Process

Timing

Content

Aids Required

Welcome

House -

keeping

Purpose of the Training Course

5 minutes

Welcome participants to the training session. Explain the format of the session. Introduce yourself and any relevant information.

Remind employees of where the toilets are. Let them know there is tea & coffee available at the back of the room.

The purpose of this training course is too ensure that we deliver quality service to all our guests. And we will do this by:

• Identifying your role as a guest service ambassador for Wonderland Sydney

• Identifying our customers – their needs and expectations.

• Communication – non verbal, vocal & verbal messages

• First Impressions – the guests’ first impression on our company is based mainly on the impression the employees create.

OHT 1

Your role within the Company.

20 minutes

Activity

Instructions:

• Arrange in groups of 3.

• In every role or position you have key result areas.

• Identify 4 or 5 Key Result Areas within your position. (Give 5 minutes to complete exercise)

• Discuss the common key result areas ensuring that Guest Service is included.

• Rate the KRA’s in order of priority

• Now what I would like you to do is look at the KRA’s we have come up with and rate them in priority looking at it from the customer’s perspective.

Activity Sheet

Who are our guest’s?

15 minutes

What is a guest? Let’s have a clear definition of what a guest is?

Who are our guests? Ask the group to come up with a list of all the guests they deal with on a day to day basis.

What is the difference between internal or external guest?

Ask participants to define Quality Guest Service and what they particularly like about quality guest service. Discuss why it is necessary for us to focus on Quality Guest Service.

• Customers demand it

• Competition drives it

• Product differentiation

Would someone like to describe to us an example of bad service they have received in the last month?

Prompt questions:

• What made this service particularly bad?

• Did you observe their body language?

• What words did they use?

• What type of image do you get from this Company from the bad service received?

• What would you do if you received bad service?

In Summary

What is a guest? A guest is:

• The most important people to us

• Not dependent on us: we are dependent on them

• Not an interruption, they are the purpose of our work.

• We are not doing them a favour by serving them, they are doing us a favour by giving them the opportunity to serve them

• Not outsiders to our business; they are part of our business

• Not cold numbers, they are human beings with prejudices, feelings and emotions just like us

Handout

Flipchart

Handout

Customer Expectation

10 minutes

Now lets look at what our guests expect from us.

Great Guest Service and what it means:

• knowing our guests and our product

• anticipating customer needs

• exceeding guest expectations

• adopting a ‘can do’ attitude

Now beside each one of the guests that we have previously listed their possible needs.

How can I exceed my guest’s expectation?

PROMISE ONLY WHAT YOU CAN DELIVER

AND

DELIVER MORE THAN YOU PROMISE

Handout

Flipchart

OHT

Problem Solving Tools

10 minutes

Sometimes problems can be experienced when dealing with guests?

What are some of the problems that occur in your area?

(Keep the problems down to about 3 or 4)

Here is a Problem Solving Checklist that can be beneficial when dealing with guests. Obviously, every problem is different and not all the following points will apply.

• LISTEN CAREFULLY

• GIVE FULL ATTENTION TO THE GUEST

• MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT

• LEARN THE GUEST’S NAME, IF POSSIBLE AND USE IT

• ASK QUESTIONS TO CLARIFY

• BEHAVE IN A MATURE MANNER AND PROFESSIONAL MANNER (KEEP YOUR COOL)

• ACCEPT RESPONSIBILTY TO TAKE CARE OF PROBLEM

• TELL THE GUEST WHAT YOU ARE OING TO DO AND WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO DO IT

• TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM (OR REFER IT, IF NECESSARY)

• FOLLOWUP TO MAKE SURE PROBLEM IS RESOLVED

• MAKE AMENDS IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG

Handout

Communication

25 minutes

Icebreaker - Chinese Whispers

One way Communication - instruct participants that they can not ask any questions, take notes or seek confirmation of their understanding of the message. This message is to be passed quietly from person to person. The last person is to relate the message they received from the group.

Compare this to original message.

Show the Hagar cartoon and explain the One way communication model and discuss the hazards of One way communication.

Two way Communication - Repeat the Chinese Whispers exercise. This time allowing feedback.

Open for discussion. Discuss which communication strategy was more effective and why?

Types of Communication.

How do we communicate? There are 3 types of communication. Verbal, Non Verbal and Vocal. Would someone like to give us an explanation on what the difference is between the ways in which we communicate?

Verbal - choice of words, vocabulary, jargon, slang

“The Content of the message”

Vocal - enunciation, volume, tone, pitch, speed

“The use of the voice as an instrument”

Non-verbal - dress, body language, facial expressions

“The language used in a silent movie”

Does everyone understand the difference between verbal and vocal? I would like to illustrate that a little further.

Example: Explain the you are talking to the dog that has just been naughty, then say in a sweet voice,

“gee you have been a bad boy today”

What message am I sending out there?

Now reverse the situation. The dog has been very good, then say in a stern tone,

“what a good boy you are.”

Can you see the difference now in verbal and vocal?

Which part of the message do you think is more influential?

A: Non verbal

As a percentage how would you rate the importance of each component of a message?

Verbal 7%

Vocal 38%

Non Verbal 55%

Is there any other way in which we communicate? Could listening be used as a communication tool?

In summary, less than 10% of what we say comes from our words, the rest is sent by vocal and non verbal messages.

To communicate more effectively, you must also understand that it is impossible not to communicate; we send out messages that say something about ourselves all the time.

The Importance of Communicating Clearly.

Why is it important to communicate clearly?

Here are some tips to help us communicate more clearly.

• The Information must be correct - if you do not know say so, then locate the correct information.

• Keep your message short and concise - avoid using too much information and/or using terms unfamiliar to the guest (ie jargon or technical terms)

• Use non-verbal communication - drawing diagrams or writing instructions, using gestures or facial expressions can often help.

• Speak slowly, clearly and distinctly - especially when speaking to a guest who is not a native speaker of our language. And do not shout.

• Check the guest has understood - ask the guest for feedback to ensure they have understood

• Be confident - smile and always look at the person you are speaking too.

• Be courteous - always treat guests as you would like to be treated yourself.

Icebreaker

OHT

Handout

Handout

Handout

Handout

First Impressions

25 minutes

In this section we need to show how important first impressions are to our guests. To the guest, you are the host of the organisation.

You will need to choose someone from the group to participate in this exercise. Debrief that person away from the rest of the group.

Whilst you are debriefing put up and overhead and ask them to discuss their perception or first impression from this overhead.

Brief for Role Player

They will need to play a role where they are a tour guide who is late to pick up their client. They really have a ‘don’t care’ attitude and need to display this in the role play. Once you debrief the other participants you will ask the person to enter the room.

Brief for rest of the group.

I would like them to imagine the you are a visiting journalist to this region. You have been invited to come and write a story about the is area/town and it’s features and activities. You have been asked to wait here at 10am for your tour guide to show up and show you around. You have had a long journey and of course you are tired. It is now 10.05 am and no guide to be seen. At 10.10 you start to get agitated. After all you were here on time.

Suddenly the door bursts open........and the role play is conducted

Ask the group:

• What did you think of this character?

• What sort of day do you think you will have with this guide?

• What sort of things did you take notice of when you first saw the person in the demonstration (even before they spoke)

• How long did it take you to come to your conclusion?

• How long will it take to break this first impression?

Did you know.....

• It takes 3-4 seconds to create a first impression and the next 3-4 minutes are spent confirming the original first impression created.

• It can be very difficult to change our first impression, even if we are exposed to the same situation a second time.

Why is it so difficult to change our first impressions - what do you think they are based on?

• they are personal

• they are based on values and morals

• they are not always logical and are therefore hard to challenge

• they are subject to our bias and prejudices

Tips for improving first impressions

Here are some tips to improving our first impressions

• make sure that you are well groomed each and every day. Do not smoke or chew gum on the job.

• make a habit of greeting customers as soon as they enter. If you are busy or on the phone, give a smile and not to indicate you know they are there.

• Keep work areas tidy at all times.

• Carry yourself with pride.

• Greet all guests courteously – don’t avoid anyone.

• Smile and smile sincerely.

OHT

Handout

Conclusion

10 minutes

In conclusion:

• Review the different sections of the workshop and the different skills each participant has learned

• This workshop has taught you the skills. It’s now up to you to put it into practice.

Ask if the participants have any further questions.

Thank them for participating in the Wonderland Guest Service Training Course.