The Trip DVD
GoSkills are the experts in providing training to the transport industry. Although established by the government, they raise private funding through industry partnerships to finance training programmes and tools for all aspects of transport.
In conjunction with the guild of coach operators, they commissioned a video based product, designed to provide an effective training tool for coach drivers in the advantages of best practice in customer service – targeted as a weakness within the industry.
The intended audience was coach drivers, and the piece had to be robust enough to be beneficial viewed without any kind of trainer present, but work as a presenter aid in a classroom setting too. It also had to tie in with various nationally recognised customer service qualifications and courses.
It was key that the drivers saw the benefit of good customer service to them, not just to their employer or the passengers. The best way to deal with the issues was to show them, in a way that was both entertaining and rang true.
We showed 2 identical coach trips. The only difference was that one dealt with each issue using best practice in customer service. The other did not, and the consequences to the driver, to the passengers and to the company were obvious. Each issue faced by the driver was represented by a passenger, as we shifted between one coach and the other to compare the relative success of the 2 approaches.
The piece was voice-over led, as this allowed greater control, and the inclusion of humour without making the issues less real, we used a ‘knowing’ tone of voice to set up each scene; experienced and slightly world-weary, but not jaded. It was important that the narrator came across as ‘one-of-us’ rather than an authority figure.
We ended with a recap of each issue in direct split-screen. This is intended as the first of a suite of video/DVD’s, which will all use drama and film references.
The finished piece is amusing and informative, and regarded as a major advance on the materials it replaces. The client now believes that the piece could actually be sold on in sufficient numbers to make a profit, rather than merely subsidise the production costs.
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