Recently our family stayed at the Moon Palace in Jamaica. It was the third time Sue and I had stayed at the resort.
We learned a lot about customer service on our visit.
Our reservation was set up, so we had to change rooms after our first night. When we went to the front desk to change rooms, the hotel staff person, Dara, greeted us with “hello, Mr. and Mrs. Chapin.” I said you remembered our names? She told us we were memorable people. You likely understand we aren’t memorable people if you read this blog.
Dara made us feel important twice!
Then while sitting around the pool, we decided to do water aerobics. There is a limit to how much sitting around doing nothing I can stand. The class had about 12 people in it.
A couple of hours later, while Sue went to the spa, I decided to go to the gym. (keep your jokes to yourself.) The fitness instructor said, “you’re here for more working out?” I said, “I need a second round.” Then he mentioned, “you and your wife were here a couple of years ago, and you did water aerobics daily.” (I realize you are likely wondering if you work out so much, why don’t you get better results. But again, keep those thoughts to yourself.)
Again, this guy made us feel important. He remembered us years later.
But all that paled in comparison to Skamar. We stopped by the Flowrider® Double Surf Simulator between water aerobics and working out at the gym. I had learned how to do it before and wanted to ensure I could. My children were coming the next day, and I wanted to prove that this old man still had some athleticism.
When I walked up to the entrance stand to sign away my life on their waiver, I asked some questions of the person checking me in. Before getting on the board, I wanted to review what I thought were the keys to Flow Rider’s success.
Shamar, the person checking me in, said, “don’t worry, you can do it.”
I said, I have done it, but I wanted to review things before I hurt myself.”
He said, “I taught you how to do it, so I know you can do it.”
I, of course, remembered him because he was the only person ever to teach me how to surf. But every day, he teaches somebody new. As if we weren’t already blown away, he told Sue, “you guys were here in 2020, and I taught you both how to do it.”
Unbelievable. This guy remembered us three years later.
Also, unbelievable that I could still surf.
Three people within 24 hours blew me away by simply remembering us. They work at a large resort in a small town in Jamaica. We had a dozen or so encounters with excellent customer service during our stay. I couldn’t begin to list them all. Maybe if we go back in three years, Stacey, the public relations supervisor, Anne-Marie, the waitress, or Gretzky, the chef at the Hibachi grill, will remember us.
How can I translate that level of excellence into my work?
This winter, I started using the book The Word Before Work by Jordan Raynor to start my day. In it, Raynor hit on the Biblical truth of seeing whatever you do as a call from God to live out his purpose for you. I don’t know if my Jamaican friends are Christian, but they are examples of giving excellence in their craft.
It should convict us, Christians, to ensure we live up to a Godly standard in all we do, regardless of what we do for a living.
Jamaicans have a reputation for great customer service. Why can’t we all?