Harbour & Jones launches Upfront reception services
Boutique caterer Harbour & Jones has announced the launch of its dedicated reception services business, just weeks after it picked up a joint catering and front of house contract in the City of London.
Upfront was created to offer reception, switchboard, helpdesk and meeting room management, customer service training and event management.
The caterer revealed that it had won a bundled soft services deal with insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher at the end of February, while it already operated front of house at the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Patrick Harbour, director of H&J, said the development of a front of house services was a natural progression for the company and grew from its clients' need for a fully integrated service.
"H&J will be able to offer clients a one-team seamless approach by linking the front of house, catering and hospitality teams, with specialised training to ensure that all team members can fulfil the various duties," he said.
"Our goal is to train our front of house teams to offer not just good, but exceptional service. Taking advantage of our training resources, which draws on experienced professionals from the hotel and airline industries, and uses graduates from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to perform different roles, we teach our teams how to deal with all types of customer. They learn to interpret body language, and to handle all manner of behaviours with unruffled poise."
The new company division joins the firm's core foodservice and hospitality business as well as its events arm, Harbour & Jones Events.
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