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| TIDES WILL ENSURE A MARKETPLACE ADVANTAGE SAYS TOURIST BOARD |
| February 12, 2009 |
At the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board, excellence in customer service is viewed as a main differentiator between the destination’s tourism industry and that of other destinations. Indeed, focusing on excellent customer service is one way of the destination achieving a compelling marketplace advantage, and an investment that the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board is proud to make.
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TURKS AND CAICOS, BWI (February 12, 2008)— At the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board, excellence in customer service is viewed as a main differentiator between the destination’s tourism industry and that of other destinations. Indeed, focusing on excellent customer service is one way of the destination achieving a compelling marketplace advantage, and an investment that the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board is proud to make.
“As our country continues on a path of development, it is of paramount importance that we, through government and in collaboration with the Hotel and Tourism Association, continue in our initiative of spearheading an island-wide programme focused on quality service enhancement” remarks Mr. Lindsey Musgrove, Director of Tourism. “The name of our programme is TIDES (Together Individuals Delivering Excellent Service)” he states.
Launched during Tourism Awareness Week, October 2007, TIDES is an advanced version of the TCI Host Training Programme and will establish national service standards for frontline workers within the destination. TIDES entails two distinct components:
(1) Promises – an eight hour workshop which focuses on customer service behavioural training and improving tourism knowledge of frontline staff to make them better service ambassadors.
(2) Service Standards – this series of activities implements international standards and provides on-the-job training of the technical skills required to deliver high quality service in hotels and restaurants. It involves a twenty (20) hour workshop for managers and supervisors called FOUNDATIONS and on-the-job training sessions for staff called PRACTICES.
In an effort to ensure the longevity of TIDES, management at the Tourist Board made the strategic decision to develop internal resources as opposed to solely depending on the international facilitators of the Freeman Group of Dallas, Texas. “It is our intention to gradually enhance customer service throughout the destination, touching down on all groups involved in the visitor’s cycle of service. There is no argument that using local certified personnel would pay huge dividends in future years and also lower the costs of training” stated Mr. Musgrove.
Ms. Blythe Clare and Ms. Dara Thomas, Training Manager and Assistant Training Manager with the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board, is the lead team for TIDES. “We have already undergone training with four (4) other belongers for PROMISES, and are awaiting certifications while steadily delivering PROMISES to our Immigration and Customs personnel, local taxi-cab operators and front office teams within our hotels” advised Ms. Clare. “Just recently, Ms. Dara Thomas, Ms. Desiree Adams and I were privileged to begin training for the SERVICE STANDARDS component of TIDES and we eagerly anticipate delivering training to managers and supervisors within our local hotels and restaurants pending certification” she continued.
Despite the economic slowdown, and other setbacks the region’s tourism industry is facing, it is evident that the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board has placed training as a top priority on its agenda with the vision of enhancing customer service for both visitors and residents. The Board has strategically invested in the development of local resource personnel thereby ensuring the sustainability of TIDES and customer service as a main differentiator with other destinations, and it is optimistic that the economic and branding returns will far outweigh the investment.
For further information on TIDES for frontline personnel, managers, supervisors and staff please contact the Tourist Board’s Training Unit on 649 941 5376. |
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