One year from now, the first competitors will be arriving in Britain to acclimatise before the 2012 Olympics. Already we have seen that the Olympic Stadium is nearly completed. Huge amounts of work is going on around the country to prepare the many venues for this historic event. 500,000 visitors will be arriving in the U.K. to watch the Olympic events live, and there will be television, radio and news reporters here from all over the world.
It seems that the infrastructure needed to transport our guests around will be ready, or at least, as ready as it is possible to make it. All the Olympic partner companies have been appointed – these will feed, transport and accommodate the people who are visiting us. What about the people who will be serving our visitors, many of whom may be visiting our shores for the very first time?
What is being done to ensure that our guests receive the very best possible customer service? Are we leaving that to chance? Can you remember the last time you received a truly great welcome and were made to feel special as a customer by any leisure, hospitality, travel or tourism provider in the U.K?
The likelihood is that many of our visitors will receive at best the ‘perfunctory’ level of customer service that has come to be expected as the ‘norm’ in many towns and cities in Britain, leading us, as a nation, to occupy the unglamorous position of 13th. place in the world league for customer service.
I recently met with some business colleagues in a rather plush hotel in London’s West End. As I approached the hotel, which I hadn’t visited before, I noticed two uniformed young men, almost like guards, on the front door. As I approached, one of them bid me ‘Good morning’ and attempted a smile.
Entering the hotel, it was obvious that many millions of pounds had been spent on the interior design and furnishings. I found myself wondering how much had been spent on staff training and development. We ordered coffee to be served in the foyer as there was nowhere else available at 10 a.m., and the pleasant young lady who served us did a very good job of upselling us some pastries, but then had to be asked to provide napkins. This in a comparatively new hotel which must be trying hard to establish itself in the very competitive environment of London’s West End.
You will be delighted to know that help is at hand to get our people ready for the 2012 Olympics, and all the other events that are following on from there. In fact, there is a real opportunity to boost the tourist industry and encourage our visitors to return time and again. We need to get Britain out of 13th. place in the customer service league and into the top three!
People 1st., the sector skills council for the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industries, has looked all over the world to see what other countries are doing to improve and maintain customer service standards. In Canada, they found a training programme called WorldHost, which was used successfully in the run-up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Canada is recognised as the Number One country in the world for customer service, so it made sense for us to learn from best practice elsewhere in the world.
WorldHost consists of a one-day training workshop where delegates are encouraged to develop and practice skills in welcoming customers, first impressions, communication, handling customer concerns and learning about what is available in their community. There is an optional session on handling telephone calls.
In addition, there are half-day workshops available covering serving customers with disabilities, service across cultures and there is also an Ambassador Workshop available. There are a number of Quality Assured trainers in the U.K. who can deliver this training for you, or if you are a larger company with a training team, one or more of your team can be accredited by People 1st. to deliver this training.
This is a real opportunity to move away from a culture where we spend many millions of pounds attracting new customers, and then provide service that ensures we will only do business with people once. It costs at least five times as much to attract a new customer as it does to keep an existing one.
For more information about WorldHost training, please contact People 1st. direct or email graham@grahamfrost.com
WorldHost is a registered trade mark of The Province of British Columbia, Canada
Thank you to Roland Peschetz for the photograph.