Global Experts Share the Secrets of Service Excellence

VICTORIA—Up until recently, all businesses had to do to keep their customers happy was to provide them with good value for their money. Now, however, most organizations recognize that the key to retaining current customers and attracting new ones is by providing each with unforgettable experiences. Just how to do this is what some of the world’s leading experts on service excellence will be discussing at the Excellence in Services Symposium from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 12 at Victoria’s Fairmont Empress Hotel.
“When you think about what three of our top local companies—Thrifty Foods, WestJet and Butchart Gardens—have in common it’s that their service is always terrific and memorable,” says symposium co-organizer and UVic business professor Steve Tax. “As you’ll hear from our experts, there are a number of key factors to ensuring that this happens. The main underlying factor, however, is the existence of an organizational culture that supports and rewards the efforts of all staff to deliver value and provide superior solutions in response to individual customer needs. In other words, if a company is a great place to work then it will also be a great place to be a customer.”
There are seven presenters in total including: Volkswagen Club’s Klaus Chojnacki will talk about how Volkswagen’s “telematic” system is being used to anticipate its customers’ needs by monitoring cars and informing customers of impending mechanical problems; Yellow Corp’s Greg Reid will reveal how this Fortune 500 transportation company changed its culture and processes to achieve service excellence; and WestJet Airline’s Mark Hill will explore how Canada’s “2000 Entrepreneur of the Year” grew at a tremendous pace without sacrificing its level of service.
The symposium is being hosted by the services management program offered at the UVic faculty of business, the only school in Canada that offers an MBA concentration in service management. For more information on the symposium, visit its website:

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