Customer service called key to Chattanooga's tourism industry

photo The Hunter Museum of American Art is located at 10 Bluff View in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Persuading a stranger's 7-year-old kid not to touch museum artwork can be a difficult task.

Pulling that off without ruffling any feathers and promoting a family friendly atmosphere is even harder, but the Hunter Museum of American Art's security manager can't stress enough the importance of overcoming that challenge.

"It's so hard to get the families in," Lynn Hicks said. "If they have a good experience, they're going to come back or tell somebody about it."

So Hicks and several other Hunter Museum staffers attended a Monday morning hospitality training session to hone their customer service skills and ensure today's tourists are tomorrow's Chattanooga promoters.

Tourism is a more than $800 million-a-year industry in Chattanooga employing about 8,000 people. Dan Nausley, who led two Monday training sessions and will lead a third this morning, said being receptive to customer needs and friendly to the occasional cranky visitor can be the difference between a positive or negative experience.

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression," Nausley said to a room full of local hospitality workers. "Well, for those 3 million visitors who come to our area, you are that first impression."

Bob Doak, president and chief executive officer of the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau which provided the training, said those 8,000 workers often play the biggest role in whether a visitor will become a repeat visitor.

"They have a huge impact on whether their visit to Chattanooga is a good one or a great one," he said. "That extra smile makes a huge difference."

Hicks has learned that lesson well. When hiring, he looks for the person who's going to casually get the "Please watch your kids" message across to parents by striking up a conversation about their child's energy levels, or who will give the big brother a sense of responsibility by asking him to look after his younger sibling.

"They've got to have a bit of patience," Hicks said. "It's very important to me they come across as someone who's easy to get along with."

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