The volatility caused by global events over the last three years has made customer service more important than ever. Customer expectations are higher, and many are looking for a personalised service.

Hyatt Regency Cairo West recognise the value that a personalised approach to customer service adds to create great experiences and inspire brand loyalty.

The hotel’s management team also know that to deliver customer excellence their employees need to live and breathe this culture. They need to be empowered, motivated, and educated in the skills needed to meet the needs of today’s guests.

As part of a project funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to develop effective and high-quality training programmes for the hotel’s employees, we’ve been working in partnership with Hyatt Regency Cairo West to design and deliver a training programme that empowers the team to provide exceptional customer service throughout the customer journey.

Over 160 members of the hotel’s team recently completed the ‘Customer WOW’ programme to enhance the customer experience through the implementation of excellence. Determined to deliver high-quality service at every touch point of the customer journey, those in back-of-house roles such as plumbers, engineers and kitchen staff have taken part in the programme, as well as teams in customer facing roles.

Prior to the training, body language, cultural differences and preferences, problem solving were among some of the key challenges facing the team. Participants were keen to discuss these with colleagues, learn from other experiences and transform their skills as a team to create a personalised experience that positively reflects guest’s satisfaction.

The bespoke ‘Customer WOW’ training programme covered topics including customer touchpoints, customer focussed communication, cultural differences and the impact these may have on customer expectations, as well as how effective problem solving can enhance the customer experience.

Learners picked up knowledge in areas such as customer journey mapping – showing how each department can work together to meet the guests’ expectations as they journey through the hotel, what makes customers want to return, and the WOW factor – how to go over and beyond for the guest.

Feedback from the team suggests the impact of the training is already starting to show.

Staff are following company standards but are empowered to problem solve. Individual departments and are working together, side by side as a team. Staff are remaining calm through busy periods and taking time to think about the client as a guest. And employees have confidence to implement ideas to deliver beyond the guests’ expectations.

Early signs indicate that as a result, the hotel is already receiving positive feedback from clients about the upgraded level of service.

The team are now determined to maintain the positive improvements to guests’ experience, and we look forward to hearing more about the return on investment from the training in the coming months.

The programme is being delivered as part of a wider project funded by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in which we’re supporting the hotel to analyse skills needs, and strengthen current training plans, develop curricula and capacity building programmes to scale up and improve talent.