Gittens is the epitome of knowledge, says CSMA participant
PHILIPSBURG — The Customer Service Mobile Academy (CSMA), an affiliate company of Training Professionals International (TPI) firm, today launched its first annual St. Maarten Customer Service Week tagged ‘Raising the bar in the Caribbean Customer Service‘. The training event which took place at Holland House Beach Hotel, aims to introduce the participants to international hospitality practices.
Holland House staff impressed with first annual Customer Service Week opening day
According to the Director of CSMA, Dr. Natasha Gittens, the objective of the training is “giving the Caribbean, specifically St. Maarten, an opportunity to receive certification in specific subjects”. She further stated that the goal of the training is to “raise the bar of customer service in the Caribbean”.
According to Dr. Gittens, today’s opening day training was designated by the Holland House hotel for only their staff. She also added that training will be open to the public from Tuesday, the 28th of November to the 1st of December. She noted that although “customer service in St. Maarten is good,” the objective of the CSMA is to make customer service excellent”.
Speaking about the timing of the training, she disclosed that the training had been organized prior to hurricane Irma but due to the devastation after Irma, the training was moved to this time since it signifies the end of the hurricane season. She further stated that due to the hurricane, some training prices were reduced in order to accommodate more local participants. In her words “The price reduction was introduced to make the training affordable to the average person on the island.”
Participants at the event expressed satisfaction at the first day of the training. The topic of discussion at today’s training was the ‘Future Succession Leadership Training’ and the ‘Holland House Culture of Excellence’ training. The Future Succession Leadership training would afford the participants an opportunity to be promoted to leadership positions.
A staff of Holland House, Lucia Yankee, said that the training exceeded her expectations while another staff member, Kevin Jeremy, said the training was definitely worth it. Other staff members described Dr. Gittens as a great teacher because according to them she was an epitome of knowledge. They expressed the need for customer service to be taken very seriously on St. Maarten.
The training which commenced today will continue until the 1st of December, 2017. The general public is encouraged to participate because knowledge is power.
Photo caption: Holland House staff. From left to right: DAVID BLAKE, KENIA PENA, GEORGINA VANTERPOOL BAEZ, LUSIANNY MARTHA, SHENIEKA BLAKE, LUCIA YANKY, POLLY DOUGLAS, ANGILETA CLARK, TORIANO HORSFORD, SAMUEL SENECHARLES and FRANCINE COLLYMORE. Photo contributed by CSMA.
Photo caption: Certified hospitality trainer Dr. Natasha Gittens in session with Holland House staff. Photo by Shola Blessing.
In a press release issued by CSMA later in the day, the following statements where made:
Simpson Bay, November 27, 2017. The long anticipated First Annual Customer Service Week did not disappoint the Holland House staff and leadership this morning. The Holland House staff attended an 8:00am accredited customized training developed by Customer Service Mobile Academy, (CSMA) titled “The Holland House Culture of Excellence Course.”
The staff was introduced to a series of topics that integrated global best practices and fostered an engaging atmosphere of fruitful employee interaction, cooperative learning, bonding and team building. Most importantly, staff walked away with a certified international certificate from CSMA. The certificate illustrated their commitment to the Holland House and most importantly a commitment to “self.”
Dr. Gittens, President & CEO of CSMA, facilitated the session and stated: Our trainings do not only focus solely on the organization or entity. We understand that when employee(s) are confident, take accountability for their roles and work in a team oriented environment, they soar in providing customer service excellence to clients, customers and guests.
Both TPI and CSMA are committed to the professional “first” because we understand that their daily performance directly impacts the success and growth of the organization. Without their commitment to service excellence all components of the entity will be affected and the organization will never meet its full potential. That’s why our training experts stress “providing Memorable Service starts with the employee.”
Holland House staff receiving their certified international certificates.
The First Annual Customer Service made a huge impact this morning and the staff had the following to say:
“It was really successful and communicated perfectly. The course information will help me to improve my service to my guests. Which will help the overall Holland House Culture! ~ Luisanny Martha
Dr. Gittens you are great at what you do, I will try my best to apply most of what you said to my daily interaction with all the guest and with my colleagues. Thank you so much! ~ David Menzie
Excellent training, provided some valid points and at the same time was very eye-opening. ~ Shenieka Blake
All the points were very true. All customer service professional must adopt these skills. Loved the training! ~ Georgina Vanterpool
The First Annual Customer Service Week will continue until Friday, December 1, 2017. Walk-in’s welcome. Please visit academycsma.com for pricing and the course schedule or call 526-2052.
