Business article for the Licensed and Catering News, discussing the development of internal talent in the service industry against the backdrop of the 2012 Olympics, globalisation, changes in tourism and advances in technology.

Written on behalf of Miller Hospitality, this project required in-depth research of the Northern Ireland tourist market.

Here's an extract, click view pdf to see the whole article.

We only have to look ahead to the 2012 Olympics to put this into context and consider the opportunities. London 2012 could be a major catalyst for a culture shift in our attitudes to customer service. Far from a remote, one-off event, 2012 will interface with every part of the UK’s customer management and service offering and that includes N. Ireland.

Training will be at the heart of delivering the very highest standards of customer service and will be essential to encourage future trips and holidays to Northern Ireland. Adding £2 billion to the UK's inbound visitor economy, two-thirds of which is likely to be generated post-games place the training strategies that will attract new customers and deliver world class service?

Ignoring the opportunity isn't really an option, it's worth remembering that dissatisfied customers will tell up to ten other people about their experiences. Even worse, the avid use of social networking is enabling customers to distribute their reviews quickly and widely. In the NITB draft corporate plan 2008, reference is made to a statistic that over 83% of customers booking a holiday online would trust a user review over a travel writer.

This says a lot about how customers gather and respect the opinions of their fellow travellers and underlines how little margin for error there is. In an age where even loyal customers are more liable to move to a competitor offering marginally better service – it's more important than ever we make critical investment decisions aimed at improving the customer experience.