Staff at CalMac's Gourock nerve centre have been praised for rising to challenges brought on by coronavirus pandemic

Key workers based in the Kempock Street office had to learn brand new processes and protocols after their roles changed overnight in March.

Shortly after lockdown was announced the team were bombarded with thousands of enquiries every day from holidaymakers who had seen their plans cancelled, or islanders looking to get to and from work.

However, 12 weeks in, the team believe that COVID-19 has prompted positive changes to how they operate and brought them closer together.

Customer advisor Margaret Hunter, from Port Glasgow (right), told the Tele: "At the beginning it was actually really scary.

"One day we were fine then the next day we weren't, it was all over the place.

"I've been here for 28 years and this is probably the biggest change I've seen in my entire time working at CalMac.

"We had to learn brand new ways of doing things, such as refunds, overnight.

"We've had the choice to work from home or come into the office, which has totally changed layout to make sure we are social distancing.

"We are a service that is essential to people needing to travel and I think we've actually coped better than some of the other travel companies.

"As an employee I've felt very well supported and even though we've slowed down a bit now, it's brought about really good changes we'll keep when things return to normal.

Another staff member who has noticed big changes within her working life is Elaine Faulkener, the ticketing and reservations systems manager.

She said: "After the announcement that we were going into lockdown there were instant timetable changes which we had to adapt to.

"The biggest thing for us was making sure every island that had no other mode of transport other than the ferry was still getting a service, even if it was limited.

"It was really important we were still able to offer essential travel, as we are a lifeline service.

"We are in constant discussion with Transport Scotland to see what our next steps are."

As well as staff having the choice to work from home, some members of the team have been permitted flexible working hours to fit round their childcare needs.

The team are using software to keep in touch online and each Friday they have a quiz as a fun activity to wind-down.

Adele Morrison, customer services manager, said: "We understand that the virus is affecting all staff members in different ways, so we've been doing all we can to make sure everyone feels safe and happy at work.

"The team have been working really hard to ensure that emergency services and essential goods can still get to the islands and that all customers are getting their refunds in 21 days or less.

"I'm really proud of every member of staff and how hard they've worked, they've been so reactive to all the changes we've implemented and are such a credit to the company."