Officials urge tourism industry raise customer service level

ourism leaders have called for an urgent overhaul of customer service within the industry, warning that poor treatment of visitors could jeopardise the island’s hard-earned reputation as a top holiday destination.

Chairman of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Javon Griffith, and CEO of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI), Andrea Franklin, issued the challenge to industry workers on Tuesday, stressing the need for continuous improvement in service quality.

Stressing that tourism was everyone’s business, the officials said poor service could have serious implications for the development of the sector, and more needed to be done to ensure the visitor experience was enhanced.

“In 2025, we need to squarely recognise that customer service is crucial in tourism, to bring the industry forward. Good customer service generally means going above and beyond to keep a client or customer satisfied and happy,” Griffith said in a speech at the BHTA’s fourth quarterly general meeting at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

“In Barbados, we already know we have a tourism-dependent economy. Within our largely service-based economy, our most important economic sector is tourism. The 1.3 million visitors to our shores in 2023 use the services of airlines, cruise ship operators, taxi drivers, car rental agencies, tour operators, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, gift shops, grocery stores, gas stations, beach vendors, financial institutions, hotels, and short-term vacation rental accommodations.

“Good customer service is paramount since Barbados is a tourism-dependent economy. But do we fully understand what good customer service is, for the tourists we wish to welcome?”

Griffith said there were too many instances of bad service dished out to visitors by many tourism practitioners.

“Unfortunately, many anecdotes of less than exemplary customer service in Barbados still abound—lackadaisical attitudes, cutting of the eye, sucking of teeth, the slow pace of service, rough verbal exchanges, problems with punctuality, not returning phone calls, the disposition that the client/customer and their concerns/desires are not that important.”

The BHTA chairman said that tourism globally was highly competitive and the island could not afford to lose visitors due to poor treatment.

He said: “We want tourists to have a seamless set of pleasant and satisfying experiences and interactions. Why? They will be more likely to return to Barbados and to speak highly to their friends and acquaintances of Barbados as a preferred tourism destination. Barbados has sun, sand, and sea as its main tourism products. But many other places in the Caribbean sell the same; they also have the same beautiful white sand beaches, clear turquoise waters, tropical weather, and striking scenic beauty. Many other places in the Caribbean are also lower-cost destinations than Barbados. Therefore, one of the main areas we can distinguish and differentiate ourselves is having a reputation for superior and excellent customer service. A reputation for outstanding customer service in Barbados can compensate for higher costs.”

Griffith added that businesses need to make customer service an integral part of their business models and conduct periodic polls to assess their customer service levels.

He also underscored the need for training: “How would we start a programme of sustained customer service improvement? The answer [is to] implement a broad-based customer service training programme and have periodic evaluations industry-wide. The principles of good customer service are having employees and staff develop and practice patience; effective listening; attentiveness; knowledge; empathy; being proactive; clear communication; not making a promise you cannot deliver on; knowing when to say you do not know; courtesy and professionalism. Short courses that teach and demonstrate these traits should be designed. These courses should emphasise experiential learning, that is, role-playing appropriate for the business or service sector.”

The BHTA leader also said new employees should be trained in customer service and each worker, especially those in the frontline, should be given refresher courses.

“As a general government-sanctioned labour development policy, customer service training should spread to other businesses in the non-tourism and the entire public sectors,” he added, making a “clarion call to all stakeholders [that] the major boom we are now experiencing in our industry with many first-time visitors to our shores if we wish to see them again and again, we have to get our customer service right, from the time they land at the Grantley Adams International Airport or sail into the Bridgetown Port until the moment they depart.”

Griffith continued: “Visitors to these shores do not have to tolerate rude, unfriendly, and surly service. They can simply choose not to come back, which will be to our detriment in the future.”

Franklin also called on industry workers to raise their service standards.

She said: “It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the importance of investing in those who are at the frontlines of the tourism sector. This remains paramount to our success, and while Barbados is known for its warm hospitality, we must continually strive to improve the quality and consistency of service at all levels. We already know that service is a primary factor affecting the visitor experience and so, together, we must work to raise service standards through the provision of better training and development programmes and cultivate a culture of excellence across the industry.”

The officials noted that improvements in customer service will take time to develop, but it was an utmost necessary process.

Griffith added: “I know this improvement cannot occur overnight, but it is a process which will take time. To the red-cap porters, the immigration and customs officers, the airport customer service team, the management and staff of all our airline partners, the ground handlers, the Ministry of Health personnel stationed at our Ports of Entry, the staff or the concessionaires. Yours are the faces that have helped to create the memories our visitors treasure. Your contribution to the sector in delivering excellent service allows us to continue to achieve the level of success and international recognition that Barbados consistently receives.”

(SZB)