Resort’s customer frontline businesses to spread

Resort’s customer frontline businesses to spread the Spirit of Queenstown

Queenstown businesses can become the face of the resort’s rich culture, character and energy with a new programme launched this week by Queenstown Resort College.

‘Spirit of Queenstown’ is an exciting professional development programme for all businesses, large or small, involved in customer contact and visitor experiences.

Put together by QRC Training and Development Manager Fiona Boyer following 12 months of in-depth consultation with clients, and reflecting the college’s aim to be known as a ‘centre of excellence’ in New Zealand, the programme has been built to address the specific needs of Queenstown businesses.

“We’re delivering a product that ‘Queenstown Inc’ has asked for, that addresses the specific needs of our resort town, can be dynamic, adapted season by season and will recognise changes in visitor demographics over time,” she said.

“Unlike other training programmes, this is a specialised Queenstown product being delivered by a specialist Queenstown team, with the flexibility of customised programmes on request and group rates for ten or more staff.”

The day-long Spirit of Queenstown programme has four modules covering business, culture, service and sales. QRC has a pool of trainers to lead each module, where attendees will undergo experiential learning in maximizing sales opportunities, cross-cultural communication, creating great interpretation and exceptional service – Queenstown style.

To officially launch the programme, QRC presented an overview of it to senior members of Chamber of Commerce businesses yesterday (15 September).

Ms Boyer said the programme was a key opportunity for frontline services and tourism operators to become well-known, friendly and familiar brands of excellence for visitors in the town, and was about a lot more than customer service.

“We have high levels of interest in all our professional development programmes so we’re going full steam ahead with the Spirit of Queenstown,” she said. “Businesses that have completed the programme will receive an easily identifiable ‘Spirit of Excellence Red Badge’ that will mark them as businesses committed to delivering excellence in customer experiences in their field.”

Ziptrek Ecotours Marketing and Sales Manager Nicky Busst was one of the representatives at the launch and was full of praise for the programme.

“We're thrilled to see QRC leading the way in driving such an important focus. This will definitely be a ‘must do’ course for all new and existing staff this summer,” she said.

Destination Queenstown CEO Tony Everitt said he believed the course was a great initiative and would be very beneficial for local businesses.

“People can choose from a range of customer service courses but QRC’s new initiative also ensures participants can upskill their local knowledge quickly. Our visitors often rely on tips from locals to gain insight into the region, so to have knowledgeable frontline staff acting as ambassadors across Queenstown is a valuable asset for individual businesses and the town,” he said.

To enrol on the Spirit of Queenstown course or for further information email training@qrc.ac.nz.

ENDS

© Scoop Media