It’s a regular initiative, but a big step for Johnson’s Petroleum Company Limited and United Petroleum (Ja) Limited (UNIPET), who engaged a total of 84 employees in a training programme for improving customer service skills.

The group of employees, which is made up 13 supervisors and managers and 71 pump attendants, have been attending the face-to-face training programme called customer service representative, Job certification.

The six-week programme, which started on June 15, 2021, was designed by HEART/National Service Training Agency (NSTA) Trust and is scheduled to end in August.

According to Rockoya Johnson, industry liaison officer at HEART/NSTA Trust, the training will help to reinforce and expose employees to global standards.

“Of course, the benefits of workforce training has a ripple effect. Certifying your staff gives them increased confidence which positively impacts their level of efficiency, resulting in increased productivity for the organisation,” she told the Jamaica Observer on Thursday.

She also pointed out that the job certification programmes were designed to target people working in a specialty area and who might have difficulties accessing full-time training through HEART/NSTA Trust because of time or financial constraints.

Bridgette Wright, business development manager for both companies said the programme will allow employees to increase customer retention rates and contribute to the improvement of companies’ operational efficiency.

“At the station level, the attendants, supervisors, and managers are the first point of interaction between the company and external stakeholders. We want employees to develop the skillsets and competences which will allow them to work safely and efficiently when carrying out their duties,” she said.

She said that at the end of the programme, employees will have an official graduation and will be certified through the National Council on Technical, Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET).

“These initiatives will boost their morale, which will directly have a positive impact on their socio-economic outlook,” said Wright, adding that participants have been enthusiastic throughout the training programme.

One employee, Ramon Staines, who is a station manager at Johnson’s Petroleum, said the content of the programme surpassed his expectations and he is looking forward to applying the skills learnt.

“It’s a real eye-opener for me. I would definitely love for the training to be transcended into the business activities, especially for the pump attendants,” he said.

Natalie McKenzie, pump attendant at Johnson’s Petroleum added: “It teaches me a little more about customer service that I didn’t know, like dealing with two customers at once — how to approach the situation. I am learning a lot of things.”

Another employee, Kerriann Tyrell, who is a cashier at UNIPET, expressed gratitude for the training, which she described as a refresher course.

“It’s very helpful, because at least you can refresh your memory on certain challenges that customers may be posing. Based on the times that we are in right now, you have to have a mindset on how to relate to customers,” she said.

Tyrell added that due to the psychological side effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, greater customer service should be practised.

“People are going through a lot of stress, so you have to know how to respond. You shouldn’t respond in a harsh manner, but you have to sympathise with them,” she explained.