Cayman’s front line brush-up

(CNS): Often the first people that visitors to the Cayman Islands talk to, the licensed taxi drivers, tour operators, dispatchers and omnibus drivers have a crucial role to play in the tourism industry. In a drive to improve customer service levels at the port and airport, the Department of Tourism (DoT) has partnered with the Public Transport Unit (PTU) to conduct a series of workshops for some of the 400 drivers that are the front line when it comes to ‘brand Cayman’.  Participants learn how to greet customers, how their behaviour impacts visitor perception and to improve their knowledge of local history and culture.

The PRIDE workshops seek to improve customer service delivery for those people who come into direct contact with visitors to the Cayman Islands every day, both stay-over and cruise visitors. The workshops, which will run on Fridays until June, examine how the drivers greet their passengers, the demographics of the visitors targeted by the Cayman Islands government, as well as how their behaviour impacts the visitors’ perception of the destination and their desire to return or recommend the Cayman Islands.

 The DoT said that each attendee receives a “Know your Cayman Islands” booklet containing useful information about the history, culture and heritage of the country so they can provide better customer service by offering accurate information about the Cayman Islands. “This is an excellent customer service workshop,” said Durk Banks, Director of Public Transport. “The feedback received so far by the PTU has been extremely encouraging and we look forward to the positive influence they will have on public transport.”

These workshops are only the beginning of a continuum of training programmes specifically designed for tourism partners who operate from the port and airport.

“The tourism industry is a key source of revenue for the Cayman Islands economy,” said Oneisha Richards, Deputy Director of Tourism Product Development for DoT. “It’s therefore essential that we educate and train those who directly influence the experience of our visitors. PRIDE, which stands for Personal Responsibility In Delivering Excellence, is a national tourism customer service training programme developed to help raise the level of customer service delivery within the Cayman Islands tourism industry in order to positively impact the visitor experience.”

For more information on the PRIDE programme, visit www.caymanislands.ky/pride