St Andrews Ambassadors Sought

Businesses in St Andrews are training 120 ambassadors for the town to help guests during the Open.

They are looking for volunteers to join the  'Ask Andrew' scheme, which will greet and provide advice to visitors during the golf tournament. In return, they will receive full customer service training.

The initiative, born during a conversation at the local business CoffeeNet group, has been taken on by the St Andrews BID group, and could have long lasting benefit for the whole of Fife. Training for the volunteers will be provided by award winning Lisa Cathro and her training team at Zest Café in St Andrews. This will lead to formal WorldHost qualifications for those taking part.

BID co-ordinator Viv Collie said: "We are really keen to have a great band of volunteers who can help us showcase St Andrews, particularly, and Fife. The benefits for our visitors are obvious but volunteers will also benefit from a valuable, recognised qualification at no cost to themselves. I’m optimistic that we will set a great example for tourism and customer service throughout Fife."

The project obtained a grant through Fife Council after expecting to provide WorldHost training to around 20 people. With the help and involvement of The R&A, however, there will now be eight training workshops held over the next few weeks.