STEWS, YOUR THOUGHTS/COMMENTS?? For our Stewies: A Wonderful article by Lulu Trask Let’s turn a job into a five-star career In the context of ongoing amendments to the certification process for the deck and engineering departments, managing editor Lulu Trask questions the industry’s response to the lack of mandatory interior training. Like so many in this industry, during the boat show season I’m lucky enough to hop from yacht to yacht, whether it be for captain interviews, boat tours or just to say hello to the crew. Coming up to three years in this industry, I’m pleased to say that the crew greeting me as I have walked along the innumerable passerelles have always been top notch – polite, friendly and welcoming – but it’s in the countless hours Ive racked up sitting on the sundeck waiting for my interview or tour that Ive really noticed the difference in the attentive service levels of the interior crew. Like I say, Ive never had anything other than a pleasant and praiseworthy welcome on board, but sometimes that’s where it ends. Other times, however, I’m immediately offered anything from water and coffee (two must-haves during any boat show) to slippers or even extended yacht tours – I can even remember being offered a cocktail at 10am, which I politely declined – just to make waiting a five-star experience in itself. For me, a stew or chief stew who goes that extra mile will always be a hugely valuable asset to a yacht. For owners and potential owners, that person will often be the first point of contact with that particular yacht and, for some, the first point of contact with the yachting industry. But on paper, aside from the numbers of a few referees, there is absolutely nothing to differentiate an average stew from a five-star stew, nor a junior stew from a chief stew. There is an ever-growing pool of interior courses to choose from, but without mandatory status, what do they really mean and how much influence does a list of these courses on a CV really have with a captain, manager, owner or potential employer? No discredit should be done to the hard work of the Professional Yachting Association (PYA) and its Guidelines for United Excellence in Service Training (GUEST). The PYA has, and continues to, set a standard for interior crew, but it’s swings and roundabouts: with so many training schools now receiving GUEST accreditation, once again we’re back to the point of little differentiation. Without mandatory standards in place, how can interior crew really stand out against their competitor candidates? Safety and service are not mutually exclusive; it doesnt have to be one or the other. Why can’t we have both? And how can we tell the difference between someone who should be a chief stew and someone who needs to work their way up? Moreover, how many interior crew members do you know who haven’t passed an interior course? In most cases, taking a course means passing a course and when these courses are both expensive and non-mandatory it is, to an extent, understandable. It does mean, however, interior certificates can lose their value. But with a mandatory stamp, improved auditing and higher industry standards, interior training certificates have the potential to mean an awful lot more to a potential employer. And just think of the effect this would have on owner complaints about crew turnover and salaries – owners will know what they’re getting and have a better idea of what they should be paying for the service they have chosen. A number of industry professionals have dealt with this issue by merely stating that the compulsory courses within the deck and engineering departments are requirements because of the safety implications of these on-board roles. And I agree. But what I don’t agree with is the general acceptance that this somehow translates into mandatory interior courses as utterly unnecessary, because this just isnt true. No one should challenge the fact that all crew are here first and foremost for the safety of everyone on board – to do so is ludicrous – but safety and service are not mutually exclusive; it doesnt have to be one or the other. Why can’t we have both? The answer is, we can, if industry leaders stop passing the buck and instead put their heads together and approach the issuing authorities. As an industry we’re getting more and more professional, so let’s not stop. The interior crew work incredibly hard to provide a five-star service to guests, owners and even journalists. So, in return, I think it’s about time we stop getting scared by the word ‘mandatory’ and turn their jobs into five-star careers.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 10:26:31 +0000
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