Member Article

World Class Welcome Awaiting Bishop Auckland Visitors

As Bishop Auckland prepares to welcome thousands of visitors on the back of the heritage led regeneration of the town, businesses are being urged to sign-up to a benchmark customer service initiative.

Around 430,000 visitors a year are predicted to descend on the County Durham market town by 2020, drawn by the combined Auckland Castle and Kynren by Eleven Arches projects and the town improvements.

Together these domestic and global visitors are forecast to inject £20m a year into the Bishop Auckland economy.

Now a free training programme has been launched to boost the town’s skill base and job prospects, and ensure visitors’ experience of Bishop Auckland is a positive one.

Businesses working in the leisure, hospitality and retail frontline are being encouraged to enrol their employees for a series of WorldHost ambassadorial workshops, with 125 free places being made available thanks to money from Durham County Council, match funded by the Auckland Castle Trust.

The WorldHost training programme was used to great effect for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to help raise customer service standards.

The hope is that the globally recognised brand will now help Bishop Auckland get into shape, as the spotlight falls firmly on the town with the spectacular Kynren by Eleven Arches night show due to open to the public on July 2, and the regeneration of Auckland Castle set to get underway later this year.

Louise Alderson, Auckland Castle’s Visitor Experience Manager, said: “Over the next few years Bishop Auckland will see the launch of some amazing new visitor attractions with Kynren by Eleven Arches, the reworking of Auckland Castle’s walled garden, the building of a new museum wing, and restoration of the State Rooms, and the opening of a Spanish gallery in the Market Place.

“Together these provide a unique opportunity for tourist, leisure, transport, hospitality and retail ventures to showcase the best of Bishop Auckland and to build repeat business by providing a warm welcome and impeccable customer service to visitors.

“There will be a lot of focus in the months and years ahead on developing the infrastructure to deal with the expected influx of visitors, but we also need to ensure we have the skills in place to welcome the world not just to Bishop Auckland, but County Durham and the wider North East.

“The free WorldHost ambassador workshops will give staff and volunteers alike the skills to deliver a warm and friendly welcome to visitors. The customer experience – from the welcome they receive to where they sleep, eat, drink, and shop – can have a real impact on whether they visit County Durham again and recommend it to friends and family.”

Two taster workshops held earlier this month [JUNE] and funded by the Auckland Castle Trust from Heritage Lottery Fund money, has already seen 30 participants gain WorldHost accreditation, the first step towards creating a network of trained visitor ambassadors.

Among the organisations who took part were the Bishop Town Team, the Park Head Country Hotel, Durham County Council, South Durham Enterprise Agency, Bishop Auckland Methodist Church, Darlington Building Society, Bondgate Gallery, Pod, Shewan Opticians, Painting with Thread Gallery, Image Bridal, Castlegate Café, Trimmers Hair Design, Victorian Coffee Tearooms, Plautus Hair and Beauty, the Newgate Centre, and David Scott & Co.

Claire Gibbons, Director at the Park Head Country Hotel, who attended one of the taster workshops, said: “As a business owner I feel investing in your staff is vital, and when you are in a service industry good customer service skills are essential.

“After attending the recent WorldHost training day at Auckland Castle, it gave me and my staff more knowledge, training and confidence in sending out a powerful message promoting Bishop Auckland and its world class attractions.

“I have several more staff looking forward to attending the next training dates, and given the opportunity I would send all my team so they can excel in outstanding customer service, something we can all be proud of.”

The money for the WorldHost training has come via Durham County Councillor Joy Allen’s Neighbourhood Budget, which is administered by the Bishop Auckland and Shildon Area Action Partnership.

She said: “This is an exciting opportunity for Bishop Auckland and the projected increase in the number of visitors will be a welcome boost for local businesses.

“There is enough funding for 125 free training places, and it is imperative that the area’s businesses get behind this programme to ensure Bishop Auckland is in the best position it can be to meet the expectations of visitors, and help generate revenue for the town.

“Participants will learn how equipping themselves’ with the knowledge about what’s on offer can take their service to another level. They will be encouraged to think about what’s available in the Bishop Auckland area, and how a positive and enthusiastic attitude can have a real effect on the visitor experience, visitor spend and ultimately return visits.

“This is training that participants will be able to carry forward. Tourism-based customer service skills are transferable skills.”

The WorldHost programme was originally developed in Canada, and is being rolled out across the UK by workforce development expert People 1st. Among the leading UK brands using WorldHost visitor training are Balmoral Castle, Travelodge, Wembley Stadium, View from the Shard, The London Eye, The Docklands Light Railway, and the medieval city of Salisbury.

Bishop Auckland’s programme – which would usually cost £85 per person but is being offered free to the first 125 applicants from qualifying businesses - is being delivered as a half day workshop at Auckland Castle by Louise Alderson, who is a qualified WorldHost facilitator.

Completion of the course leads to WorldHost accreditation.

The ultimate aim is to secure WorldHost destination status for Bishop Auckland, thus marking the town out for providing a premium service to its visitors.

The next half day WorldHost training sessions are planned to take place at Auckland Castle on:

30 June, 9.00am-1.00pm 7 July, 1.00pm-5.00pm 8 July, 9.00am-1.00pm 15 July, 9.00am-1.00pm 18 July, 1.00pm-5.00pm 19 July, 1.00pm-5.00pm

For further information or to book a place call 01388 743 797 or email: bookings@aucklandcastle.org

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jane Hall .