Northern Ireland Companies recently received a Welcome to Excellence Award at a ceremomny held in the City Hotel in Derry. These companies - 10 in total had made the committment to train 95% of their staff in Welcome Host/ Host Plus/ Welcome All - all 1 day customer care programmes.

Billy Nelson - Chairman of Tourism Training Trust presented the Awards.
Companies who received an Award include:

• Harbour Heights B & B
• Coleraine Tourist Information Centre
• The Valley Hotel - Fivemiletown
• City Hotel - Derry
• Downshire School
• Ulster American Folk Park
• RAF - Belfast
• Austin and Co - Derry
• BCW Recruitment and Training - Ballycastle
• Killyhevlin Hotel

City Hotel - Derry

Pictured receiving the award are: Hotel's chairman Patrick Durkin and Brenda Sharkey HR Manager.

At present in the hotel all full and part time staff have been trained on the Welcome Host this will be followed up this year with the Welcome Plus programme. The training programme so far has given the hotel the opportunity to make various improvements based on involving the staff and talking through service issues so that the customers experience is more enjoyable.

Ulster American Folk Park

Pictured receiving the award is: Billy Nelson Chairman of TTT, Evelyn Cardwell HR Manager and Peter Kelly Head of Museum Services.

UAFP recognises that staff are fundamental to its successful operation. The museum is fully committed to its policy on staff training and development that enables all staff to perform their duties to the best of their ability thereby maximising visitor experience and accessibility. Out of a total number of 92 staff at the museum, 88 will have successfully completed the Welcome to Excellence course.

Coleraine Council and Bushtown House

Pictured receiving the award is Billy Nelson Chairman of TTT, Peter Thompson Tourism Manager of Coleraine Council and Siobhan McCormick-McKenna TIC Manager and her staff.

We are a small but dedicated team who work closely with customer of all nationalities both in person, by telephone and by e-mail. Many of our customer contact us in advance of arriving in Northern Ireland seeking help with booking their accommodation and guidance on places to visit etc. Customers are often quick to acknowledge the professional and prompt service we offer and this feedback is very welcome.

This is our aim for all staff both permanent and seasonal and why courses such as Welcome to Excellence are important to us. The Welcome to Excellence series provides a 'time out' platform for us to take a 'bird's eye view' of our individual performance in 'Customer Service' to reflect on the do's and don'ts and to see ourselves through the eyes of the customer.

Downshire School

Pictured receiving the award is Billy Nelson Chairman of TTT, Liz McIntyre Welcome Host Trainer and teacher with her year 14 pupils.

Welcome Host is an excellent programme which highlights the importance of good customer service and is an invaluable qualification for young people as they head into the world of work." "I found Welcome Host an enjoyable experience because I feel it has helped my communication with others inside and outside of school." Kristina Lavery (Yr 14)

Killyhevlin Hotel and Valley Hotel

Pictured receiving the award is: Lisa Williamson Manager of Valley Hotel, Leigh Watson Director of Killyhevlin Hotel, Geraldine Gallagher Supervisor of Killyhevlin Hotel and Rodney Watson Chairman of NIHF.

Welcome Host has been delivered to all part-time and full-time staff and this resulted in a very noticeable increase of staff performance and motivation. Staff now work more as a team with one common goal, that is customer satisfaction.

Staff have also partaken in Welcome All - it is amazing the awareness this has created and how often it is put into practice every day. Welcome All is the epitome of good customer care practice.

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