Here you can view the complete history of news artilcles posted.
This News article was posted on 05 Jan 2012
World Class Service works with organisations across the UK and Ireland to help them deliver excellence. But the past year has seen significant developments closer to home, which will shape the way we do business with all our clients.
2011 was a good year to be in business in Manchester. It was a year where the eyes of the nation have been on the City- or rather the Cities – as this has been in no small part down to the developments in Salford. There are now upwards of 2,000 BBC staff based at MediaCity UK, as well as the massive volumes of freelance staff that the studio operation is employing directly. The creation of this technological Goliath has placed Salford at the forefront of the media industry, and this has already led to announcements of further investment in the area, from the likes of SIS and ITV.
This News article was posted on 04 Jan 2012
Another year behind us and it's safe to say that there were some challenges but, as ever, it's not the end of the world. Cuts, job losses and austerity measures all combine to make us all nervous with our spending but the likes of John Lewis saw sales rise by 6.2% in the last five weeks of 2011.
In any recession around the world, it is always the case that winners can be found. We don't mean the greedy fat cats. You can win in a financial downturn if the product you provide is reliably excellent.
When people have less disposable income, they still want to treat themselves and they still want to enjoy their lives. They just take fewer risks and look to spend where they know that their experience will be worth the money.
This News article was posted on 15 Dec 2011
We're pleased to announce that a number of Manchester's hotels have recently gained full World Class Service accreditation for 2011/12.
Jury's Inn, The Lowry Hotel, The Midland, Radisson Edwardian and most recently The Arora Hotel have all proved their strength in the World Class Service Standard's four key areas of Behaviours, Processes, Physical Environment and Tangibles
This News article was posted on 28 Oct 2011
For the last four years the Manchester Hoteliers Association has celebrated its industry’s stars through the MHA Awards. These prestigious awards were presented to the winners at this year’s Ball on Friday 21st October, at The Palace Hotel, in front of 600 guests from Greater Manchester’s vibrant hotel and hospitality community.
The winners were selected following citations from a record number of nominations from the MHA membership, the largest of its kind in Europe. This made for a tough job for World Class Service and The Manchester College, tasked with choosing the winners from such a strong field.
This News article was posted on 27 Oct 2011
World Class Service would like to extend its congratulations to the Lowry Hotel’s Elaine Bowers, who picked up The Ambassadors Award at this year’s Springboard Awards for Excellence on Monday. The accolade, which celebrates individuals who champion careers within the hospitality industry – was presented as part of the annual ceremony held at the Park Plaza in London.
This News article was posted on 21 Sep 2011
World Class Service Ltd and Town Hall & Symphony Hall Birmingham are delighted to announce two special performances of the super-cool classical spectacular Polar, at Birmingham Symphony Hall at 2.30pm and 7.30pm on Wed 21 December.
A stunning portrait of the world’s frozen kingdoms, Polar combines stunning HD footage from the world’s best natural history film makers with a unique live score arranged by renowned conducer and orchestrator John Harle, which will be performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
This truly mesmerising concert experience takes the audience on a magical journey to the Arctic and Antarctic regions of our planet, featuring previously unseen footage, shown on an immense 32 feet wide, HD screen raised above the orchestra and a score specially arranged and conducted by John Harle. The music includes original work from Harle as well as special arrangements of some of the most well known pieces of the world’s most famous composers including Mozart, Stravinsky, Rautavaara, Purcell, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius.
This News article was posted on 21 Sep 2011
We're delighted to announce that Mint Hotel in Manchester has achieved the World Class Service Standard. Mint Hotel becomes the latest venue to be accredited with the Standard which covers Behaviours, Processes, Physical Environment and Tangibles.
Mint Hotel is an active member of the MHA and show dedication to their home town with their programmes ensuring that the team know the city and can share their knowledge with the guests.
This News article was posted on 21 Sep 2011
Record numbers of hotels submitted record numbers of nominees for the MHA Awards and the calibre of the candidates is making the whole process a great pleasure.
The nigh on impossible job of selecting a shortlist of 3 for each award is now complete and the shortlist can be seen below.
The Awards, in association with Hospitality Academy at Fielden, part of The Manchester College, will be presented at the MHA Ball at The Palace Hotel on Friday 21st October 2011
This News article was posted on 13 Sep 2011
Manchester Hoteliers Association are looking for heroes in their hotels.
To select the Award winners, World Class Service and Manchester College have established criteria for each of the four awards. Assessment will be based on the submission of a citation and each hotel could enter one individual for each Award.
The Awards, in association with Hospitality Academy at Fielden, part of The Manchester College, will be presented at the MHA Ball at The Palace Hotel on Friday 21st October 2011.
This News article was posted on 08 Sep 2011
Service 2020: Megatrends for the decade ahead is an Economist Intelligence Unit report, sponsored by BDO.
The research clearly highlights just how vital good customer service is and will continue to be in order to survive in today and tomorrow's world. Maintaining standards despite the "need for speed", outsourcing to customer service experts (like ourselves) and the use of technology are all covered in the report which is avaliable (if you are registered) in the Resource area of this website. To register, click here
This News article was posted on 05 Sep 2011
World Class Service Ltd and Manchester Science Festival are delighted to announce two special performances of the super-cool classical spectacular Polar, performed by Manchester Camerata at the Royal Northern College of Music at 3pm and 7pm on Sunday 23 October.
A stunning portrait of the world’s frozen kingdoms, Polar combines stunning HD footage from the world’s best natural history film makers with a unique live score arranged by renowned conducer and orchestrator John Harle and performed by the world class orchestra Manchester Camerata.
This News article was posted on 18 Aug 2011
Last week was one to forget but the reaction of many people to the looting is something to celebrate. Our home town, the wonderful Manchester, is going about things in the right way as usual.
We're supporting the I love MCR campaign because we are proud of this city and its people. As a natural part of the myriad of activities we get up to, we find out about a huge amount of wonderful things happening across this great city of ours and share this information, for free, through the Manchester10. This week, as with every other week, there is plenty to do as you can see below:
This News article was posted on 12 Aug 2011
World Class Service today launches "A Portrait of England". World Class Service is all about people doing extraordinary things. From August 12th 2011 to August 12th 2012, anybody in England can film anything in England and submit it to www.aportraitofengland.com to be part of a countrywide project to create A Portrait of England.
What is England? You show the world.
This News article was posted on 03 Aug 2011
We are delighted to announce that Patrick Holtby of Affinity is now a World Class Service Associate. Patrick is dedicated to helping organisations and people reach the World Class Service Standard and we're convinced that his approach to developing teams will be of great benefit to many of our subscribers and clients.
World Class Service ltd is the home of the World Class Service Standard and our associates provide us and our clients with interesting and effective ways of enabling front of house teams to deliver excellent customer service.
This News article was posted on 02 Aug 2011
The short answer is yes...but only if you are doing the right thing by your customers.
Online review sites such as Tripadvisor are no strangers to business owners and they are not alone. Thomson, Google Places, Yell etc. all allow customers to leave online reviews for your business.
What can you do to make sure that those reviews are good and what should you do when you're getting bad reviews?
This News article was posted on 27 Jul 2011
British Gas has been fined £2.5m for failing to adequately deal with customer complaints. Ofgem has ruled that British Gas had failed to re-open complaints when customers said they had not been resolved.
British Gas had also failed to provide customers with key details about help they could get from the energy ombudsman.
Nobody's perfect and mistakes are made so handling customer complaints is essential and, if you know what you are doing, can bring greater customer loyalty and good will towards you and your company...and help you avoid millions of pounds worth of fines.
What's the best way of handling customer complaints?
This News article was posted on 12 Jul 2011
World Class Service Ltd is focused on a higher standard of performance and that includes our corporate social responsibility programme. Of course we recycle, use earth friendly suppliers, rely on the public transport system where we can and try to tread lightly. We also think this should feel good and so we have developed a communication approach based on Jaques Cousteau’s wonderful idea that it’s easier to protect what we love. Our CSR programme has reached over 35,000 people.
This News article was posted on 28 Jun 2011
Bribery is a hot topic at the moment and not only for the FIFA Ethics Committee. The Bribery Act will come into law on July 1st 2011, rendering it illegal for an employer or employee to offer or receive a bribe, bribe a foreign official, or fail to prevent a bribe being paid or received.
A bribe is defined as a financial reward or other form of advantage with the intention of bringing about the improper performance of the recipient's function or an activity. Maximum penalty is an imprisonment term of ten years and/or unlimited fines so what are the risks for you and your business?
This News article was posted on 23 Jun 2011
Manchester Hoteliers Association are looking for heroes in our hotels. We are looking for the Employee of the Year (Front of House) Employee of the Year (Back of House), New Star of the Year, and the Howard Raynor Lifetime Achiever.
The Awards, in association with Hospitality Academy at Fielden, part of The Manchester College, will be presented at the MHA Ball at The Palace Hotel on Friday 21st October 2011.
This News article was posted on 22 Jun 2011
As Manchester demonstrated with the Manchester Commonwealth Games, the service and welcome received by those attending the games are key to the success of any major event. Manchester's games were dubbed "The Friendly Games" and London is being urged to follow suit.
People 1st, is sending out a message to all operators to review their offering so they can ensure visitors from within and outside of the UK will return in the future.
This News article was posted on 21 Jun 2011
World Class Service are delighted to announce the launch of the Creative Tourist Family Friendly City Guide. We're focussed on helping and inspiring companies, people and organisations to deliver World Class customer experiences and our home town of Manchester is never slow to get in on the act.
We've been working with a group of passionate hoteliers and Creative Tourist to help families make the most out of this great city of ours this summer.
This News article was posted on 06 Jun 2011
World Class Service ltd are delighted to welcome Joanne Wood to the team.
Joanne joins World Class Service as Project Manager after 8 years at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, leaving her post as Conference and Events Manager.
This News article was posted on 05 May 2011
We have a new telephone number.
Please update your records to 0161 235 0894.
We're in the same office in St James Building on Oxford Street in Manchester but have changed the main switchboard number.
Nothing else has changed but stay tuned for some very exciting news at World Class Service coming in the next fortnight.
Don't forget to vote today (May 5th 2011).
This News article was posted on 20 Apr 2011
Of the 6,396 hotels and B&Bs listed in the 2010 AA guide, only 58% had Wi-Fi access. Worryingly, for the remaining 42%, customers ranked free Wi-Fi access as their number one requirement, above even a comfortable mattress, when selecting a hotel (source: JD Power & Associates survey of 50,000 consumers.)
For those who do have Wi-Fi, it is essential that staff are trained to be able to help guests access it. 50% of guests will complain to the front desk about problems with Wi-Fi and the staff need to be able to deal with it.
This News article was posted on 06 Apr 2011
This is your opportunity to join a dynamic company, based in Manchester and working across the UK and Ireland. World Class Service is as much a movement as it is a company. The Project Manager’s role is very much ‘hands-on’ and you will be expected to lead workshops, carry out research and concentrate on business development.
This News article was posted on 31 Mar 2011
World Class Service is delighted to announce that Andrew Glester will be our new Managing Director.
Andrew started the company with Howard Raynor in January 2006 and has been part of the team driving it forward ever since.
This News article was posted on 24 Mar 2011
George Osborne, MP for Tatton and the Chancellor of the Exchequer has delivered his budget but what does it mean for your business and your customers?
The headline grabbing 1p reduction in fuel duty has met with a mixed response as both consumers and businesses have seen fuel prices rise dramatically in recent month and weeks. The chancellor has also removed the 5p increase that was due to come in next month but what is hiding in the detail?
This News article was posted on 16 Mar 2011
Most of you probably won't know that they've been going strong for some 170 years but Hospitality Action is a charity which could well help any of us one day. They exist to help people in need who are part of the hospitality industry.
World Class Service Ltd believe that everyone in the industry should know about this excellent service and we've asked Dawn Holding to give a brief overview of how they can help you and how you can help them.
This News article was posted on 09 Mar 2011
John Penrose has announced the new Tourism plan for Great Britain and claimed that Britain is a great year-round destination. The plan includes plans to change Bank Holidays. The May Day bank holiday would be moved to St George's Day in April in England and St David's Day in March in Wales, or a Trafalgar Day in October.
"An action plan to help the British tourism industry achieve its potential as part of Britain’s growth strategy has been unveiled by Tourism Minister John Penrose."
This News article was posted on 04 Mar 2011
Howard and his extraordinary life will be celebrated at the Bridgewater Hall on Friday April 1st at 11am. Friends, colleagues and family will join together to remember Howard in the venue where he made his name in the city he loved.
During the first 5 years of World Class Service, so many of you will have got to know Howard, either directly or through one of our events and this event is open to anyone who would like to join us to celebrate his life.
If you would like to attend, please get in touch
This News article was posted on 17 Feb 2011
It is with great sadness that we must announce that Howard Raynor passed away on the morning of February 16th 2011. Howard had been battling cancer.
We know that anybody who has had the honour of knowing Howard will share our grief.
If you would like to send condolences, please email Andrew Glester or Louise Hargreaves at World Class Service and we will ensure that the family receive all your messages.
A truly brilliant man who is already sorely missed.
This News article was posted on 09 Feb 2011
To coincide with Michel Roux's Service, the Academy of Food and Wine Service is running a series of interviews, blogs, video links, training advice and downloadable fact sheets after each episode, to help front-of-house professionals.
All tips were provided by members and supporters of the Academy of Food and Wine Service, the professional front-of-house body that is dedicated to improving the status and standard of service.
This News article was posted on 27 Jan 2011
The Games Workshop has found its sales significantly decline after decreasing the number of staff. Customers are said to have turned away from the store after the staff failed to live up to previous customer service levels.
Mark Wells, CEO of the Games Workshop has now turned their focus to customer service with stores in mainland Europe having already seen a customer service focus lead to an upturn in their profits.
This News article was posted on 13 Jan 2011
24% of UK customers have stopped doing business with a company within the last 6 months due to a bad customer experience.
We're often asked what the benefits are of working with and subscribing to World Class Service. Occasionally, we're told exactly why it is that our subscribers have subscribed.
Our thanks to Gill Nicholls and Gaynor Hallows at Manchester Airport Group whose research pinpoints exactly why Customer Service is so vital to your business.
This News article was posted on 12 Jan 2011
The BBC tonight show the first part of an 8 part series with Michel Roux called simply "Service". Michel Roux, quite rightly, says that service is as important as food. He goes onto say that service in the UK is lacking and blames it on a hangover from the class system.
Mary Portas has a new series starting next week called "Secret Shopper", going into large stores undercover and revealing the poor customer service.
This News article was posted on 12 Jan 2011
Last August, David Cameron gave a speech in which he stated his Government’s view that tourism was one of the best and fastest ways of generating the jobs the country needed.
This month, the Prime Minister launched a partnership between VisitBritain and the travel and tourism sector at an event at Downing Street. VisitBritain is leading this new partnership. It forms the basis of our new global marketing programme in which we are taking advantage of the unique opportunities afforded by the Royal Wedding, the Diamond Jubilee and hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
This News article was posted on 15 Dec 2010
According to People 1st the sector skills council hospitality Customer Service skills remain the most common skills gap across the hospitality sector. 65 percent of businesses who reported skills gaps in their workforce stated that their staff lacked the required customer service skills, an increase from 57 percent in 2007. The transaction value, referral value and lifetime value of every customer hangs in the balance
This News article was posted on 07 Dec 2010
The free Manchester10 iPhone app is no stranger to regular visitors to the Manchester Made it Easy blog and it is growing in popularity and usage across the city. Over a thousand people now use the app regularly to give them quick look at what's happening in Manchester.
On any given night or day, Manchester is packed to the brim with a wide variety of special events, restaurants, concerts, places to have a drink etc. etc. etc. To produce a website to cover it all is tantamount to trying to create a Death Star. Great fun, obviously, but ultimately all too cumbersome. That's why we produce the Top Ten Things to do in Manchester and make it available for free on this blog and to iPhone users.
This News article was posted on 26 Nov 2010
Sharpen your edge for 2011, as the market moves tentatively towards recovery every business needs to stay focused on delivering outstanding value for money to every customer and using all its assets to build customer relationships.
Amazingly we still see most companies letting customer drift away in a world of indifference, the World Class Service Subscription package for 2011 is designed to give you and your team the best possible support on customer service issues.
This News article was posted on 08 Nov 2010
Each year the Manchester Hoteliers Association celebrates its people through a high profile charity Ball and for the last three years through the MHA Awards programme.
This year there were 5 awards, Emerging Talent, New Star, Employee of the Year (Front of House), Employee of the Year (Back of House) and Lifetime Achiever. 2010 saw the addition of the Emerging Talent award. This award, chosen by The Manchester College, recognises and celebrates our service stars of the future, about to embark on a career in the hospitality industry.
This News article was posted on 25 Oct 2010
We are heartened to learn that the Prime Minister has recognised the importance of the Hospitality Industry to our country. The Manchester Hoteliers Association has taken the lead in creating a national legacy around attracting and retaining talent to our industry, so our vision is to design, build and operate an academy located in central Manchester.
The project is employer led and is based on consultation with more than 2000 employers locally and regionally supporting the concept.
This News article was posted on 18 Oct 2010
Visit Manchester is working alongside the NWDA to deliver a grant assistance programme with funding received through the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). The main aim of the project is to raise the quality of visitor accommodation within Greater Manchester.
The limits for the grants have been set at a minimum of £20,000 and a maximum of £50,000. The grant will make up 40% of the total cost of the project and the business needs to provide match funding for the project of 60%.
This News article was posted on 15 Oct 2010
We are delighted to welcome our newest subscribers; the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland. The National Concert Hall is home to the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and hosts a programme ranging from operas and musicals to contemporary Irish folk and has been working with World Class Service Ltd for several years, becoming subscribers in October 2010.
This News article was posted on 14 Oct 2010
Manchester Hoteliers Association are looking for heroes in our hotels.
The Employee of the Year (Front of House), Employee of the Year (Back of House), New Star of the Year, and a Lifetime Achiever.
The following people have been recognised by their hotels for their outstanding contributions to the city:
This News article was posted on 14 Oct 2010
World Class Service is working with eight leading hoteliers to create a new way of attracting summer guests to Manchester. World Class Service Ltd is leading the team by providing good reasons for guests to stay in great city hotels all Summer long, we are creating a 21st century look and feel to family visits, creating outstanding itineraries that integrate fun and challenging activities and suggesting sightseeing and shopping activities alongside the all important great service.
This News article was posted on 13 Oct 2010
We would like to invite you to the next Manchester Made it Easy gathering at 10am on Friday 22nd October 2010.
With radical cuts to current levels of arts funding and increasing pressures to budgets, the focus of the next MMIE will be to examine how cultural organisations can further develop new and mutually beneficial partnerships with hoteliers and retailers around the city, and provide a forum for information sharing and networking.
This News article was posted on 30 Sep 2010
The North West Tourist Awards took place on September 29th and World Class Service would like to congratulate all the staff at The Radisson Edwardian Manchester on being named as Best Large Hotel.
Organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, the England’s Northwest Tourism Awards celebrate the best of the region’s tourism sector, providing a showcase for industry best-practice and top-quality tourism businesses in Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and Cheshire.
The Radisson Edwardian Hotel in Manchester is a founding member of World Class Service movement.
The full list of winners is as follows:
This News article was posted on 27 Sep 2010
World Class Service Ltd and The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra are delighted to announce the World Premiere of Polar. Polar combines stunning HD footage from the world’s best natural history film makers with live music from the RLPO to produce a mesmerising concert experience, taking the audience on a journey to the Arctic and Antarctic regions of our planet.
This News article was posted on 26 Jul 2010
We're delighted to announce the release of our first iPhone app, available free to download from iTunes now. The app gives you a weekly top ten things to do in Manchester. World Class Service have developed the app with La Factory Del Software.
Nobody pays to be included in the Manchester10 app. The only way you can be included is to do something outstanding.
This News article was posted on 07 Jul 2010
Our front line sales programmes which have been developed from the retail and hospitality sector are designed specifically for the cultural sector. World Class Service improves sales performance by working with your team to establish a clear picture of the service and sales blend in your venue, museum or gallery and to establish the mindset of successful sales development.
To view the latest resources associated with your account, please sign In.
Not registered? Register for free today and discover the benefits of working with us.
World Class Service works with organisations across the UK and Ireland to help them deliver excellence. But the past year has seen significant developments closer to home, which will shape the way we do business with all our clients.
2011 was a good year to be in business in Manchester. It was a year where the eyes of the nation have been on the City- or rather the Cities – as this has been in no small part down to the developments in Salford. There are now upwards of 2,000 BBC staff based at MediaCity UK, as well as the massive volumes of freelance staff that the studio operation is employing directly. The creation of this technological Goliath has placed Salford at the forefront of the media industry, and this has already led to announcements of further investment in the area, from the likes of SIS and ITV.
Another year behind us and it's safe to say that there were some challenges but, as ever, it's not the end of the world. Cuts, job losses and austerity measures all combine to make us all nervous with our spending but the likes of John Lewis saw sales rise by 6.2% in the last five weeks of 2011.
In any recession around the world, it is always the case that winners can be found. We don't mean the greedy fat cats. You can win in a financial downturn if the product you provide is reliably excellent.
When people have less disposable income, they still want to treat themselves and they still want to enjoy their lives. They just take fewer risks and look to spend where they know that their experience will be worth the money.
We're pleased to announce that a number of Manchester's hotels have recently gained full World Class Service accreditation for 2011/12.
Jury's Inn, The Lowry Hotel, The Midland, Radisson Edwardian and most recently The Arora Hotel have all proved their strength in the World Class Service Standard's four key areas of Behaviours, Processes, Physical Environment and Tangibles
For the last four years the Manchester Hoteliers Association has celebrated its industry’s stars through the MHA Awards. These prestigious awards were presented to the winners at this year’s Ball on Friday 21st October, at The Palace Hotel, in front of 600 guests from Greater Manchester’s vibrant hotel and hospitality community.
The winners were selected following citations from a record number of nominations from the MHA membership, the largest of its kind in Europe. This made for a tough job for World Class Service and The Manchester College, tasked with choosing the winners from such a strong field.
World Class Service Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with the company number 5528378
World Class Service Ltd | St James' 61-95 Oxford Street | Manchester M1 6EQ
Email Us | Tel +44 (0)161 235 0894 | Location Map
The Registered office is World Class Service Ltd | St James' 61-95 Oxford Street | Manchester M1 6EQ and the VAT number is 873891081