A training course being held in Elgin today is hoped to lead to Moray attaining formal recognition as an international destination providing world-class customer service.
The course being held at the Drouthy Cobbler will pave the way to WorldHost destination status for Moray and will be the first in a series of such events in the region involving representatives from tourism, retail and customer service businesses.
In a move that is being led by the Moray Economic Partnership the first course, run by the Highland Retail Academy, seeks to help staff understand the role they have on their customers’ experiences.
WorldHost is a suite of world-class customer service training programmes that have already been used to train nearly one million people worldwide, including tens of thousands of staff and volunteers for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
WorldHost recognised destination status is awarded to areas where at least a quarter of businesses have reached recognised WorldHost status – that means they have trained 50% or more of their front line staff using any of the WorldHost training programmes and signed a commitment to delivering excellent customer service.
Margery McLennan, the executive director of Moray Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Tourism and Culture Strand on the Moray Economic Partnership, said: “We know that Moray can offer a great experience, and it will be a fantastic achievement if together we can achieve the WorldHost Destination status which is recognised internationally.
“I would really encourage local businesses to take advantage of the opportunity and help put Moray on the WorldHost map as well as providing a boost to their own businesses.”
Fochabers company, Saltaire Security will be the first participants in Moray’s WorldHost training course which has been designed specifically to meet their requirements – focusing on polite and assertive customer care.
Steve Robertson of Saltaire Security who has 10 members of his security staff on the course. He said: “Customer care is a major part of our work, especially in event security when we are dealing with large numbers of people so I’m always keen on learning new skills and techniques or in simply reinforcing our previous training.
“This certificate, recognized across the world, demonstrates to those event organisers, current customers and future customers that we take customer care seriously and will be a useful addition to our collection.”
Dave Stewart of Highland Retail Academy added: “Our WorldHost Principles of Customer Service programme will give your staff the skills and knowledge to deliver excellent customer service that will give your business a great reputation.
“We know that, in an increasingly competitive business environment, you need to work even harder to retain customers and win new ones – and that’s where we can help.”
For details of this course and others run by Moray College UHI, and the Out of Darkness Theatre Company, people are asked to contact the Highland Retail Academy by email to course@highlandretailacademy.co.uk.