Singer strikes right notes for hospitality

GANDER, NL—Sons of Maxwell singer Dave Carroll brings his tale of "United Breaks Guitars" to the Hospitality of Newfoundland and Labrador conference and trade show later this month.

The experience of a 2008 tour through Nebraska led to a trio of viral music videos and now a presentation on the value of effective customer service and communication.

Dave Carroll sang a tale about an airline and a broken guitar.

Carroll learned how customer service should not work after United Airlines baggage handlers damaged his $3,500 guitar. Many frustrating months spent working through the complaint process resulted in Carroll becoming a de  facto expert on the importance of providing top of the line customer service. The 150 million views of his videos did not hurt either.

HNL’s annual conference and trade show takes place Feb. 23-25 at the Gander Community Centre.

Along with Carroll, speakers include Mike Farrell and Mark Thompson, discussing, “For Better or Worse: How Social Media is Impacting the Workforce.”

Randy Taylor presents “The Winner Within: The Path to Professional and Personal Success,” talking about ways to “overcome the voice of self-limiting behaviour.”

Other sessions include: “A Conversation with Tourism Leaders,” “There’s Something in the Air,” “The Pathway to Purchase,” and “What Travellers Want.”

Speakers include Keith Collins, CEO of St., John’s International Airport, Greg Klassen, a vice-president with the Canadian Tourism Commission, Duncan Bureau, vice-president of sales with WestJet, and John Dicks, chair of Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador.