• BC Tourism FC
  • Tackling Tariffs
  • News
  • Value of Tourism
  • Our Commitments
  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
Destination British Columbia logo
  • Who We Are
    • Overview
    • Provincial Government of BC
    • Board Of Directors
    • Executive Leadership
    • Tourism Marketing Committee
    • Accessibility and Inclusion Committee
    • Regional, Community & Industry
      Partners
      • Industry Partners
      • Community Partners
      • Indigenous Tourism
    • Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region
      • Industry Support Areas
      • Meet the Team
      • Events
      • Regional Maps
      • Stay Connected
    • Corporate Documents
    • The Value of Tourism
  • What We Do
    • Overview
    • BC’s Destination Brand
      • Tools and Image Bank
    • Marketing
      • Consumer Marketing
      • Content Marketing
      • Social Media Marketing
      • Travel Trade
      • Travel Media
      • Our Markets
    • Destination Management
      • Destination Development
      • Planning Area Look Up Tool
      • Emergency Preparedness
      • Industry Development
      • Visitor Services
      • BC Tourism Climate Resiliency Initiative
    • Funding Sources
      • Co-op Marketing
      • Municipal & Regional District Tax Program (MRDT)
      • External Funding Sources
  • Strategic Approach
    • Overview
    • Corporate Strategy
      • Our 2023-2025 Corporate Strategy
      • Engagement and Input
      • Connecting Respectful Growth of Indigenous Tourism to Truth and Reconciliation
      • Where We Will Focus
      • How We Will Succeed: Our Strategic Levers
      • Summary of Key Strategic Shifts
      • Alignment to Government Strategies
    • Marketing Strategy
    • Invest in Iconics Strategy
      • Strategy Overview
      • Timelines and Engagement
      • Destination Development
      • Place Branding
      • Rainforest to Rockies
      • The Great Wilderness
      • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
    • Truth and Reconciliation
  • Learning Centre
    • Overview
    • Experience Development
    • Digital Marketing
    • Social Media Marketing
    • Travel Trade & Travel Media
    • Applying Insights
    • BC's Destination Brand Resources
    • Accessible Tourism
    • Safety & Emergency Preparedness
  • Research & Insights
    • Overview
    • Industry Performance
    • Regional Research
    • Market Research
    • Activity Research
    • Resident Research
    • Research Tools & Methods
  • Who We Are
    • Overview
    • Provincial Government of BC
    • Board Of Directors
    • Executive Leadership
    • Tourism Marketing Committee
    • Accessibility and Inclusion Committee
    • Regional, Community & Industry
      Partners
      • Industry Partners
      • Community Partners
      • Indigenous Tourism
    • Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region
      • Industry Support Areas
      • Meet the Team
      • Events
      • Regional Maps
      • Stay Connected
    • Corporate Documents
    • The Value of Tourism
  • What We Do
    • Overview
    • BC’s Destination Brand
      • Tools and Image Bank
    • Marketing
      • Consumer Marketing
      • Content Marketing
      • Social Media Marketing
      • Travel Trade
      • Travel Media
      • Our Markets
    • Destination Management
      • Destination Development
      • Planning Area Look Up Tool
      • Emergency Preparedness
      • Industry Development
      • Visitor Services
      • BC Tourism Climate Resiliency Initiative
    • Funding Sources
      • Co-op Marketing
      • Municipal & Regional District Tax Program (MRDT)
      • External Funding Sources
  • Strategic Approach
    • Overview
    • Corporate Strategy
      • Our 2023-2025 Corporate Strategy
      • Engagement and Input
      • Connecting Respectful Growth of Indigenous Tourism to Truth and Reconciliation
      • Where We Will Focus
      • How We Will Succeed: Our Strategic Levers
      • Summary of Key Strategic Shifts
      • Alignment to Government Strategies
    • Marketing Strategy
    • Invest in Iconics Strategy
      • Strategy Overview
      • Timelines and Engagement
      • Destination Development
      • Place Branding
      • Rainforest to Rockies
      • The Great Wilderness
      • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
    • Truth and Reconciliation
  • Learning Centre
    • Overview
    • Experience Development
    • Digital Marketing
    • Social Media Marketing
    • Travel Trade & Travel Media
    • Applying Insights
    • BC's Destination Brand Resources
    • Accessible Tourism
    • Safety & Emergency Preparedness
  • Research & Insights
    • Overview
    • Industry Performance
    • Regional Research
    • Market Research
    • Activity Research
    • Resident Research
    • Research Tools & Methods
  • BC Tourism FC
  • Tackling Tariffs
  • News
  • Value of Tourism
  • Our Commitments
  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
Patrons of The Vanilla Pod Restaurant at Poplar Grove winery enjoy dining on the patio with views of Okanagan Lake and Penticton, BC.

Penticton | Kari Medig

  • Home
  • |
  • Learning Centre
  • |
  • Experience Development
  • |
  • Talent Can be Taught: Why Customer Service Training Counts

Talent Can be Taught: Why Customer Service Training Counts

Author: go2HR. Visit go2hr.ca for more information on SuperHost Training.

Good service leads to customer loyalty, which leads to business success: it’s a direct link anywhere and especially true in tourism, where it’s the experience — as much as the product or service — that keeps people coming back.  Many tourism businesses train their front-line employees, not just in the practical aspects of their jobs, but also in specific customer service skills.

At heart, customer service has three key elements: communication, emotional intelligence, and problem solving. In a hotel or restaurant, that translates to understanding guests’ needs, getting the message through, and resolving problems in a calm and positive way.
 
Some people do this intuitively, but others struggle to get it right, especially if they are new to the workforce. Fortunately, customer service is a skill that can be taught.

At Tigh-Na-Mara Resort Spa & Conference Centre in Parksville, for example, all of the approximately 200 front-line team members, as well as some of the housekeeping staff, have had focused customer service training.
 
In addition to in-house training, Human Resources Manager Cindy Lunde runs a one-day SuperHost Foundations of Service Quality course for all new front-line staff. The program, managed by go2HR, and designed for the service sector, covers communication, teamwork, service recovery techniques, and more.

Although Lunde has been facilitating SuperHost for more than a decade, she finds that lately it’s needed more than ever. “We can’t assume anymore that people in entry level jobs will have basic customer service abilities. They’ve grown up with technology, and they have less experience with face-to-face communication,” she says.
Talent Can be Taught: Why Customer Service Training Counts

“The course covers communications basics, and also ensures that our team members have the skills and confidence they need to handle escalated situations. Because of the training, issues are more likely to be resolved by front-line staff and we definitely save on guest recoveries,” she adds.
Talent Can be Taught: Why Customer Service Training Counts

“Another key skill is making a connection with the customer and finding some common ground. It’s a hard thing to teach — some people do it naturally, some don’t — but if team members can make that connection it really elevates the guest experience.”

Danny Penticost, the Human Resources Manager at Watermark Beach Resort in Osoyoos, observes that even the most naturally service-oriented people can benefit from customer service training. “We look for people who fit the culture to begin with, and already have that friendly, lively, interactive personality,” he says. Once they’re hired, though, we try to offer each new customer-facing employee two orientations and a full-day SuperHost program.
 
The training accomplishes a number of goals, explains Penticost. One is to help new hires understand the Watermark brand and interact with customers in a consistent way. Another is to let them know they are empowered to go the extra mile.

“New employees may have innate abilities, but what they need is encouragement. The training teaches them how to listen, be proactive, recognize opportunities, and understand that they are empowered to create an excellent customer experience. Those things can be taught and go a long way to making guests happier,” he says. Happier guests lead to customer loyalty which, leads to repeat business and, ultimately, greater sales.
 
As Andrea Hinck, Manager, Industry Training at go2HR, points out: “In BC, we’re already well-known for good service. People have a great experience when they’re here, but there’s always room for improvement.”
 
As many employers have discovered, training front line staff is one of the best ways to turn good customer service into truly exceptional service.

About This Article Reading time: ~4 mins Learning Type: Article

Last updated: December, 2018

Share
LinkedIn Twitter Email Print

Continue Learning

View All Resources
Experience Development

SuperHost® Foundations of Service Quality

Enhance customer experiences and boost your revenue. SuperHost Customer Service Training teaches front-line employees top industry workplace skills.
Workshop icon
Workshop ~6 hrs beginner
Get The Details
Digital Marketing

10 Tips for Optimizing Your Tripadvisor Presence

Tripadvisor is the world's largest travel community and a source of customer feedback and referrals for travel businesses. Have you optimized your listing?
Article icon
Article ~5 mins
Read Article
Digital Marketing

Promoting your Product or Business on Tripadvisor

Creating and optimizing a Tripadvisor page is key to ensuring the success of your tourism business. Here are the top tips for writing your listing description.
Article icon
Article ~3 mins
Read Article

Destination BC

  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
  • News
  • Corporate Documents
  • Site Map
  • Legal Terms & Privacy Policy

Official Websites

Spirit Bear

HelloBC.com

Be inspired to start planning your BC Vacation.

B.C. and Guangdong work together to open doors for businesses, create good jobs in B.C.

Travel Media

Information for journalists, editors and broadcasters.

Travel Trade

Tools, resources and contacts to assist you in promoting BC.

red truck in a vineyard

Tourism Business Portal

Online, self-service business listings system for tourism industry.


Follow Us:

Twitter Youtube Linkedin

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe
Destination British Columbia logo
© 2025 - Destination BC Corp. – All rights reserved. "Super, Natural British Columbia®", "Super, Natural", "Hello BC" and "Visitor
Centre" and all associated logos/trade-marks are trade-marks or Official Marks of Destination BC Corp.