Twenty-eight participants from 19 Fernie businesses participated in the Fernie Chamber of Commerce Customer Service Excellence & Fernie Knowledge seminar. This is the first educational session of the year for the chamber who will be offering many more sessions throughout the year.

The Customer Service portion was delivered by Christine Grimble from the College of the Rockies. From ‘initial contact’ to ‘conflict resolution’ Grimble’s delivery was engaging and relevant, she used humorous and current examples to capture the importance of solid customer service.
 Lori Bradish of the Fernie Heritage Library presented the Fernie Knowledge piece. Touching on Fernie’s intriguing past including the Curse and Fernie’s rum-running days and, tourist information such as hiking, biking, FBC tours, arts & culture. Having been born and raised in Fernie, Bradish was the ideal candidate to deliver an authentic presentation.

Key take-aways from the seminar included customer service skills and tips such as initial impressions, non-verbal communication and conflict resolution. Fernie’s varied and interesting heritage including rum-running, the curse and an internment camp. Information on activities, events and attractions, as well as where to acquire maps and other resources. The seminar finished off with a fantastic promotional video by Tourism Fernie.

This session was made available to Fernie Chamber of Commerce members with support from the College of the Rockies and Tourism Fernie.

A light lunch was provided by Lunchbox. 
Patty Vadnais, Fernie Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, commented about the event, “our members have expressed interest in seminars and sessions on business topics, this is just one way of meeting that need.” Participant feedback called the session “…informative and a great refresher on what Fernie has to offer as well as its heritage.” Based on the feedback of this first session, the chamber plans to host more business education sessions including: time management, staff retention and appreciation, and managing your business online presence, in the future.

The Fernie Chamber of Commerce represents over 260 businesses in the Fernie and Elk Valley region. Its mission is to strengthen commerce in the Fernie area and is guided by principles of membership, integrity, best-practices, business excellence, and non-partisan approach. Businesses are welcome to join the Fernie Chamber of Commerce and participate in its advertising, advocacy, and networking events.

Fernie Chamber of Commerce

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