Looking for stories of exemplary customer service in the tourism industry, the Education Foundation of the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association reached out to Scott Cruickshank, then Executive Director of the Oregon Convention Center.
In conjunction with the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute, the Education Foundation was launching an exciting project to create an Oregon version of an internationally accredited training program that featured guest service stories epitomizing the curriculum’s core seven principles: recovery, personalization, knowledge, passion, commitment, inclusion, personality.
The story that emerged involved OCC Executive Assistant Brandy Trotter and the OCC team for the principle of inclusion. Last September Brandy helped a visitor who was in town for the 2016 World Parkinson Congress. The visitor had flown in from Australia to attend the conference, only to find her hotel accommodations did not meet her specific medical needs. Brandy collaborated with numerous staff and other organizations to not only find the guest appropriate accommodations, but ensure that she could safely transition her hotel room, attend the conference and enjoy Portland as she had intended.
Recently a crew from the Education Foundation visited the OCC and shot a video featuring Brandy telling the story and Matt Pizzuti highlighting the support of the entire OCC team, and now that video is part of the course. The training video also has an accompanying printed instructional guide that features photos of OCC. While the course is based in Oregon, it is being used nationally and internationally. It already has been viewed in China, Thailand, India and other countries, and Dubai has reached out to use this as a model for a program of their own
You can see a preview of the videos here.
The Oregon Convention Center is owned by Metro and managed by the Metro Exposition and Recreation Commission. OCC is a LEED Platinum certified facility hosting groups from around the world and bringing millions of dollars into the Portland and Oregon economy.