Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
FOCUS ON INDUSTRY
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Check out this website for more details
of the Welcome to Excellence customer
service training programmes.
www.welcometoexcellence.co.uk
WELCOME TO EXCELLENCE TRAINING
PROGRAMMES
The Welcome to Excellence series of training
programmes, offered through Regional and National
Tourist Boards in the UK, has trained more than 240,000
staff since fi rst introduced to the UK by the Wales
Tourist Board as Welcome Host in 1991. Companies
taking part range from small accommodation providers
to larger organisations such as Bourne Leisure, English
Heritage, YHA, Center Parcs and many public sector
organisations.
Reputation
All travel and tourism organisations work hard to
maintain a good reputation with the public and other
organisations, and customer service staff have a vital
role to play in this. A poor reputation with customers
can develop for any number of reasons, perhaps taking
a long time to answer 'phone calls or respond to email
enquiries, constantly overbooking hotel rooms and
fl ights, delays in departures or dirty accommodation
facilities in resorts. Adverse publicity, such as an
accident at a theme park, a food poisoning outbreak
in a hotel or a series of cancelled fl ights, can affect a
company's reputation in the short term.
There are currently eight one-day courses, which
provide front-line customer service staff and managers
with the skills they need to provide high standards of
customer service:
•
Welcome Host - the original course designed to
highlight the importance of excellent customer
service;
Whatever the causes of the poor reputation,
management must respond quickly to lapses in
customer service standards to ensure that customers
receive an improved service. It is also important to
raise staff morale in these circumstances, perhaps by
carrying out team-building exercises away from the
offi ce and offering incentives. Managers need to be
aware that a continuation of poor levels of customer
service can lead to poor staff morale and often leads to
a high turnover of staff.
•
Welcome Host Plus - building on Welcome Host, this
course covers advanced customer service skills;
•
Welcome International - designed to give people
working in travel and tourism greater confi dence
when meeting and greeting international visitors in
another language;
•
Welcome All - offers practical advice on service
to customers with disabilities and special needs
(includes information on the Disability Discrimination
Act);
Activity 4.4
•
Welcome Management - designed to assist
managers and supervisors who set the standards of
customer service in their businesses;
Carry out some research and identify two occasions
in the last 12 months when a travel and tourism
organisation has experienced adverse publicity as
a result of poor customer service that has affected
its reputation. Discuss with your tutor and other
students how the situation could have been handled
better.
•
Welcome Line - concentrates on improving telephone-
based customer service skills and techniques;
•
Welcome E-business - provides an insight into the
world of electronic commerce (e-commerce) for
customer service staff and managers;
•
Lead, Motivate and Succeed Customer Service
Courses - for fi rst-time managers and supervisors
to become team leaders.
This activity is designed to provide evidence for P1.
In addition there are sector-specifi c customer service
courses, which include Welcoming Walkers and Cyclists,
and Green Advantage.
