Visitor experiences – customer expectations and best practice

Make a great first impression

The arrival area will most likely be the first face to face interaction your customer has with your business, so have easily identifiable staff on-hand to offer a warm greeting and comprehensive scene-setting information to ensure customers get the most out of their experience. They should also be able to handle any queries customers may have at this point or throughout their time with you.

Deal quickly and efficently with admissions

Depending on the nature of your business, customers may want to move quickly from the arrival area to the main attraction/activity, so have measures in place to assist them.

Examples of best practice

• Use technology such as registration apps to make any ticket purchase/collection process seamless and prevent delays.
• Have enough staff on duty at peak times and trained to take appropriate measures if queues begin to form (eg open another till, requesting extra staff, or organising queue lines).
• Display prices clearly outside and inside attractions, ensuring consistency with online pricing, or any other marketing. Using digital displays means prices can be updated more easily.
• Upsell and cross-sell where possible (eg booking customers in for lunch before entering the core attraction).

It can be good practice to keep in touch with customers following their visit. Find out ways to do so, along with further advice on delivering great customer service and the benefits it brings to your business.

Offering an inclusive experience

Being inclusive means placing a high degree of effort into welcoming visitors of all types. You want to ensure that people with different needs can get the most out of the experience you offer.

This can involve:

• being clear about what you offer
• how you deliver the experience (eg making use of audio and visual technology)
• the accessible facilities and spaces you provide
• training staff to confidently answer questions about your inclusive practices

Take a look at further guidance on providing an inclusive experience for your customers.

Exhibits and displays

Many visitor experiences feature displays of some kind. They could simply be the exhibits in a museum or gallery, but they could also be the plants and wildlife of a nature reserve or garden.

If accompanying information is available, it helps customers interpret and appreciate the sights, sounds and smells they encounter.

This interpretation should aim to be accessible to all customer types and a variety of different mediums could be used to tell your stories, offering a wow factor your customers will want to share with others.

Ways to improve interpretation

• Technology makes a great impression and can help with increasing the accessibility of your experience.
  • artificial intelligence
  • immersive rooms
  • audio guides
  • virtual reality
  • sound effects
  • interactive displays

Remember to keep your technology up-to-date as it develops.

• Offer a range of approaches – in-person guides, hands on activities, character actors, room sets, films to watch, interpretation boards, etc.
• All areas of an attraction should offer a story. Don’t leave any areas without interpretation or something to engage with.
• Change up exhibitions and events regularly to encourage return visits.
• Consider lighting that complements and adds to the experience.

Customer orientation and signage

So that customers get the most out of the experience, give them regular and clear information on how best to engage with every aspect they encounter throughout. This is especially important if their experience is self-led.

Ways to improve orientation

• high-quality, multilingual, branded signage and maps
• universal symbols can make signage more inclusive
• multi-lingual audio guides
• clear, unobstructed routes and exits
• manage peak times with timed entries and one-way systems 

Remember that staff should still be on-hand to proactively assist and engage where required, eg delivering scene-setting information, helping with equipment, and answering questions. Customers will expect these staff to be highly knowledgeable both in subject matter and its delivery, so make sure they are trained to best showcase what’s on offer.

Guides and performers

These members of your team can really make all the difference, especially when it comes to tours, performances or activity-based experiences, where they can be the focal point for customers.

Guides or performers will need the ability to deliver for differing knowledge/skill levels or capabilities of individuals, without diminishing the experience for the wider group.

Some areas to focus on

• Consider thoughtful group management (eg allowing all group members to reach each point on the tour before the guide begins talking).
• Begin your tour or performance with scene setting information. Don't forget to ensure visitors know the length of the tour, as well as start and finish times.
• Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the subject / activity, tailoring the content to be suitable for the makeup and needs of the participants where appropriate.
• Ensure all safety information has been relayed clearly and any equipment fully checked.

Customer toilets

Clean, well maintained and accessible toilets are a basic must.

• Situate toilets, including accessible toilets and baby changing facilities, in an area that is easy to locate and access.
• Customers will not want to go back to the beginning of the attraction, or to the catering area, if they're in the middle of the core experience, so consider multiple toilet locations in larger premises.
• Install items that can enhance the visitor experience such as sensor-operated taps and toilet flush. These will reduce touch points and save water.

Retail

Whether you're a tourist shop, or simply sell items as part of the wider experience, a well-considered retail space with interesting displays and great merchandise will have customers staying longer and spending more.

Optimise your retail space

• Tight aisles limit accessibility and cause overcrowding and bottlenecks – consider the browsing experience from the customer’s perspective.
• Put in place clear queue directions that avoid obstructing customer views.
• Arrange and display stock in a manner that allows it to be browsed without assistance.

Product range and presentation

• Stock high quality products that complement the wider experience and your geographical location.
• Your range of products should be suitable and affordable to your customer demographic eg families, outdoor enthusiasts, whisky connoisseurs, etc.
• Spread recognition of your business with branded items.
• Display products in a manner that draws the eye - colour, design, lighting and props can all help to bring your presentation to life.
• Make some displays interactive or offer tastings of food and drink products.
• Shout about the products which are unique, or of local / Scottish provenance as these will really add to your customer's experience – especially those from overseas.
• By stocking high-quality locally sourced products, you're also demonstrating the sustainable and responsible side of your business.

Retail staff

As in any other area of your business your retail staff should be trained to deliver great customer service.

Areas of additional focus might include:

• Striking a balance between proactively engaging with a customer and giving them space to browse – being visible and on-hand is key.
• Staff being knowledgeable about any wider experience (eg visitor attraction) in addition to their excellent product knowledge.
• Engaging positively at till points and proactively offering additional services, such as onward mailing of larger items.

Food and drink

Your food and drink offering might be comparable with a restaurant, maybe you’ve a café area with a more limited menu, or even perhaps a snack van.

No matter what you offer, incorporating an appropriate food element into the overall experience can add to your customer’s enjoyment. It can also become a reason to attract other customers (perhaps locals) who might not otherwise visit.

If you lease the catering area’s operation to an external company, be sure to set clear guidance on the standards you require and monitor customer feedback closely, as any failings are likely to be reflected onto your business in the eyes of the customer.

As with the rest of your business, the expectation will be of a clean, well laid out and accessible environment staffed by a well-trained, friendly and efficient team.

Menus

• Present menus online, at your main entrance and at the entry to the catering area.
• If screens are used elsewhere, consider using them in your catering area too for menu options and specials. This will deliver consistency and make it easy to update.
• Make sure to promote the provenance of locally sourced food.
• Ensure that ingredients which may cause allergic reactions are clearly highlighted (on menus and displays) along with the suitability of each dish for vegans and vegetarians.

Range, presentation and service

Your approach here can depend on the type of catering you are offering, whether that be fine dining, cakes and teas or takeaway snacks. Complimenting your business’s main activity and recognising it in the theme/style of your catering area will allow you to best meet customer expectations.

Consider the following:

• If you attract a lot of family groups, then offer a dedicated children’s menu.
• Cater for as many different dietary requirements as you can accommodate, with the focus being on fresh, seasonal and local produce.
• Concentrating on breakfasts, light bites and lunches is advisable for some operators (eg a garden centre), but if your business is open into the evenings (eg a theatre) then more substantial meals or fine dining could be appropriate.
• Be clear to customers whether you operate table service or self-service.
• Aim for the best quality crockery and cutlery appropriate to your offer.
• Have enough tables to comfortably seat expected numbers at peak times and ample space for customers and any serving staff to navigate easily.

Staff

In keeping with the rest of your business, staff should be trained to deliver great customer service.

Areas of particular focus might include:

• Train staff to knowledgably answer customer queries or requests for menu recommendations, as well as respond to general queries regarding the wider attraction, venue, activity, etc.
• Manage the dining area efficiently, eg clearing used dishes and wiping down tables quickly as possible between customers to open up seating.
• Monitor cutlery and condiment areas for replenishment and cleanliness.