Waiters, waitresses receive customer service training

GINA, GUYANA, Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Customer service in Guyana received a boost today, as the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) held a training session for waiters and waitresses from restaurants and hotels around Georgetown.

Today’s training was described as appropriate as Guyana prepares to celebrate Restaurant Week from November 18-27 as part of Tourism Awareness Month activities.

Speaking at the training at the Cara Lodge Hotel, Quamina Street, Tourism and Hospitality Trainer, Ronda Crawford said Guyana is a hospitable country with hospitable people, but the standard of customer service has been reduced.

Director of the GTA, Indranauth Haralsingh told the participants that they are very important when it comes to customer service.

“Today’s training will deal with a lot more than that, you interact with the visitors or the guests or the customers, whatever you want to call them. You play a key role in satisfying their wants and needs, and in this case, they are

coming to your restaurant for a drink or a meal,” Haralsingh said.

Crawford noted that, “with the right training, it can enhance our customer service and enhance our already good tourism product.”

When asked how such a small percentage of persons (participants who attended the training worship) could impact such a large customer service sector, Crawford said that spreading knowledge will be important.

“Hopefully, just like people copy bad habits, hopefully they will copy the good habits, they will see the one employee doing it well, being recognized, and they will be encouraged to do the same thing,” Crawford said.

Crawford who has a Masters in Hospitality from the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica said that if one person from every establishment attends training, it will enhance that person’s place of employment.

 

By Gabreila Patram