Honing the tourism product
"To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart and a free mind." Pearl S. Buck There is nothing that will quell your appetite like a surly fast-food attendant and these abound in Guyana. The reasons are obscure, but the sullenness is epidemic. Never mind the television advertisements that show cheerful smiling waiters and counter staff shaking the customer's hand and thanking him for his patronage. They are paid actors. In reality, the customer is made to feel that his money is worthless and the person who just served him did him a huge favour. Forget the "Suggestion Box" you see in most establishments. None of the suggestions to train staff seem to ever reach management. Added to this, most fast food restaurants have no concept of what fast food means. Service, if it can be called that, is done at a snail's pace or slower. One wonders what qualities managers look for in such staff. Even in some high class restaurants, where one pays a "service charge", the gruffness is evident. It is obvious in some establishments that the waiters/waitresses have been trained, but one wonders if they have also been warned: "Smile at or chat with the diners and you will be fired!" Waiters, counter attendants, cashiers and other frontline staff must have a pleasant personality. There are few persons who would not respond to a smiling face and a polite greeting. But training is also a must. It is the view of at least one hotel owner that Guyanese are untrainable and that the high turnover of staff in the industry makes training useless. It was at this same establishment that a waiter setting places at a table was observed to pick up a fork which had fallen on the floor, give it a quick wipe on his shirt and continue the place setting. Business analyst Christopher Ram, said in last Sunday Stabroek's Business Page that the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) Sustainable Development Conference was a ringing success for the organisers. He has commended Tourism Minister Geoffrey Da Silva and his staff as well as the CTO for the high quality of the conference, "the results of which can provide the basis of a successful policy document which will relieve the country of its dependence on traditional products."
Participants at the conference from the Caribbean, Europe and North America left here with a new image of Guyana. They gushed about the beautiful eco-tourism spots. They all want to return. But they will all expect the same efficient and friendly service they received during the conference. Sadly, the effort put into the tourism conference seems to have been a one-off thing. A national policy document on tourism is needed and foremost among its features must be the training of service personnel. Operators in the hospitality industry must give an undertaking that ongoing training will be provided for their employees. Perhaps the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana in conjunction with the Tourism Ministry could facilitate complaints from dissatisfied customers and investigate them. A system of monitoring should be put in place. And establishments which place untrained staff on the frontline must face some sort of penalty. The magnificence of the Kaieteur and the Orinduik falls, the proliferation of nature trails and bird watching venues, the grandeur of Iwokrama and the beauty of the various eco resorts will be of little avail in the face of crude or sloppy service.
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