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What delegates learned from the recent GSWS Masterclass

30 Mar 2012

What did the delegates at the recent Glasgow Service with Style Andrew Stembridge Masterclass learn from the event?  Here are a few of their comments: 

* Jayne, Caroline and Freya, from John Lewis, said that Andrew’s take on customer service is very similar to that at John Lewis. Jayne said: “We are extremely passionate about customer service and it was brilliant to hear Andrew echoing the same work ethics of John Lewis.”

Caroline added: “At John Lewis it is like a big family of staff, just as Andrew underlines. The right people, with the right calibre, personality and passion will look after customers in a positive and friendly way.”

Freya said: “It was the "little things that make all the difference" message that I liked from  Andrew. We are also trained to exceed expectations from customers in our work and so I could really understand what Andrew was saying.”

* Liz Davies, of The Arches, was impressed by Andrew’s tips on “realistic and affordable wow factors”. “I took a few notes about this,” she said. “I also liked the message about being open and honest with staff so that everyone feels as though they are working together for a united goal of success.”

 “And offering rewards for staff that do not have to cost a fortune. This is such a great thing to think about,” Liz added.

* Kirsty McDowall, from The Tall Ship at the Riverside, commented on Andrew’s advice about making sure that staff are working in the right place. “He talked about gaining work experience in a variety of positions and then talking to staff about what they felt they were better at. Talking to staff, with regular feedback sessions between staff and managers is important and I liked that Andrew reminded us of this.”

* Sara Trail, assistant restaurant manager at  Blythswood Hotel was most impressed by the idea of the “progress reports”. She said: “As a newish manager it is not always the easiest job to deal with staff who are underperforming. Being too harsh with them could lead to even more negativity and sometimes it is not easy as a manager to deal with underperformance. The progress report idea seems like a softer approach that could work very well for managers and staff.”

* Willie McCurrach, Head of School for Food, Hospitality and Tourism at the City of Glasgow College, was interested to hear Andrew talking about social get-togethers for staff.  He said: “I was interested to hear how Andrew organised such events when staff work so many different shift patterns. Holding a barbecue in the afternoon between several shifts, and inviting along family members, is a good idea. A barbecue is also a relatively cheap treat and I thought this was a great idea.”

 * Gemma Laidlaw is the general manager of The National Piping Centre, which hosted the Masterclass. She liked Andrew’s point that “staff are the most important resource of a business”.

* Tom, Graeme and Iain, are from North Lanarkshire Leisure. They talked with enthusiasm about the “customer journey”. Andrew had suggested that taking staff through the customer journey is a vital part of the early stages of work experience. At North Lanarkshire Leisure a similar initiative has been brought in for managers so that they spend more time front-of-house at busier customer times.

Graeme said: “The idea is to try to engage more customers at the point of entry to the leisure centres and while they are going about the centre. Managers are encouraged to take an active role in this and to see the centres from the customer’s point of view. It was great to hear Andrew talking about this customer journey idea too.”