your agritourism business is responsible for providing customer service. You as the owner cannot assume that your staff knows exactly how you would like your customers to be treated. By providing them with customer service guidelines and training, you are giving them the opportunity to provide the best customer service possible to your visitors.
Customer service is an integral part of any business, especially one in tourism. Providing excellent customer service on a regular basis to anyone that enters the gates of your agritourism operation is vital to the success of your business. A great experience at your farm, corn maze, pumpkin patch, winery, B and B or hunting lodge will be determined not only by the activities and products that you provide, but also how your visitors are treated while they are there. Keeping your customers happy is vital in retaining those original customers as well as gaining positive word of mouth referrals and increased business.
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