Global tensions are rising and international travel is becoming increasingly stressful, with long lines and grim airport personnel now the norm. Not so at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, though, which stands out as an oasis of smiling staff willing to make the extra effort to ensure that travelers receive the most welcoming of visits.
Acclaimed duty-free retailer Ever Rich provides many of the personnel at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, and the company’s motto of “Service from the Heart” can be clearly seen in the quality of service. Staff wearing pink berets and warm smiles greet visitors, offering help and information to weary and stressed-out passengers.
The company has won several awards in recognition of this commitment to sincerely helping others.
This year, UK-based consultancy firm Skytrax awarded Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport the title of the “World’s Best Airport Staff” in the 2017 World Airport Awards. This is the second time that the airport has garnered this award, having been crowned with the same title in 2015. Ever Rich has been the airport’s duty-free shopping provider for nearly 20 years, devoting itself to providing passengers with an exquisite shopping experience by offering not only a vast array of duty free goods, but also 2,000 dedicated personnel who provide genuine and warm service. Some 300 staff are employed strictly in information and traveler service rather than sales, working in 360-degree customer service counters so that travelers from all directions may be easily assisted. The ratio of Ever Rich service staff to passengers at Taoyuan International Airport is double that of its nearest competitor, Hong Kong Airport.
In addition, last year the firm was recognized as the “Airport Retailer of the Year: Top-achieving Single Location” by London-based Frontier Magazine, beating out other shortlisted contenders such as DFS India, Dubai Duty Free, Lagardere Travel Retail, and Qatar Duty Free in the Frontier Awards 2016.
The award recognized Ever Rich’s outstanding performance in innovation and originality, business performance and goal attainment, overall satisfaction among travelers, and boosting service standards for peers, among other factors. Frontier Magazine noted that Ever Rich’s customer-centric management of its duty-free shops went way beyond travelers’ expectations, and cited the amount of space and number of personnel dedicated exclusively for non-profit purposes, including baby-nursery rooms, cultural and art corridors, and other customer-oriented facilities. In one case, an elderly woman lost her glasses and was unable to find a new pair before her plane departed. She was so upset that the Ever Rich staff behind the service counter actually gave the elderly woman her own pair of glasses to ensure that the woman had a good flight.
Ever Rich nurtures a culture of service, and employees take this commitment to service into their personal lives, as evidenced by the number of employees who regularly offer their time and effort volunteering in their communities. Ever Rich personnel engaged in nearly 500 community efforts last year, and these efforts have continued into 2017. For example, Ever Rich employees cleaned beaches around Taiwan for Earth Day this past April 22, including Penghu Longmen Harbor by Ever Rich Penghu employees, as well as in Hsu-tsuo harbor wetlands by Ever Rich Taoyuan International Airport employees, and Sha-chu Bay in New Taipei City by Ever Rich headquarter staff.
The company also organizes trips to nursing homes and homes for the mentally challenged to enable Ever Rich employees to bring their warmth and caring to the residents. Ever Rich’s in-house magazine, B Paper, regularly reports on the selflessness of its employees, creative ideas that staff have come up with, the charity work engaged in by different departments, and important events within the company.
This commitment to society extends beyond volunteering. The company has made considerable donations of money, facilities, and equipment to noteworthy causes. For example, in 2017 Ever Rich donated a bus to an area hospital to enable patients to have better access, as well to provide daily life necessities to 300 solitary elderly people in Taoyuan City, and three buses to the Taoyuan City Department of Social Welfare to help the needy access social services.
Ever Rich’s commitment to service and aid has even had life-saving consequences. The company donated more than 20 Automated External Defibrillators (AED) that have been installed in Terminals 1 and 2 at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, and ensured that its staff were trained in their use. The AED and the training had direct consequences for one 42-year-old man traveling through the airport a few years ago. The passenger suffered a sudden heart attack in the airport, but was effectively saved by Ever Rich service staff, who not only used the AED but provided mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR until emergency medical personnel were able to arrive.
Going above and beyond – even to the extent of saving lives – is the Ever Rich way. Although Ever Rich has garnered accolades for its commitment to service, improving society and helping humanity is its passion and is shared by all staff.