Thursday, September 24, 2009, St. Maarten SuperHost was proud to present forty (40) graduates with certificates for successfully completing the St. Maarten SuperHost Fundamentals in Customer Service training courses.
Ms.Jacqueline Louis (IMC General Manager)
Through St. Maarten Harbour Holding Company, several participants from the Harbour’s administrative and operational teams, as well as Checkmate Security and Dutch St. Maarten Taxi Association have completed the St. Maarten SuperHost training. Also included among the graduates are employees of S.E.L. Maduro, E1 Productions, Montage N.V. and, Innovative Marketing Creations – the official agents of St. Maarten SuperHost (SMSH).
Mrs.Josiane Fleming-Artsen (SHTA Director of Education
"Through this graduation ceremony, we have achieved yet another major milestone in the movement to bring back our friendly island," says Jacqueline Louis, General Manager of Innovative Marketing Creations. "We take a moment to recognize this initial group of graduates, who by participating in the St. Maarten SuperHost Customer Service training courses, have been empowered with the necessary skills and tools to be better customer service ambassadors. However, the movement continues, and we will not stop until we have reinforced the need for our local government, businesses and organizations to better prepare our workforce – our local product to provide customers and tourists with excellent customer service; our livelihood depends on it."
Mr.Robert Dubourcq (SHTA Executive Project Manager) pinned name badges and handed out certificates to the graduates
Officiating the ceremony was Mrs. Josiane Fleming-Artsen, Director of Education at SHTA and President & Dean of the University of St. Martin, alongside Mr. Robert Dubourcq, Executive Project Manager of the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA). Ms. Natasha Ortega, SMSH Program Coordinator and Facilitator, served as Master of Ceremony, assisted by Ms. Valda Hazel, also a SMSH Program Facilitator for the presentation of certificates and pins to the graduates. Other SMSH facilitators were also on-hand to assist.
Commissioner Theo Heyliger received the St. Maarten SuperHost Business Membership certificate on behalf of St. Maarten Harbour Holding Company
Also in attendance were Commissioner Theo Heyliger, who received the St. Maarten SuperHost Business Membership certificate on behalf of St. Maarten Harbour Holding Company; one of the initial entities who signed on to train its multi-cultural team of service providers. Commissioner Heyliger commended St. Maarten SuperHost on the continued vision and passion for improving the standard of customer service throughout the island.
Commissioner Frans Richardson
Additionally, Commissioner Frans Richardson publicly pledged his support of St. Maarten SuperHost in follow-up to various discussions held for consideration of SuperHost as the island government’s program of choice to improve customer service island-wide, as well as ongoing marketing efforts to rebrand "our friendly island." Chamber of Commerce President Glen Carty, commended the event organizers for beginning the movement, and also addressed the need for ongoing follow-up of customer service trainings, particularly to address the underlying issues faced as non-locals benefit from the local economy without proper training, preparation, or understanding of the local culture.
SuperHost customer service training was first introduced in 1985 to prepare British Columbia’s tourism workforce to host the world at EXPO ‘86. The programme’s excellence is recognized internationally. After an extensive search for the best in the world, American Express selected SuperHost as its customer service programme.
St. Maarten SuperHost is one of several prestigious agencies certified and licensed to give this consumer service enrichment programme, and is now the official consumer training programme for St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA).
Ms.Natasha Ortega was the MC for the night
Ms.Jacqueline Louis was presented with a token for all the hard work she did to make the graduation ceremony is success.