Business news Training
Keeping customer service on track
The sector skills council for transport and tourism has been looking at how the good work that was done during the Olympics can be carried forward. Sharon Glancy explains
W
e proved the naysayers wrong – London 2012 was a huge success, and the rail industry had much to
prove with many believing our transport networks were the likely weak point of our Olympic Games. Again, they were proved wrong. Our services were regular and efficient, adding an air of ease to the excitement and expectation. Now, for the first time in a long time, our rail system has the weight of public opinion behind it. And with that comes a new reputation to uphold. In addition to delivering a seamless transport schedule, London 2012 has also been called the friendliest and most welcoming Olympic Games. And our rail networks played an integral part in this too. As part of People 1st
– the sector skills
council for passenger transport, along with hospitality, travel and tourism – we worked with many transport providers in the run-up to the Games. We spearheaded a campaign to ensure frontline service staff were ready to dispel the UK’s poor customer service reputation. As part of this preparation, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), one of Britain’s first light rail systems, trained 540 members of staff using WorldHost customer service training.
Other network operators, like Greater Anglia, invested in projects outside the capital to secure their share of the Olympic visitor economy. In June, working with the Great Yarmouth Community Trust, Greater Anglia introduced a new service to greet visitors and holiday-makers at the station during the Olympic period. The Trust, a neighbourhood-based charitable organisation, has been in charge of staffing and training the service through a local volunteer programme. As well as receiving first aid and health and safety qualifications, the volunteers were trained to offer a warm welcome to passengers through the WorldHost Principles of Customer Service programme. The volunteers work Monday to Friday at peak changeover times in the station and their efforts are already reaping rewards. They have already been shortlisted for an Association of Community Rail Partnerships Passengers award in the Passengers Matter category. The project is
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such a community success that it will be recruiting new volunteers in early 2013 ready for another busy summer season. But beyond what has already been achieved is the true spirit of London 2012: its promise for a legacy. And to sustain the improved service levels we’ve achieved, we need to make sure managers and supervisors are empowered to create a long-lasting customer service culture within their teams. Our research found that managers have a critical role in supporting and enabling front-line staff to deliver excellent customer service. Factors like leading by example, educating staff on the value of customer service and coaching teams to improve their service performance were highlighted by visitor economy employers as particularly important to creating an outstanding customer experience
In response to this, we have created a customer service training programme designed for managers to teach them why their role is essential to delivering a great customer experience and give
them techniques to motivate and coach team members. The WorldHost Principles of Supervising Customer Service Performance training also explores actions to take when customer service goes wrong and how to monitor and measure a team’s customer service performance.
The widespread enthusiasm for service during the Games shows the impact a co-ordinated and well-trained group of people can have on the reputation of an event, a sector and even a whole country. Though front-line staff are at the coalface of customer relations, managers and supervisors are vital to providing and reinforcing a framework for a service that runs smoothly. If they understand the value of excellent customer service, and how to coach their team members to deliver it, not only will they maintain and improve service standards in their business – they’ll be empowered to attract new customers too. Sharon Glancy is a director of the People 1st Training Company:
www.people1sttraining.co.uk
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