Burris: Tobago customer service still not acceptable

THA Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation Tashia Burris says customer service in Tobago is still not at an acceptable standard.

Addressing the post-executive council media briefing on April 17 at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex, Burris said destinations that are doing well in tourism have populations with the right attitude towards the sector.

“They are helpful. They have the right attitude towards visitors. They want to make sure that people enjoy themselves. They want to make sure that people feel safe. They want to make sure that people have the best experience on island.”

Burris added word of mouth is still the biggest seller.

“When you have persons coming to your destination saying to you, ‘Tobago is beautiful. Tobago has some of the best beaches I have ever seen. Tobago has some of the best food I have ever eaten...'

“Some people have said that they would live here in a heartbeat.

"But underneath all of that – and I would not gloss it over – we still have a challenge with our service.”

Burris revealed that over 275 people have expressed interest in becoming tourism community ambassadors. She said the division made the call in March via its Facebook page.

She said the programme seeks to provide opportunities for people to be trained to work in the tourism sector.

“I am not saying for people to work in hotels. The tourism sector is not just limited to hotels. The tourism sector is a wide cross-section of possible things that you can do. But everything boils down to being able to give your visitor a premium customer experience.”

The idea, she said, came about because there is a need to change the culture and attitudes of some people in the sector.

“It is not about being subservient. It is not about feeling like you are a slave.

"The people who need to work in tourism are the people who are passionate about the industry.”

Burris said the difference between Tobago and its competitors is not that they have better beaches, better hotels or spend more money on marketing, but their approach to tourism.

She said people applying to be tourism community ambassadors must be passionate about the sector.

“If we are able to corral those people, if we are able to give them further training, not just in being able to provide a great customer experience – from the time they have the first interaction to the time they leave, and all along the value chain – if we can get those persons to now go into their communities, go into their schools, go into their churches, go into their families, go wherever they can go and influence others to think and act like them, then we will have a world-class product. Everything else will come.”

Burris said the ideas that must be grasped is not customer service, but the experience.

"And Tobago has it all.”

She said a senior executive from a cruise line from another Caribbean destination told her some time ago, “Tobago is not a destination that you visit. Tobago is a destination that you feel.”

Saying the comment resonated with her, Burris said other Tobagonians must also believe the island has it all.

“And if we start believing that and if we start acting like that, if we start changing our attitudes towards our visitors, if we start treating each other well, then we will not have the challenges that we have, because at the end of the day, what we will be looking at is: 'How do we give the best experience to everybody that I come into contact with?'”

Tourism and Hospitality Institute (THTI) CEO Dr Stephen Sheppard told Newsday in March 2023 that the islandwide customer service initiative launched under the PNM-led THA in August 2021continued under the Farley Augustine administration.

At that time, former chief secretary Ancil Dennis announced a three-year THA initiative to change the service culture on the island. He said he had received frequent complaints about poor customer service in Tobago.

In the March 2023 interview, Sheppard said the initiative was being led by etiquette expert Ron Kaufman, of a Singaporean company, Uplifting Service. It was funded through the Tobago Tourism Agency Ltd (TTAL) and executed by the Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute.

He said approximately 2,000 people, across several sectors had already been trained.