Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is pleased to introduce its Guest Experience program, with all team members directly employed by Vancouver Airport Authority. The new team is the front line of the airport – welcoming passengers and supporting their effortless journey through YVR. All aspects of the program, from uniforms to training, represent the airport authentically, reflecting the YVR brand and international and local cultures to passengers and the community, including Musqueam, at every touchpoint.
“We are thrilled to launch our new Guest Experience program at YVR, and welcome more than 80 new team members to our Airport Authority workforce,” said Tamara Vrooman, President and CEO at Vancouver Airport Authority. “Our new Guest Experience Representatives and Supervisors speak a combined 30 languages and have benefitted from daily cultural learning from Musqueam as part of onboarding. We know that they will deliver an exceptional experience for our passengers and visitors from around the world while reflecting the Musqueam-YVR Sustainability and Friendship Agreement.”
With a bold vision for the future of the airport, including a redesigned passenger journey, YVR took the opportunity to introduce a fresh approach to customer care. YVR’s purpose is to serve the community and the economy that supports it, and the Guest Experience team will bring this purpose to life within the airport.
To find and assemble this team, YVR hosted a number of open houses, promoted job posts on their social media channels and held hundreds of interviews. Bringing these important positions under the Airport Authority creates good union jobs with compensation that surpasses living wage, and opportunities for learning and career progression at YVR.
Training for the new representatives started in early March. For two weeks, the team learned about YVR’s facilities and operations, with a strong emphasis on safety, security, accessibility, and customer service. YVR hired a number of team members who are already seasoned customer care representatives within our airport. They continued to support passengers and visitors throughout the transition. The Guest Experience team will rely on them for their knowledge and firsthand understanding of the passenger journey at YVR.
YVR would like to express our sincere appreciation and thanks to Dexterra for their partnership and commitment to delivering quality customer care services at the airport for many years. They have been extraordinary partners throughout this transition.
A key element of the reimagined passenger journey is embedding the authentic Musqueam Welcome and integration of the culture in the customer service approach. The new YVR Guest Experience program will also continue YVR’s established culture of universal access and inclusion for everyone who visits the airport, ensuring people with disabilities, their friends and families can travel or visit YVR without barriers.
This team will deliver effortless travel for guests, while also providing an experience that is reflective of YVR, the partnership with Musqueam and commitment to service excellence.
YVR looks forward to welcoming more passengers back this summer and introducing everyone to the new Guest Experience team.