Sept. 26, 2007 — As soon as one red light goes out another one goes on, and the door is always swinging. “I have walk-ins, walk-ups, walk-outs!” said a laughing Ulyn Marsham, a receptionist for the V.I. Port Authority.
Marsham answers hundreds of calls a day, as well as numerous in-person inquiries, at her second-floor office in VIPA’s administration building near the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas.
On Wednesday she joined two dozen other service-industry workers to get some pointers on how to deliver the best customer service possible. The four-hour training seminar at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on St. Thomas was led by Michelle Marchand, a professional trainer from Johnson and Wales University in Miami. The school specializes in preparing people for the hospitality industry. Marchand’s visit to the Virgin Islands was jointly sponsored by the V.I. Hotel and Tourism Association and American Express.
“We want to bring more people to the island. That’s our goal,” explained Emil Alvarado, a destination marketing manager for American Express. “If we can increase customer service, we can increase the value we give our card members.”
Customer service in the Virgin Islands is good, said Canika George-John, office manager for the Hotel and Tourism Association, but “with our affiliation with these two organizations, hopefully it can be improved."
The six Johnson and Wales/American Express-sponsored seminars taking place on St. Thomas and St. Croix through Friday featured one dedicated to training new seminar leaders, George-John said. Next year the association hopes to inaugurate monthly seminars throughout the territory, headed by the leaders trained through Johnson and Wales.
The Johnson and Wales seminars are free and open — not just to those employed in the hospitality industry, but to anyone who deals with the public. That’s 33,520 people spread across the Virgin Islands — the vast majority of the territory’s 54,000-person workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Workers need to provide service “from the heart — authentic and genuine,” Marchand said. Asked whether service-sector salaries in the territory inspire “authentic and genuine” service, Marchand declined to speculate. However, she did say that by taking her course, workers can learn ways to improve their performance, catch their boss’s attention, and perhaps earn promotions.
“Very, very helpful” is how Marsham characterized Marchand’s advice. “She kept saying, don’t take it personal — and it helps to remember that … because the problem is the person who is giving the service doesn’t get much service!”
Despite the high volume of interactions she experiences daily, Marsham said it’s not stressful: “Not to me. I tell people, if you don’t like it, leave it alone. I serve the public.”
Note: Thursday’s 2 p.m. seminar at the Ritz is the only remaining session with openings. Anyone interested should contact the Hotel and Tourism Association at 774-6835.
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