Visitors to Cairngorm Mountain, with its Ptarmigan Restaurant at the top of the funicular, have always been assured of quality service and hospitality… but now it’s official! For last week, the Hotel and Catering International Management Association presented the company with the Hospitality Assured Accreditation Award, only one of 27 that have been awarded to businesses across the Highlands since the scheme was first introduced nationally in 1998 to promote best practice throughout the hospitality industry.
Hospitality Assured is the first worldwide standard to be developed across the hospitality industry and is based on the concept of best practice. It was introduced to enable businesses working within the hospitality and catering industry to demonstrate their commitment to service excellence by giving them the means to promote increasingly high standards that will also benefit their business. To achieve this, a national accreditation scheme has been developed, with a checklist designed to help the company identify their own strengths and weaknesses in comparison to best practice. At the same time, it also doubles as a tool for improving the business.
As John Birchill, the scheme’s co-ordinator for the Highlands explained: “Hospitality Assured enables establishments to measure their own customer service standards against the best. In that respect, CairnGorm Mountain came in pretty high among those being assessed for the first time. The assessment took place over two days earlier this year and, because of its size of operation, CairnGorm Mountain will be assessed again next year. Smaller business are re-assessed at three year intervals.”
Interestingly, John Birchill also indicated that the scheme is certainly working within the industry for many of those being re-assessed scored much higher credits than in their initial appraisal. Said Mr Birchill “It’s all about seeking continuous improvement as part of a general quest for excellence - and that has to be a positive element that we are encouraging to grow across the catering industry.”
Commented Ian Whitaker, CairnGorm Mountain’s Commercial Director “Our entire customer culture is about delivering quality throughout the company and that is reflected in the attitudes of all of our staff towards customers. It is always encouraging to receive an award but doubly more so this time when it has been awarded on the basis of a formal assessment and appraisal by external experts from within the industry.”
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