Educator Desiree Adams-Robinson told FLOW in the Morning’s ‘She Will Lead’ host Sheba Wilson that customer service in the Turks and Caicos Islands is much to be desired and warned that the country could suffer if such shortfall is not tackled with immediate effect.
Discussing the topic: “Creating a culture of learning and development”, Adams-Robinson pointed out that she would love for the Turks and Caicos Islands populace to become aware that it is necessary for them to become service-oriented, and service-minded.
They conceded that the approach to service in the Turks and Caicos Islands unquestionably has to do with mindset.
“The attitude that we have towards the whole idea of service… not that we don’t know it’s important…but it could be because we have grown up in an environment where service was not delivered to us and so we carry that on. It is going to take a while to see the change if we start now,” she encouraged.
She pointed out that the companies that are leading the way in service are the resorts but stressed that such attitude should be an across-the-board initiative.
“They invest in their employees who live among us, whether they are Turks and Caicos Islanders or others. They are investing in them to have that attitude and service, and it’s great. But it has to go beyond hospitality. It has to be when you arrive at the airport,” she asserted.
Adams-Robinson told Wilson that on her return from a recent trip overseas, the service received at the Providenciales International Airport was below what she had expected.
“I wouldn’t tell what I experienced, but it was not impressive. Being a Turks Islander, being someone who understands what service is all about, I am like, ‘we have to do better’.
“Every group in this country has to make a concerted effort to do better, to improve it. And a whole lot of maintaining service standards would depend on managers’ view of service.
She added: “I can tell with my scenario with working at the college, if I am not making sure I serve my lecturers well, some of them – because it is innate within them – would serve their students well. But some of them would treat the students how I treat them.
Do managers/leaders of organizations understand, or is that we just sent employees out to go do a little customer service training, and that’s it? An employee is not going to necessarily implement that.
“If you are the manager you need to have systems and processes in place, to ensure that what they are learning about service is brought into the organization and used throughout.”
Adams-Robinson maintained that service should become cultural in the workplace since culture is a way of life.
“Why is service culture so important? If a company wants to reap great benefits, then it has to step back and look at what type of culture do we want as a company. What way of life do we want in our company, and how do we create it.
“And so, the culture of learning and development is one of those things that will create a great working environment,” she continued.
She said the workers at an establishment are the best salespersons, because if they believe they are treated unfairly, they will tell the public, and if they believe they are treated fairly they would also tell the public.
She reasoned that when someone is satisfied with their working environment, not only would they give it their all, but will also show loyalty to both customers and the establishment in which they work.
Earlier this year, Adams-Robinson ran a series of webinars focusing on service culture. She said the whole idea of the webinar series was to foster the delivery of excellent service within this destination.
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