A LOCAL consultancy, JTW Management Institute Inc., is offering two courses in customer service targeting junior and middle level staffers in businesses dealing with customers.

Chair of the Institute’s Board of Governors, Ms. Joycelyn T. Williams said it “has set itself a priority of making a contribution to improving customer service in Guyana.”
Locally, customers frequently complain about receiving poor quality customer care from personnel in both public and private sector entities.
Explaining the nature of the training they will offer, Williams said there is an introductory level which targets young job seekers who do not have adequate training to secure employment in any of the places that require skills for serving patrons.
“This (job) could be in a hotel, in retail, in a restaurant, in a supermarket et cetera, or in government,” she pointed out.
Williams told the Guyana Chronicle that the introductory course imparts skills in interacting with customers and the public at large and teaches participants how to portray the desired image of an organisation and encourage growth in its customer base.

Higher level
The second programme is a higher level course for persons already in midlevel customer service positions and is titled ‘Award in Customer Service Improvement’.
It teaches those taking part how to identify mechanisms for receiving feedback on the service being provided by an entity as well as to set about improving it.
Williams, an economist by profession who also lectures at the University of Guyana (UG), said the higher level course is in considerable demand by persons who work in firms involved in distribution and commerce.
She expects it will be demanded more as businesses recognise the need for improving service, particularly as Guyana is now a growing tourism destination and attitudes to dealing with the public must be positive.
Williams assured that the courses on offer are accredited by the City and Guilds Institute of London, England.
Its website said the City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development (CSD) is a not-for-profit, research and development organisation for vocational education and training.
World leader
“A world leader in vocational education, it operates in over 80 countries and (has) over 130 years of experience in designing qualifications and providing learners with real-life, practical skills needed to succeed in the modern workplace,” Williams posited.
She added: “City and Guilds qualifications are widely accepted by employers around the world as the benchmark for excellence and help to create a mobile and flexible workforce, suitably qualified to succeed even in today’s challenging economic climate.”
Williams said that over the last 20 years, some 20 million learners received City & Guilds certificates from about 10,000 approved training organisations worldwide.
The JTW Management Institute Inc is an approved City and Guilds Centre, located in Waterloo Street, Georgetown and is supported by a Barbados regional office.