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Jet stream

16/08/2016

How Hukafalls Jet uses on-job training to power great service.


Hukafalls Jet offers visitors from all over the world the chance to experience up close the full force flow of one of nature’s most iconic attractions in New Zealand.

The roaring torrent falls from an 11 metre high cliff and through a narrow gap that forces between 32 and 270 cubic metres of turbulent foaming water per second.

The natural wonder is a sensational spectacle for visitors, and a fantastic place to build a great business and career in tourism.

Ngāi Tahu Tourism, the biggest owner and operator of many of New Zealand’s leading tourist attractions, owns the award-winning business along with Shotover Jet in Queenstown.

Mike Tindle was just 20 years-old when he joined Hukafalls Jet to work in customer service.

After a couple of years in the role, he became a jet boat driver taking customers to experience the electrifying force of the falls. Then he rose again to become Operations Team Leader, a position he has held for three years.

All along, he has dived into opportunities to learn on-job, including Ngai Tahu’s courses in driving the supercharged jet boats, photography, customer reservations and health and safety.

“When I joined Hukafalls Jet, it was my first real job. I had no tourism specific qualifications and I’ve just worked my way to my current role,” says Mike. “I’m always learning and I can always get help and support from the company.”

Hukafalls Jet is the only jet boat company permitted to take visitors to the base of the waterfall. It operates four boats, has 17 full-time staff, and tours around 50,000 people a year. The award-winning business is Qualmark endorsed and won the People’s Choice Tourism Award for Taupō in 2005.

Delivering such a powerful attraction for customers requires a constant focus on quality.

Today, Mike has given three of his talented team the opportunity to polish their customer service skills by completing a SeviceIQ on-job retail training programme. As well as vital know-how for the business, it’s a chance for staff to gain a nationally recognised qualification for themselves.

“It’s a good opportunity for our people who are already working in the role to gain more skills and get a qualification for what they do,” says Mike. “There’s always more knowledge they can be learning and it’s good to have that recognition on paper which they will have for life.”

Mike TindleThe small team recently got started on the programme that is designed to help them gain excellent customer service skills that attract great reviews and even more customers.

“They are flying through it. I think it will end up being a competition between the three of them to see who can finish first,” says Mike.

If the programme goes well, the plan is to follow-up it up with formal tourism skills and knowledge with the ServiceIQ New Zealand Certificate in Tourism (Visitor Experience) Level 3 qualification.

The experienced team at Hukafalls Jet are aged between 20 and 50, and all upskill on-job.

The exciting business also provides young students with a pathway into a career in New Zealand’s buoyant tourism industry.

Several talented young tourism students from Taupō’s high schools have started careers by gaining work experience with Hukfalls Jet one day a week and on weekends. Then, on leaving school, they have joined the business.

“They are really keen to learn,” says Mike. “It’s certainly not just a job for them.”

“Our customers come from all over the world and pay a high price for a premium experience. We want to make sure we exceed their expectations. One of the highlights of coming to work each day is meeting a whole new group of people and helping them to have a really great adventure on the river. It’s fantastic to see our customers enjoying themselves with big smiles on their faces.”

For more information, please contact ServiceIQ on 0800 863 693 or email intel@ServiceIQ.org.nz