Hundreds Turn Out For Department Of Tourism Customer Service Training

ST. THOMAS — Nearly 500 tourism stakeholders across the territory participated in training presented last week by one of the world’s leading experts in service excellence, a press release the Department of Tourism issued late Friday made known.

Dr. Bryan Williams, a dynamic keynote speaker, consultant and author, delivered a series of workshops on topics such as “What it means to be a professional,” “Building a team of engaged employees,” “Creating a culture of service and organizational excellence” and “Being a service ambassador.”

Dr. Williams, who hails from the U.S. Virgin Islands, is a noted authority on service excellence and leadership effectiveness and believes that simply meeting expectations in the tourism sector is not enough.

“Don’t think you are doing something special by merely complying with people’s requests. We ought to treat others the way they don’t even know they want to be treated. We must look for opportunities to anticipate, to do something more than the bare minimum,” he exhorted.

Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty said the free training sessions are part of the territory’s ongoing efforts to enhance the delivery of quality customer service.

“When it comes to customer service, we must continue to make investments in our people if our industry is to remain competitive,” she said, thanking Dr. Williams for delivering another
productive training series.

Held over two days, the training was offered on the St. Croix and St. Thomas campuses of the University of the Virgin Islands.

Over the past several years, Dr. Williams has provided training and consulting services to hundreds of organizations in more than 20 industries, ranging from healthcare to hospitality, in many parts of the world.

Dr. Williams started his career as a busboy at the Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas, and went on to serve as the company’s global corporate director of training and organizational effectiveness.

Addressing the theme “Delivering World-Class Service,” he focused on what it means to be a professional. For supervisors, he lectured on how to build a team of engaged stakeholders, while taxi operators benefited from a session on enhancing service standards and delivery.

The expert presenter shared the following takeaways:

• No matter your job, or how long you’ve been in it, there should be evidence that you were there.
• Something is different when YOU are at work. It could be positive or negative, but it’s never neutral.
• Treat each customer as an individual. Not as one of many.
• Figure out what is your personal service standard – the unique way that you sign your work or sign your service.
• Envision that each customer is a king or queen, and treat him or her accordingly.

Virgin Islands historians Sean Krigger of the State Historic Preservation Office and Frandelle Gerard of Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism (CHANT) led condensed sessions on culture and history in St. Thomas and St. Croix, respectively.

Training sessions in early 2016 for the transportation for hire sector will address Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Traffic Rules and Regulations, Professionalism, and History.