The Department of Immigration is combining efforts with two private sector entities to undertake a series of initiatives designed to improve the customer relations and services it offers to the magnate visitors of the island.
Chief Immigration Officer, Katrina Yearwood, said the Department is collaborating with Signature Flight Support, the FBO that operates at the VC Bird International Airport and with a Five Star Hotel franchise on the measures that are designed to upgrade the skills of the immigration officers who interact with these visitors that arrive on private aircrafts.
She disclosed that some twelve officers have initially been selected to undertake the training that will be conducted by representatives of the five- star hotel, where most of the high -net worth tourists stay during their visit to the country.
On Thursday, Yearwood, along with her senior management team and the twelve officers journeyed to the Signature facility at the airport for an orientation and introduction session.
There, the company officials, General Manager Cameron Singh, Asst. GM, Kenyatta Thomas and Customer Service Representative, Nicola Bailey shared with them some ideas on how the Department may achieve its goal in improving its customer service skills to the tourists that visit Antigua & Barbuda. The session also included a question-and-answer segment that allowed both the immigration department and the FBO officials to exchange ideas.
In the end, both Yearwood and Singh stated that the goal is to solidify Antigua and Barbuda’s reputation as a country not just with great beaches, but also as a country that is known for its “warm” and exemplary customer service. It is expected that the training with the Five Star Hotel franchise will be completed in time for the start of the winter tourist season.
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Notes From A Native Son Of The Rock! “The idea that one forms of man, to be sure, is never totally dependent on economic relations, in other words—and this must not be forgotten—on relations existing historically and geographically among men and groups.” Frantz Fanon!
The Participants deserve every encouragement for their Personal Success, building Solid Institutions and National Development and Growth!
Let us hope that this engagement, with the purveyors of Five Star Clientele, produces valuable teachable moments and sustainable learning opportunities with ‘“warm” and exemplary customer service”!
Not long ago, a national in the diaspora proposed such a service, to be facilitated by Antigua and Barbuda Nationals and world class Industry Practitioners, leading Caribbean Academics utilizing best in class models and mentoring fully understanding that the cognitive and structural aspects are incomplete without the functional, and, more importantly, the icing on the cake, Certification from a World Class University for the Participants! As de vendors at da market say, it went a gwassah!
We must begin by asserting the central role of Antigua and Barbuda customer service values within the context of our people’s history and reality! In this way, customer service should become a transformation idea to our mores, if and only if, it studies ideas, concepts, events, personalities, and political and economic processes from a standpoint of our people as subjects and not as objects, basing all knowledge on the authentic interrogation of our location in Space and Time! We ought not to negate ourselves to the expense of others!
“He who feeds you, controls you.” – Capitaine Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara!, President Burkina Faso, Assassinated 1987!
LOOOOOONNNGGGG OVERDUE!
Tell me a about it….the attitude and lack of proffesionalism is overbearing .
I hope the lucky 12 learn as much then pass on the knowledge to those who ddnt attend …..
The command of STANDARD ENGLISH OVERALL DISPOSITON / TEMPER ENT OF AGENTS ….AGENTS SHOULD ALSO PAY ATTENTION TO PERSONAL HYGEINE & APPEARANCE SMILE STOP INTERROGATING DECENT VISITORS.
OVERALL GREAT INIATIVE
Antigua’s Immigration Department is actually very good compared to other Caribbean nations. They always have their uniforms looking nicely ironed and it seems like most of them keep in good physical shape (unlike people at other government agencies). Personally I think they are great.
And yes, every Antigua government agency can always improve and it is great that the leadership of the Immigration Department is mandating training for the entire team. The best managers of any organization are those that admit that they can always improve. So its great news and I fully support spending government money on this training effort.
Lastly, I hope the Immigration Department feels that they have the authority and political support to be strict to those who violate Antigua’s immigration laws. The illegal immigrants from other Caribbean nations is become quite significant in Antigua and we must fully authorize the Immigration Department to go after these violators. And when the Immigration Department apprehends these law breakers, we should always applaud the good and tough work they do.
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