International Research Journal of Education and Technology

This research was conducted to understand the ability of employees from local communities to provide customer service that is perceived to be good by the guests of jungle resorts. These resorts have been developed as an alternative to regular tourist experiences which afford guests, an experience that is quintessentially Indian. The development of RESORTS brings much needed income to local communities as well as providing them with sources of employment. However, it is as important to secure customer satisfaction at RESORTS as it is in other sectors of the hospitality sector. The quantitative technique was used to conduct this research. The primary data collection tool was a questionnaire administered over an eight-week period to guests of resorts at the Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh to measure guest satisfaction levels with customer service provided to them at the resort. It was found that they rated poor levels of satisfaction levels. From this it can be inferred that while the jungle resort model is something that has great potential as a tool for the development of local communities, this will depend on the latter developing the expertise and the willingness to render good customer service to their guests. Based on these findings various recommendations have been made on just how this may be achieved.

Key Words: Jungle, Tourism, Customer Service, Local Communities.