Tourism chief's plea to bosses

One of the Midland's leading tourism experts is urging companies in Shropshire to seize the benefits of signing up to a new quality agenda.

Penny Hadland, tourism sector manager for Business Link West Midlands, is spearheading the drive for businesses to attract and retain customers through Quality at Heart, an initiative funded by Advantage West Midlands and delivered by the specialist tourism team based within Business Link.

It is a move that has already paid off for such diverse Shropshire businesses as a World Heritage Site and a group of farm cottages.

Penny said: "Dedicated to promoting recognition of the region's tourism, leisure and hospitality businesses, the Quality at Heart recognition model focuses on excellence in three key areas: service, people development and business practices.

"It is designed to increase business profitability, improve staff morale and retention, secure customer loyalty and encourage them to spend more with the business."

The scheme, which is entirely free except for a one-off commitment fee of up to £100, is open to everyone from sole traders to businesses employing up to 249 people who want to demonstrate to customers their commitment to quality, including charities.

Businesses employing 250 or more can be eligible at a commercial rate.

Every potential Quality of Heart participant must satisfy the standards criteria before being able to apply for recognition in the three marks, with each having three levels - Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Servicemark is the mark of quality in the service area. It sets standards for best practice in customer service, including the way businesses communicate with their customers and use the feedback they receive.

Peoplemark performs the same function in measuring the way businesses recruit and retain their staff, train and develop them, bring them into the business and appraise their performance.

Businessmark measures a company's business practices, including how it plans ahead, markets itself and organises its finances.

Ashford Farm Cottages at Ashford Carbonell, near Ludlow, was the first business in Shropshire to achieve Quality at Heart recognition when it gained the Silver Servicemark.

The four self-catering cottages, sleeping up to six, are operated by Norman and Lynda Tudge and have a four-star rating from VisitBritain.

The Ironbridge Gorge Museum, situated in the nationally acclaimed World Heritage Site in the Severn Gorge, also achieved Servicemark Silver-level recognition.

Which just goes to show, that whether the attraction is a holiday cottage or an internationally significant heritage site, the opportunities for promotion through Quality at Heart remain the same, said Penny.

With Shropshire's key transport links to the rest of the region so easy to access, the potential to spread the word across one of the UK's most popular tourist destinations, with visitors to the region spending nearly £4,500million in 2004, is enormous.

Between 2001 and 2005, key attractions in the region invested more than £20 million in new facilities and attractions.

* For further information contact Penny Hadland, sector manager, tourism, Quality at Heart and Regional Centre for Tourism Business Support. email: phadland@qualityatheart.co.uk or phone 0845 241 8269.