World Duty Free invests $400,000 in staff training

Nicole Mezzasalma

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Investment in customer service training pays off for the company

World Duty Free (WDF) has pledged £200,000 ($407,500) to a coaching programme designed to train staff to deliver the best possible customer service. The decision comes after a successful pilot scheme at the British Airport Authority (BAA) subsidiary’s stores in London Heathrow terminal three. The sales team, which won a national customer service award for retail in 2006, improved sales to £2m ($4.07m) in the first six months of 2007 and attracted an additional 50,000 customers.

A total of sixty-five stores at BAA’s seven UK airports will be included in the programme, which also aims to make World Duty Free “a great place to work”, according to the company. The coaching system is divided into three areas, including on-the-job training, practical workshops and ‘coach the coach’ sessions.

WDF head of resourcing and development Jacquie Dyer said: “Like any retailer, our customers are central to the success of our business and every World Duty Free employee is encouraged and trained to always ‘think customer’. Despite winning the award last year and having our Aberdeen team shortlisted for it this year, we will not rest on our laurels and are committed to continuously improving the experience of our stores for our shoppers.”