Jacqueline Nasralla, Contributor
(From left) Stephanie Stewart of Southside, Kingston and Jerado Stewart and Glasford Barracks, both of Denham Town, Kingston, are beneficiaries of the Couples Resorts 2007 Inner-city Initiative Project. - Photo by Janet Silvera
The restaurant had filled up quickly for breakfast, the tourists anxious to eat and get out in the sun. A young waitress, Stephanie Stewart, manoeuvred her way among the tables with a water jug in hand, cheerfully greeting a newly arrived couple.
"Good morning. How was your flight?" She smiled as she poured the water. "You must feel relieved to be finally here. Was it a long journey?"
Surprised, they returned the smiled and glancing around at the full dining room replied, "How do you know we've just arrived?"
"Well, you weren't here yesterday and you were looking at the beach as if you'd never seen such a lovely sight." She filled their glasses, "We have a beautiful breakfast for you before you go and enjoy all that sand and sea. Let me tempt you with some fresh Jamaican orange juice, or maybe passion fruit?"
Within seconds, not minutes, the couple was captivated. In-between guiding them to choose their breakfast and leading them back to the table, Stewart had stopped to refill cups and glasses at other tables.
"I have a question for you this morning," she said to an American couple as she poured their coffee, "Which parish is famous for its Blue Mountain Coffee?" Then she moved on saying, "I'll come back later for the answer."
Unfriendly attitude
My husband Pat and I sat up in admiration. "What a far cry from 20 years ago," my husband commented.
Originally from England, I've lived in Jamaica for almost 21 years and have stayed at small and large hotels across the island, whenever work and finances allowed. I also lived in Ocho Rios for four years in the early 1990s and was always struck by the (for the most part) unfriendly attitude towards tourists.
However, my recent observations have been telling a very different story. Stewart's smiling face seems to represent the new attitude in the tourism belt along the north coast and Negril. A trainee waitress at Couples Negril for the last 18 months, she was a far cry from the quiet and sometimes surly faces of restaurant staff, unsure of themselves, undertrained and overstressed. Uncertain of how to relate to the guests, serving staff was either over the top, bordering on harassment, or keeping mainly quiet. Not so today.
Stung by criticism about poor service, the tourist industry has taken steps to put a sparkle in its act. Since the late 1990s, the sector, along with institutions like the HEART Trust/NTA, has put in place training programmes to assist front-line staff.
Tertiary institutes
"A great deal more is being offered now by way of training academies - HEART/NTA, tertiary institutes, private schools, and the hotels own in-house programmes," said Cecil Cornwall, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Western Hospitality Institute.
By far the most effective course in changing attitude has been the Tourism Product Development Company's (TPDCo) Team Jamaica programme. "(It) has had an excellent and positive impact on the Jamaican hospitality industry," noted Cornwall whose institution, since 1998, has been providing training opportunities in the tourist industry locally and overseas.
The Team Jamaica programme, which started in 1997 providing in-house training for hotel staff, has been mandatory for tourism employees since 2001 and is enforced where individuals and organisations require a Jamaica Tourist Board licence.
Hugh Shim, TDPCo's executive training manager who operates from the agency's Montego Bay office, had high praise for the Team Jamaica programme. Some 28,000 participants have been through the course which has been funded by HEART since 2004, he noted.
"The main target audience is hospitality students in the HEART Community Colleges and all tourism employees. The programme is delivered in-house and in communities all over the island on a monthly basis."
Professional respect
Most of the larger hotels take the majority of their staff from the HEART trainees and encourage their staff to become part of the guests' experience while maintaining a professional respect.
Dr Janet Dyer, manager of Runaway Bay HEART Hotel and Training Institute in St Ann, agreed that training has changed dramatically.
"Training has also taken a new twist, where learners have to now be competent in Team Jamaica (tourism awareness programme) and environmental awareness programmes, languages (to include French, German and Spanish). This extended training concept has given learners the edge to respond to the changing nature of the tourist who graces our shores."
Shim noted that this approach helps to develop a sense of pride in self, country and the tourism pro-duct. It's highly interactive, he added, as participants get to taste the cuisine, dance, sing folk songs, share their experience, network and bond as a team".
Stephanie Stewart, the Couples Negril waitress, believed her training has helped her to take more pride in her work and therefore provide excellent service.
Disadvantaged young people
"The guests want to know what makes Jamaica, and I want to be able to show them," said Stewart, who grew up in the downtown Kingston neighbourhood of Southside, and is among the first group to benefit from the Couples Inner-City Incentive Scheme initiated by Glen Lawrence, CEO of Couples Negril, to provide training for disadvantaged young people.
"When I come through the gate to work in the morning, I feel as if I've walked on to a stage and everyone, including me, is judging my performance.
"I want to be the best I can be and I love to see my name on the customer service feedback sheets When I get a complaint from a guest, I listen and keep treating them nicely until they calm down and become friendly again," she added.
Karen Lanigan, general manager of Couples Negril, reckoned that while increased customer service training, technological tools such as audio/visual aids and role playing have had an impact, there's more to this improvement.
The one-to-one interaction between staff and managers and an open-door policy have helped to foster good relations with team members at Couples Negril, she noted.
Comfortable
"In this environment our staff feel more comfortable to discuss with management problems or issues relating to the job or otherwise, which would normally affect their performance. The end result is that we have happier employees who want to deliver excellent customer service."
The last word has to be from Colin Cheshire, a trip adviser from Warrington, the United Kingdom, who had a romantic getaway at Couples in August.
"The staff want you back, they constantly asked if we were returning. They aren't just being polite either, they mean it when they say to you, 'See you next year' with a knowing look. I can see why people get bitten by the bug.
"Would we return? Hell yes!!!"
Email feedback to editor@gleanerjm.com
