The staff at MMNR entry points are the only
representatives of the Reserve’s management that the vast
majority
of visitors will ever meet. As such they are in a
unique position to create a positive and
professional
first impression of the MMNR to the many visitors
that pass through the entry gates. However,
concerns
have been raised that staff at these entry points
are currently not trained to meet the increasing service
standards
that tour operators and visitors expect, and in
many instances the conduct of entry point staff
falls
short of the desired standards of professionalism
and customer care. KWS has in recent years faced
similar
issues regarding visitor handling, and has now
replaced rangers with other specially trained customer
care
staff at the gates to some of its most popular
areas (such as popular entrance gates in Tsavo East and
West
National Parks). Similar moves have recently been
taken to address this issue in the CCTM section of
the
Reserve, where “alpha scouts”,
who have undergone training in customer care and visitor handling,
have begun
to replace rangers at the
gates.
In order to address these issues, and improve the
standards of customer care across the MMNR, the
CCN
section of the Reserve will also implement
measures to assign specially trained visitor handling staff to
its
main entry points (Sekanani, Talek and the new
Enoompuai Gates). This will initially involve the
recruitment
of new or designation of existing staff to undergo
the necessary training in visitor handling and
customer
care. Additional training may also be necessary as
and when new ticketing systems come on line
(see
Action 4.2), and as the new fee schedules
introduced through this plan (see Table 21 in Pricing &
Revenues
chapter) are implemented.
