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Never a leap of faith

15/08/2016

Racing towards the water in freefall before being lowered safely into a boat... Every year, thousands of tourists from all over the world come to New Zealand to enjoy the quintessential thrill of a Kiwi bungy jump.


But behind the adrenaline-inducing dive is a highly sophisticated and professional organisation that puts the emphasis on excellent skills and service where safety comes first.

Taupo Bungy Office Manager Jodie Lough, tells us that it’s never a leap of faith, and staff go through rigorous safety and customer service training to help visitors have a fantastic time, securely.

“I have to be one hundred per cent confident new recruits have mastered customer registration and health and safety routines first before they can be considered for training out on the platform,” says Jodie. “We’ve always had an excellent safety record and make sure we stay on top of what is required.”

Jodie joined the exciting business over 10 years ago having completed a Diploma in New Zealand Tourism.

One of her key roles is training new staff, and to support this and other leadership tasks, she is adding ServiceIQ’s New Zealand Certificate in Business (First Line Management) Level 4 qualification to her repertoire.

“This programme is relevant and pitched at the right level for my role and experience,” says Jodie. “It’s giving me formal management training and I’m learning heaps of skills and knowledge that I’m able to apply on the job.”

She is also a ServiceIQ qualified training assessor for Taupo Bungy, and has enrolled her talented team onto ServiceIQ’s New Zealand Certificate in Tourism (Visitor Experience) Level 3 programme to make sure everyone has the same skills for a consistent, high quality service.

JODIELOUGH

“As soon as a customer walks through the door we all need to have our game face on,” says Jodie.

“If our crew are offering an all-round positive experience, our customers are happy, we get good reviews which bring in more people, which brings in more money.”

Training is an essential feature of life at Taupo Bungy; whether it’s customers learning the ups and downs of jumping, experienced staff taking their skills to the next level, or fresh new talent learning the basics from the ground up.

Jodie has a staff of 10 and chooses talented young people who are willing to learn the tourism business on the job.

“I prefer to upskill from scratch in our way of doing things,” says Jodie.

Great skills lead to skyrocketing success. The popular business that will celebrate its 25th birthday in December 2016 is ahead on last year’s financial results, with no sign of slowing says Jodie. “We didn’t get the usual lull after the Christmas season and our customers just keep on coming.”

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