Macdonald Compleat Angler at Marlow aims to maintain its status as one of the top UK hotels by offering an exceptional level of customer service through professional training. All the front of house team have now completed a nationally recognised NVQ Level 2 in customer service and two of the hotel’s key departments have been awarded the status of Centres of Excellence. Service based training is also now fully integrated into the induction for all new team members. In May nearly 30 front of house staff successfully embarked on an NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) level 2 in customer service. Over a period of three months they all completed Maths and English tests, answered a series of questions about providing customer service and undertook the Macdonald Hotels & Resorts customer service training initiative – Commitment to Excellence. They were also observed by the NVQ assessors while carrying out their day-to-day roles.
Commenting on the retraining, Macdonald Compleat Angler General Manager, Gaius Wyncoll said: “This was a fantastic initiative for all front of house staff to be involved in and means that 27 of our employees have been awarded with a nationally recognised qualification in customer service”.
The hotel’s bar and housekeeping departments also received Macdonald internal Centre of Excellence awards last September. After completing a long series of set criteria they were assessed by the group’s training and development team. These criteria act as a benchmark for other hotels within the group. Once achieved, they demonstrate consistency of training and management dedication to providing an excellent service to the hotel’s employees and guests. It also means that qualifying departments become a training site for new hotel managers who need to understand the ‘way it should be done’.
The AA has also just confirmed that the Compleat Angler has retained its four AA Red Star status for next year – all setting the scene for a great start to 2011.
