Visit Kent launches “Welcome To Kent “training programme

Leisure and hospitality staff and students from across Kent can prepare to welcome the world to the county ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games thanks to a bespoke training course.

Visit Kent’s Welcome to Kent training programme, based on Tourism South East’s Welcome Host Gold course, has been specifically tailored to help leisure and hospitality businesses prepare their staff for the expected influx of visitors to Kent next year.

“With the Olympics now less than a year away, it is so important that we as a county get the welcome right,” said Sandra Matthews-Marsh, Chief Executive of Visit Kent. “We have a unique opportunity to make a great impression on visitors from all over the world, to make them want to return and discover more of what our great county has to offer in future years.”

Courses, which run until February, are already being delivered and among the first to take advantage are 120 staff from Canterbury’s New Marlowe Theatre ahead of its opening in October.

Using case studies and discussion groups, the course covers a range of subjects aimed at brushing up on essential customer relations skills, including:

· Identifying your internal and external customers

· Delivering sustainable products and services

· Importance of customer loyalty

· Changing expectations and service trends

· The customer journey

· Policies, procedure and standards

· First Impressions

· The communication process

· Telephone techniques

· Working successfully with colleagues

· Providing an accessible service

· Language and cultural diversity

· Welcoming customers of all ages

· Using customer service to boost business

· Converting enquiries into sales

· Handling complaints and resolving problems

“The course is designed to help businesses and their staff take a step back so they can see exactly what they and Kent have to offer visitors,” said Sandra Matthews-Marsh. “By the end of it they will understand just who their customers are, what they expect and how those expectations can be exceeded.

“But it is also about showing people how working with their colleagues helps deliver excellent customer service on a consistent basis, so it will help develop working relationships.”

The one-day courses can be delivered in-house or as open courses at various locations around the county. The cost has been subsidised through Interreg funding and is £10 per person for in-house courses and £25 per person for open courses.

Companies in the leisure and hospitality sector interested in finding out more details or booking places on the course should write to Visit Kent Training, 2nd Floor Invicta House, County Hall, Maidstone, ME14 1XX; email Katherine.davison@kent.gov.uk, or call 01622 696936.