 |
| representation image: swagathotel.in from google-images |
Its been said like a thousand times, but yes it is very very important to understand in real sense that people are at the base of hospitality industry, as a matter of fact for any industry where service is a part of it.
Whether its your driver that gets you to the hotel or drops you at the airport, the door man who welcomes you, the bell man who takes your luggage's responsibility , the front office agent who checks you in with a smile, the manager who makes sure that all is going well, the restaurant staff who serves you or the chef who cooks the food for you, all are in fact PEOPLE and then why is it not that all are respected as people. Now this is for the guests to understand but in most cases even people working on the other side of the hotel industry viz. the staff (generally at a higher rank) also forgets the same not needed to mention the person who gets the laundry done, or the plumber who works to make sure there are no leakages or the server who works in the staff canteen or the cashier who gets you pay check, we the same "PEOPLE" sometimes forget that we indulge and interact with people. Most of us after a certain time think of these amazing beings working day in and day out as just "objects', or 'machines' who are there to get the job done that is it.
Now some people tend to get their designation or their superiority in one way or the other that they are in some sense higher and thus they really don't think much of all this or that they don't have time for all this. Now what we all forget is that we all started somewhere. In most cases unless you are born with a golden or platinum spoon, you start at the bottom. In hotel industry to be specific, people who are at higher position now, like say the GM or the Food & Beverage Manager, the Housekeeping Head or the HR Director did start somewhere small in the beginning. Even if you are a graduate from "le amazation" school in Switzerland or France, you do similar work may it be during your internships or training or during your practical sessions of school. So in an ideal condition most people know what it is to work at the base level. Then why not appreciate this people. If you step back and think about the way you sometimes knowingly or unknowingly treat your subordinates and see to whether you would have liked it, if you were in their shoes, probably you wouldn't.
Remember no matter how advanced your establishment is, doesn't matter if you have a Bugatti or RolceRoyce for pick-ups, or 50" flat OLED screen TV in the rooms, or a Molecular Gastronomical smoke infusing guns for futuristic cocktails, iPad for modernized check-in, order taking etc, in the end the establishment is still run with nothing but PEOPLE. Start to show a little respect and kindness. The guests will do the same. Lots of business man have said that make your employee/people happy and they will create amazing experiences for the guests.
Here I would like to quote what Sir Richard Branson had said recently (or at least I believe he said that cause it was a lot in news recently) and its sounds apt
"There is no magic formula for great company culture. The key is just treat your staff how you would like to be treated"
-Binny Varghese
