A service culture expert said he had experienced the first-ever immigration officer to smile at him, and it happened right here in the Cayman Islands.
Mr. Bill Freeman, CEO Freeman Group Service Solutions, explained to attendees at a recent Department of Tourism customer service workshop, that the only problem with this is when he comes back he will have this expectation.
‘That Immigration officer recognised her role as an ambassador for tourism,’ he said.
The workshop, ‘Getting from Good to Great’, took place in the Marriott Beach Resort last Friday.
Mr. Freeman, in illustrating how one person can define an organisation, gave an example of poor customer service in a fast food restaurant that has resulted in him telling 10,000 people about it.
He gave another example of how management can keep workers on their toes by using a random test system. This was a method used by Bobby Baldwin at Mirage in Las Vegas. Although, he said, the number of staff members at this hotel was 8,500 and their chances of being picked from this number each week for the test was slim, the employees knew he did it, and were therefore more attentive.
‘Test a member of staff each week and you’ll see service levels go up after a short time,’ he said.
While quality processes require commitment, involvement is also essential, he said. The role of Caymanians and expatriates working in the service industry needs to be that they are service ambassadors. ‘If you’re not involved it will never work,’ he said, pointing out that everyone from the airlines to Immigration needs to get on board.
He said, ‘The survey you did is giving you great news’, referring to an assessment of customer service levels in tourism sectors in the Cayman Islands. It was undertaken by Deloitte at the request of the Department of Tourism.
‘The survey says everyone is friendly. In some destinations I work with you couldn’t find a friendly person with a torch-light on a dark corridor.’
Everyone has to come on board with improving customer service levels, including taxis, car rental companies, hotels, guest houses, restaurants, retail stores, island tours, activities, airport security, the police department and the general public.
Mr. Freeman even pointed out that the person who takes the departure tax at the airport must raise his/her customer service skills. Indeed, he said, imagine just how much of an ambassadorial role this person has: to take visitors’ final few dollars off them before they leave the country. The challenge is to do this while still leaving a good impression.
Another important task is to communicate to schools what is happening in the tourism industry, that customer service levels are on the rise, so young people can appreciate the importance of tourism for the country.
CITA President Karie Bergstrom said that as Customs and Immigration personnel are the first faces guests are greeted with, as DoT moves forward with its training these departments will be included in it.
The purpose of Friday’s meeting was to open up discussions and the Government on putting these issues out on the table, said Director of Tourism Pilar Bush.
Mr. Freeman went on to outline some of the ways to implement quality processes.
It is important, he said, to benchmark existing levels of behavioural and technical service through meetings with stakeholders and quality inspections.
These results can be presented to stakeholders and minimum destination standards can be established.
An internal public relations campaign can be established, an internal resource for ongoing delivery and maintenance created, and an ongoing training of service ambassadors begun, he said.
It should also be ensured that schools have a quality process curriculum so the children know what is happening.
Performance should be measured through inspections, visitor feedback and resident feedback.
Mr. Freeman pointed out that if an employer improves an employee’s satisfaction by one per cent a guest’s will improve by 10 per cent.
He went on to tell the true story of how a country lost out on $3 million worth of business because one beach attendant had dealt with the businessman in a rude manner.
‘You all have to be involved. It’s a joint responsibility,’ he told attendees.
With 600 new hotels being opened in Dubai in the next nine years, competition is fierce. ‘It has to happen now. It better happen now,’ said Mr. Freeman, in relation to improving customer service.
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