A US consultancy with over 20 years experience in raising customer service standards within hospitality industry businesses and destinations, has been contracted by the Department of Tourism to implement a comprehensive customer service programme in the Cayman Islands.
Starting next month, the FreemanGroup will begin implementing the Service Standards and Promises programme for the tourism industry, which will ultimately deliver high-quality customer service throughout the islands, said a DoT press release.
This will be done by enhancing the operational and behavioural skills of frontline staff.
‘Our challenges are simple: raise customer service standards from ‘good to great’ all of the time; and provide ‘great quality customer services’ for all our visitors all of the time,’ said Minister of Tourism Charles Clifford. ‘It is of vital importance that we consistently exceed our visitors’ expectations and define standards that all sectors equally maintain.’
Director of Tourism Pilar Bush explained, ‘Research conducted by Deloitte in the summer of 2005 indicated that most of our guests receive good service most of the time; but it also indicated that unfortunately many visitors also experience bad customer service during their visits … and it is this inconsistency which blemishes the visitor’s otherwise great Cayman Islands vacation experience.
Over the next 12 months, the FreemanGroup will conduct baseline service assessments and a comparative analysis of best practices; assist with the development of a public relations campaign to promote awareness of the programme; train a cadre of local trainers; provide industry-wide customer service training; implement service standards within tourism related sectors; provide consultation for local businesses; and establish a continual customer service monitoring system. Management and monitoring of this project will be overseen by the Human Capital Development Unit within the Department of Tourism.
The first year will focus on the accommodations and restaurant sectors, as well as key positions within the Department of Tourism. The following two consecutive years will focus on the remaining sectors and also target additional Government departments, including the Royal Cayman Islands Police, Immigration and Customs, said the press release.
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