NEWS

The Tourism Leadership Council is launching SAV6: The Savannah Standard, a new community-wide customer service initiative designed to create a consistent standard of service excellence across Savannah.

Developed for hospitality and tourism businesses — and any other organization with customer-facing employees — SAV6 focuses on six simple behaviors: warmly welcome, be positive and professional, use their name if you have it, be genuinely interested, be helpful and informative, and encourage them back.

“SAV6 is about recognizing that every interaction contributes to the way people experience Savannah,” said Michael T. Owens, President and CEO of the Tourism Leadership Council. “A visitor doesn’t separate their experience at a hotel from the service they receive in a store, restaurant, attraction, or another business. They remember how Savannah made them feel. SAV6 gives our community a common language and a common standard so that exceptional service becomes something we practice together.”

The first Delivering Service with the SAV6 workshops will be held Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the Hyatt Regency Savannah, with sessions from 10 a.m. to noon and 4-6 p.m. Interactive, actor-led training facilitated by Front Porch Improv will demonstrate real-world customer service situations. Registration is $30 per participant.

“Customer service is economic development,” Owens said. “When people have a positive experience, they come back, they recommend Savannah to others, and they support our businesses. And that principle is just as important for a local resident walking into a business as it is for someone visiting Savannah for the first time. Providing exceptional service strengthens businesses, builds loyalty, and ultimately strengthens our entire community.”

Businesses are encouraged to register their frontline employees and customer-facing teams now and help establish Savannah’s next standard for exceptional service.

Visit the Tourism Leadership Council’s SAV6 HERE to learn more and to register today.