| Abstract: | ABSTRACT Hospitality and leisure operations across Australia have experienced phenomenal growth over the past few decades. This growth can be attributed to globalisation, deregulation, increased household disposable income, and technological advancements. As organisations continue to strive for a competitive edge, increased attention is given to consistency and reliability of service delivery. However, given the significant human element in the production and consumption of services, mistakes are inevitable (albeit not intentional). Service recovery is therefore a central ingredient in maintaining quality of service delivery. It facilitates customer satisfaction, increases loyalty and repeat patronage, and fosters positive word-of-mouth recommendation. The present paper develops an integrated model of the key concepts of service delivery-illustrating the importance of the relationships among service quality, empowerment, and service recovery. To obtain a better understanding of the importance that organisations place on service recovery, an exploratory study is presented. This consisted of interviews and questionnaires across selected hospitality and leisure operators in Australia. The findings show that service recovery is viewed as an important component of business practices. However, there are noticeable gaps-particularly in relation to organisational readirecovery. |
