Business Skills in travel and tourism Essay Example

Business Skills in travel and tourism Essay Example Business Skills in travel and tourism Essay Business Skills in travel and tourism Essay Scenario: you have just finished school and are now working as a travel agency. The agencies manager has decided to create a handbook on financial and administrative procedures. As you have just received training and have the skills to design the booklet. Task 1 Produce a word processed booklet which describes the administrative and finical procedures. Set out your booklet in 3 sections The administrative procedures used to process sales Enquire forms It is important that for the organisation to record every enquiry so that it can be followed up, to try to convert the enquiry into a sale. The organisation needs to record some customer details. This can be done either on a standardised form or on a computer. Booking Form Booking forms is when a customer books a product or service, this information also needs to be recorded. You would have to record the customers details and the details of the product that the customers booked. A copy of this information needs to be given to the customer so that he or she knows what has been paid for and to give the customer peace of mind Invoices Invoices must be sent out with every item that has been bought on credit. This is done because the customer has to nave a statement of how much he/she has paid for the product and the balance which is owed to be paid. An invoke should include all the details of the product or services that are being purchased as well as a statement of the account to date and amounts received. Confirmations Confirmations are sent out to verify any information or payments that have been arriving. This confirmation supply two purposes * It informs the customer that payments have been received. * It provides a record of incoming monies for the customers file. Customer Files Every customer must have an individual private file, which should be set out on a computerised record The information on it must be kept up to date at all times. Letters Most organisations will have a standard letters which will deal with discrepancies. The advantage of having standardized letters is that all staff within the organisation will know what the letter says It will also have on time confusion. How to deal with discrepancies and inaccuracies Incorrect details on a booking form * To deal with this problem the customer would have to complete a new booking form as soon as possible. The employer must cancel the mistaken one from the record and add the new one with everything up to date. The employer must inform the organisation of where they have booked of this incident. Incorrect price on an invoice This is a major problem because you can end up paying extra money that you didnt need to pay for. To deal with this you would have to send a letter to the customer explaining what has happened, and also over charging would signify that you must refund monies to the customer. Incorrect address on a customer file * Since there are many different ways of communication used today, it would be doable to telephone or email the client to get their correct address and details. The Financial procedures used to process sales * Payment methods accepted (debit cards, credit cards, travellers cheques and cash). The benefits of each one of the organisation and to customers Travellers cheques This is used to gain foreign money. You can buy the cheques in different currency. Travellers cheques can only be redeemed for money with identification and the signature of the person who originally signed travellers cheques when it was purchased. Cash- cash is easier because youre paying straight up with simple cash with the right amount or not with change given Debit cards ; Credit cards are very much the same; you can make simple and quick purchase on the card with just one swipe and your pin number, there is certain amount of money on the card which will come up o the computer once you insert the card and enter your pin to check if you do have enough for you to purchase your item. When and how Invoices are issued Invoices are set to customers each time they have purchased an item, invoices are given out to customers to ensure that they are aware of what they have bought and how much they bought it for and how much they have left to pay. Invoices are giving on a piece of paper with all the details needed. Payment procedures Deposits- this is the first payment made towards your purchase, some deposits are not likely to be refundable depending of the organisation. Balance- this is the remainder that the customer needs to pay for their purchase Balance date- this is the due date when the money must be received by. This can be staggered. Full amount- this payment has to be made in order for the product or service to be taken in. How transactions are carried out This should be a process which is routine and has a logical approach Step one- you need to establish which technique the customer wants to use to pay and weather the company accepts that technique. Step two- A receptionist should be issued to the customer as a record that payment has been made. Step three- complete appropriate financial documentation, you need to ensure that the customer file is kept up to date and that the account reflects this. How to deal with discrepancies and inaccuracies Declined card ; returned cheques Debit or credit card payments will be declined if the credit limit is over beyond or if there is no fund in the account of the card. If the customers card has been refused you must ask the customer to pay by another method. If a cheque has been refused from a bank, you need to contact the customer to inform them that the cheque has been rejected and that they must use another method of payment. * This must be done in writing, so that you have a written copy of the customers file.

4 interview mistakes youre making in the first ten minutes

4 interview mistakes youre making in the first ten minutes By: Biron Clark Most employers spend days or even weeks deciding if they want to hire you, but it only takes them a few seconds to rule you out. As an Executive Recruiter, I’ve seen first-hand some crucial missteps from interviewees that have cost them the job.Here are four overlooked interview mistakes that are costing you job offers in the first 10 minutes of your interview.You’re trying to decide mid-interview if you want the jobYou should have one goal in your interview – sell yourself and get invited to the next round in the process. Here’s where many job seekers go wrong: They start trying to decide if they want the job while also trying to sell them self and impress the interviewer.You can gather facts and ask questions to find out about the role (in fact you absolutely should), but never try to decide mid-interview if you’re interested or not. You’ll be distracted and won’t sell yourself as effectively.I’ve seen this hap pen over and over as a Recruiter with the people I’ve coached and helped.For example, you might hear something that worries you about the job, and your energy level will drop. You might stop trying to impress them. Later in the interview, you might hear  a few great things and decide you are interested, but it’s too late – you didn’t seem excited about most of the interview and they’re not going to invite you to continue.It’s better to get invited to continue interviewing at companies you’re not interested in than lose a single job offer you wanted because of this mistake. Wait until you’re home to decide whether you are interested in their job.You don’t seem confidentPeople gather a first impression visually before anything else. Within the first one or two seconds of seeing you, the interviewer is judging you – even if they don’t realize it. By the time you’ve followed them down the hallway and s at down with them, they’ve already gathered a strong impression of you – whether it’s positive or negative.This is the importance of a good handshake, posture and overall body language.This isn’t something you can turn on-and-off at will; especially when you’re tense and nervous in an interview. So start thinking about body language in everyday conversations to prepare for your interviews. Try to keep your shoulders back and your head up straight. When you sit down, avoid tapping your hands or feet or doing anything else that will distract the interviewer. Practice maintaining eye contact before your interview too, especially while talking (most people find it easy to hold eye contact while listening, but much more difficult while talking).Finally, make sure to show confidence in your abilities and your expertise when answering their questions.You’re the expert in your field of work. If not, why would they hire you?So show them you have grea t ideas to contribute and are ready to make an impact and use what you know to help them. This is what top employers look for.You’re worrying if the interviewer likes you or notPeople ask me all the time, â€Å"how will I know if my interview is going well?† Here’s what I tell them: Don’t try.Always assume it’s going well and the company is interested in you. If you start to worry, you’ll lose confidence and then you will do badly (even if you were doing fine before). Some interviewers are friendly to everyone, even if they have no interest in hiring you. Other interviewers show little or no emotion even if they think you’re the perfect fit for them.So stop worrying, and just assume you’re giving great answers from start to finish. It’ll be one less thing to worry about and will make your answers come out better.You didn’t ask enough questionsNow, you might be thinking, â€Å"hold on, Biron. I thought this articl e was about the first 10 minutes of the interview. I’m supposed to ask my questions at the end, right?†That’s correct, but you should also ask questions throughout the interview.Asking questions and gathering information shows them you’re confident in your ability to find a job, and picky about which employer you choose to work for (both good things!) So you want to mix questions into the conversation naturally, rather than waiting for them to invite you to do it. The simplest way to do this is to end some of your answers with a question directed back at them.Here’s an example of how this might look:Interviewer: â€Å"Why do you think you’re a good fit for this job?†You: â€Å"Well, my biggest strength is in financial reporting, and from the job description, it seems like that’s an area you need help with right now. Is that right? And if so, can you tell me a little more about the team’s needs?†Interviewer: â€Å" Yes, that’s right. Our biggest expert just retired and we don’t have enough people to do the work. We also need to make our reporting processes far more efficient.†You: â€Å"Very interesting! My last company actually had a pretty inefficient reporting process when I joined three years ago and I worked with them to improve it. Do you have a sense of where the process can be improved most?†This creates a natural dialogue where you can share your knowledge and start to be seen as an expert. You don’t need to do this with every question, but try to do it once within the first 10 minutes, and two or three times in each interview.If you follow the advice above, you’ll stick in employers’ minds and make them much more likely to hire you.  About the author: Biron is a career advice author, Founder of CareerSidekick.com, and former Executive Recruiter for more than 40 companies, including venture-funded tech startups  and Fortune 500 compa nies across the US and Europe.