Intrigued By Service Consulting, in partnership with Evolvin’ Women is launching the first ever customer experience and hospitality challenge.  Wilhelmina Appenteng and Assia Riccio-Smith, colleagues in hospitality and also alumni from Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration, are teaming together with other hospitality team players to launch their newest and exciting initiative, the Five Star Accelerator Challenge.  Currently, Wilhelmina is the Lead Consultant at Intrigued By Service, a hospitality and wellness consulting firm in Accra while Assia is the CEO of Evolving Women, Dubai.

Together, they have between thirty years of hospitality experience and are working hard to increase home grown hospitality and tourism talents and also eliminate gender disparities at the executive level in the hospitality industry.  They also aim to educate recent graduates about great customer experience and true hospitality and how it can transform our society.  As ‘Mesdames of Hospitality’ they undeniably are true blooded hospitality experts and are pleased to start the relevant conversation on great customer experience and handhold new recruits into the industry.

The first couple of years after graduating from university, with related and especially non-related hospitality degrees, are extremely important for a fresh graduate looking to start a career in the service industry. The Five Star Accelerator team have created this challenge to introduce an awareness to graduates, policymakers, community leaders and the general public about how important direction and coaching of people who are passionate and want to work in the ‘Happy Industry’ can change the entire face of customer experience and hospitality in the community.

They aim to provide guest service toolkits and resources to equip the graduates with much needed guidance on careers paths and make a positive change in customer experience locally.  This initiative is critical. The best time to make a difference is immediately after the base knowledge has been acquired in University. The most impactful period to plant these acorns is now.

The accelerator is designed to draw attention to the general public on how imperative it is to accelerate learning and development within the first few years in hospitality with encouragement and supervision in the coming few years. The team aims to continue to shape the careers of promising future frontline and hospitality services professionals and is committed to supporting customer experience improvement in Ghana.

The Five Star Accelerator Challenge application is currently open with submissions due to end on Monday, 21^st August 2017.  A total of fifteen graduates will be selected and placed in Accra service organizations and will be given the opportunity to examine the challenges and rewards of great customer care practice in the Ghanaian setting, while engaging in phenomenal customer care and leadership training, hospitality-led project activities and great service delivery.  Through a combination of educational tours, workshops and challenges, the selected graduates will receive training in knowledge and skills to become passionate customer experience and hospitality service practitioners.  Upon completion of this challenge, all selected participants will be poised to become ‘Champions of First Impressions’ in any service institution.