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Clyde Familiarisation Tour success

03 Oct 2011

 

So many more tourism and hospitality staff are realising the benefits of “knowledge” when it comes to customer service excellence. Thanks to a series of Glasgow Service with Style city familiarisation tours, employees have been learning about Glasgow’s history and visitor attractions, which they are then able to tell their customers about. The most recent tour took place at the revamped Clyde Waterfront. Led by tour guide Mairi Bell, a group of city tourism staff were given a free morning tour taking in such attractions as the new Riverside Museum, the Glasgow Science Centre, the Tall Ship, and a trip along the river on the Clyde Clipper.

 The group – from Grand Central, Mint Hotel, Concert Halls and NTS – were given a wealth of information about the history of the area and the river’s important role in the development of Glasgow, as well as the transport links between the waterfront area and the city centre.

Mairi revealed: “The group was really fascinated to find out more about the waterfront. Traditionally this has been a place of industry but in recent years there have been some major transformations and now it is a great area for tourists to visit. 

“Even for people who live in the city there is so much to learn in this waterfront area and the more our hospitality staff know about this, the more they can pass on to their customers.”

Mairi said that the tour participants were also interested to find out about transport links to this part of the city. She added: “So often tourism staff might pass on information to customers about Glasgow’s well-known attractions in the city centre or the west end but not the waterfront area. This is because they may not have personally experienced other attractions, such as those on the Clyde, nor would they know how to instruct customers on transport links.

“Having attended this familiarisation tour, the staff have a much greater knowledge base and can direct customers to bus and boat links and also tell them some of the history of the area, along with personal recommendations about attractions. This is such a boost for customer experience in our city.”

Chris Wallace, Front of House Manager at The Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow, was one of the participants on the tour. He agrees that the tour offers huge benefits. He said: “I just didn’t realise how much there is at the Clyde Waterfront – and all the places that we can recommend to our guests.

“I found the tour really interesting and informative and I will definitely be passing on tips to our guests about transport links and where to visit. We have many conference guests and they will ask us what to do in the city for a few hours. Too often we’ll send them to the west end or into the city centre for visitor attractions but now I know more about the attractions on the Clyde I’ll definitely be passing this information on.

“I have been telling my staff about the Clyde, too, so that they can tell more customers about where to go and what to do.”

Chris also plans to send some of his concierge team on the next Clyde Waterfront Familiarisation Tour. He said: “It’s a great benefit for staff to be able to give guests information about our city. It really improves the customer’s overall experience and it’s great for creating an even better destination experience.”

*The next Clyde Waterfront Familiarisation Tour will take place in March in preparation for the Easter holiday season. Please keep an eye on the Event page or register your interest with Mairi at: discoverglasgow@glasgowservicewithstyle.com

 

 

 

So many more tourism and hospitality staff are realising the benefits of “knowledge” when it comes to customer service excellence. Thanks to a series of GSWS-supported city familiaristion tours, employees have been learning about Glasgow’s history and visitor attractions, which they are then able to tell their customers about. 
The most recent tour took place at the revamped Clyde Waterfront. Led by Mairi Bell, nine city tourism staff were given a free morning tour taking in such attractions as the Riverside Museum, the Science Centre, the Tall Ship, and a trip along the river on the Clyde Clipper.
 
The group – ¬ from Grand Central, Mint Hotel, Concert Halls and NTS – were given a wealth of information about the history of the area and the river’s important role in the development of Glasgow, as well as the transport links between the waterfront area and the city centre.
Mairi revealed: “The group was really fascinated to find out more about the waterfront. Traditionally this has been a place of industry but in recent years there have been some major transformations and now it is a great area for tourists to visit. 
“Even for people who live in the city there is so much to learn in this waterfront area and the more our hospitality staff know about this, the more they can pass on to their customers.”
Mairi said that the tour participants were also interested to find out about transport links to this part of the city. She added: “So often tourism staff might pass on information to customers about Glasgow’s well-known attractions in the city centre or the west end but not the waterfront area. This is because they may not have personally experienced other attractions, such as those on the Clyde, and nor would they know how to instruct customers on transport links.
“After out familiarisation tour the staff have a much greater knowledge base and can direct customers to bus and boat links and also tell them some of the history of the area, along with personal recommendations about attractions. This is such a boost for customer experience in our city.”
Chris Wallace, Front of House Manager at The Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow, was one of the participants on the tour. He agrees that the tour offers huge benefits. He said: “I just didn’t realise how much there is at the Clyde Waterfront – and all the places that we can recommend to our guests.
“I found the tour really interesting and informative and I will definitely be passing on tips about transport links and where to visit to our guests. We have many conference guests and they will ask us what to do in the city for a few hours. Too often we’ll send them to the west end or into the city centre for visitor attractions but now I know more about the attractions on the Clyde I’ll definitely be passing this information on.
“I have been telling my staff about the Clyde, too, so that they can tell more customers about where to go and what to do.”
Chris also plans to send some of his concierge team on the next Clyde Waterfront Familiarisation Tour. He said: “It’s a great benefit for staff to be able to give guests information about our city. It really improves the customer’s overall experience and it’s great for creating an even better destination experience.”
The next For the details of the tour itself - remember we wrote a previous piece.  Next tour will in March - to help prepare for the Easter holiday season - register interest with Mairi at discoverglasgow@glasgowservicewithstyle.com
So many more tourism and hospitality staff are realising the benefits of “knowledge” when it comes to customer service excellence. Thanks to a series of GSWS-supported city familiaristion tours, employees have been learning about Glasgow’s history and visitor attractions, which they are then able to tell their customers about. 
The most recent tour took place at the revamped Clyde Waterfront. Led by Mairi Bell, nine city tourism staff were given a free morning tour taking in such attractions as the Riverside Museum, the Science Centre, the Tall Ship, and a trip along the river on the Clyde Clipper.
 
The group – ¬ from Grand Central, Mint Hotel, Concert Halls and NTS – were given a wealth of information about the history of the area and the river’s important role in the development of Glasgow, as well as the transport links between the waterfront area and the city centre.
Mairi revealed: “The group was really fascinated to find out more about the waterfront. Traditionally this has been a place of industry but in recent years there have been some major transformations and now it is a great area for tourists to visit. 
“Even for people who live in the city there is so much to learn in this waterfront area and the more our hospitality staff know about this, the more they can pass on to their customers.”
Mairi said that the tour participants were also interested to find out about transport links to this part of the city. She added: “So often tourism staff might pass on information to customers about Glasgow’s well-known attractions in the city centre or the west end but not the waterfront area. This is because they may not have personally experienced other attractions, such as those on the Clyde, and nor would they know how to instruct customers on transport links.
“After out familiarisation tour the staff have a much greater knowledge base and can direct customers to bus and boat links and also tell them some of the history of the area, along with personal recommendations about attractions. This is such a boost for customer experience in our city.”
Chris Wallace, Front of House Manager at The Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow, was one of the participants on the tour. He agrees that the tour offers huge benefits. He said: “I just didn’t realise how much there is at the Clyde Waterfront – and all the places that we can recommend to our guests.
“I found the tour really interesting and informative and I will definitely be passing on tips about transport links and where to visit to our guests. We have many conference guests and they will ask us what to do in the city for a few hours. Too often we’ll send them to the west end or into the city centre for visitor attractions but now I know more about the attractions on the Clyde I’ll definitely be passing this information on.
“I have been telling my staff about the Clyde, too, so that they can tell more customers about where to go and what to do.”
Chris also plans to send some of his concierge team on the next Clyde Waterfront Familiarisation Tour. He said: “It’s a great benefit for staff to be able to give guests information about our city. It really improves the customer’s overall experience and it’s great for creating an even better destination experience.”
The next For the details of the tour itself - remember we wrote a previous piece.  Next tour will in March - to help prepare for the Easter holiday season - register interest with Mairi at discoverglasgow@glasgowservicewithstyle.com