The Goring's Award-Winning Head Concierge Puts Gatwick Staff Through its 5* Personal Service Paces

    WEST SUSSEX, ENGLAND, March 04, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Airport takes steps to deliver the service of London's most luxurious 5* hotel.

Gatwick gets set to provide warm welcome to all passengers in the year of the Olympics and the Queen's Jubilee.

Gatwick Airport today announces a new scheme that sees London's quintessentially English 5* hotel The Goring coaching Gatwick's customer-facing staff on how to provide all passengers with a personal service fit for royalty.

Providing top notch service was identified by the Airport Passenger Panel as a defining factor in an airport experience. The Airport Passenger Panel is a body of independent advisory experts brought together by Gatwick to help shine a light on potential challenges faced by air passengers and to tackle long-standing issues head on. The panel members each represent different types of travellers yet all highlighted the extent to which customer service could make or break a trip; whether it be a family going on their annual holiday or a business person en route to a meeting, all deserve five star service.

Led by The Goring's Head Concierge John Andrews - winner of the prestigious 'Top Concierge Worldwide' award by Luxury Travel Advisor magazine - Gatwick's concierge staff, porters, team leaders and information and passenger assistants are the first to learn from The Goring's 100 years experience in providing the best in customer service to their guests. The programme compliments the workshops run by Gatwick to help every member of staff to identify how they can each deliver a positively unforgettable service to passengers.

Gatwick's concierge service is comprised of seven multi-linguists - fluent in ten languages including French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Greek, Lithuanian, Russian and Arabic - who are specifically tasked with assisting passengers with any queries as they make their journey through the airport. Positioned in the check-in areas of Gatwick's South Terminals, concierge staff are available from 5am through to 8:30pm, seven days a week.

Gatwick Airport's Head of Terminals Paul Fitch, commented on the partnership: "We are passionate about providing the best passenger experience for all visitors to Gatwick - a focus only heightened in 2012 as we look to welcome an unprecedented number of travellers through our doors. The Goring is renowned for offering the highest levels of personal service and we want our passengers to benefit from that same subtle but flawless assistance. The hotel's award winning Head Concierge John Andrews was therefore the perfect candidate to put Gatwick's staff through their paces and help us in our aim to offer the best airport experience in the world."

Graham Copeman, General Manager at The Goring commented: "We are delighted that John is working with the concierge staff at Gatwick and to share his insights of The Goring, a hotel where every member of the team takes terrific pride in providing the highest levels of personalised, professional yet friendly service to our guests. The Goring reflects one family's passion for quality - whose members have prided themselves on providing comfort, good food and drink and the most attentive service for over a hundred years. It's the only hotel in London that is still owned and run by the family that built it and is famous for its uniquely personable English style of service, so it's wonderful to be able to share our success stories with the Gatwick concierge staff."

In addition to its concierge service, Gatwick offers a porter service for those travelling with young children and luggage, or heavy bags, or those who simply need a helping hand. Porters can assist departing passengers from kerb-side to check-in, or from the baggage reclaim hall for those arriving at the airport. The service is available from 6am to 10pm seven days a week and can be pre-booked or requested upon arrival at Gatwick.

Gatwick is committed to delivering the best airport experience for its passengers, and, in addition to its investment in five star concierge training, all 1,600 of Gatwick's security staff have received a Tourism South East City and Guilds qualification in customer service. Gatwick's on-going multimillion pound investment in service and facilities also includes dedicated special assistance lanes for families and updated security lanes to make the experience as stress-free as possible for all passengers.

The developments are already proving their value with Gatwick receiving an increase of 20% more compliments from passengers, and 68% fewer complaints compared to December 2010.

About Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport is the UK's second largest airport and the busiest single-runway airport in the world. It serves more than 200 destinations in 90 countries for around 32 million passengers a year on short- and long-haul point-to-point services. Gatwick Airport offer a wide range of amenities and services, including flight information, shopping and various online options to book Gatwick parking. These options include short term parking, long stay parking, and Gatwick Airport meet and greet parking. It is also a major economic driver for the South-East region, generating around 23,000 on-airport jobs and a further 13,000 jobs through related activities. The airport is 28 miles south of London with excellent public transport links, including the award winning Gatwick Express. Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.

Website: http://www.gatwickairport.com/

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