Evil Erik doesn't understand the world anymore.

Here he is, making the owner happy and satisfy his needs, but the staff is driving him nuts by complaining and, oh wonder, resigning one after another.

So what does he do to make sure not everybody resigns? He writes nasty e-mails, full of negative comments to their future employers, hoping they won't get the job and stay!

Evil Erik is also getting nervous about his own future in the organization he is currently involved in and is now sending birthday greetings to people he "knifed" only a few month ago! One has to think about potential "feedback" in this industry, doesn't one?

Fact is that the local staff is quietly observing what they in the meantime call "Star Wars" but, thank heaven, some of the more senior staff help the associates to remember the Mahatma Gandhi quote that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won!

There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall – think of it, ALWAYS.

But before going any further with this article please note, as always, that any resemblance of the various persons described in this article with any existing person is purely coincidental and unintentional and bears no relationship to any living, ethical person working in the hospitality industry!

But the result is sad, the staff has the sleepless nights worrying about their fate, their attitude is plagued by insecurity and, no wonder, they don't do the job they are supposed to do, creating happy guests!

One of the craziest, but also one of the best General Managers I worked with, Mr. Albert Elovic, had a big sign in his office, saying " The fish stinks from the head and not from the tail ".

And after he had moved his office from the 6th floor to the ground floor, right behind the reception desk, he put an even bigger sign outside of his door : " Please come in, I would like to meet you ".

What this General Manager was aware of, and what Evil Erik doesn't have a notion about, is the Law of Attraction that states:

"You get what you think about ; your thoughts determine your destiny."

This law suggests that a person's thoughts (conscious and unconscious), emotions, beliefs and actions are said to attract corresponding positive and negative experiences "through the resonance of their energetic vibration".

This expression of the idea that "thoughts introduced into reality, can attract like energy" is also often linked to the statement by Lord Buddha:

"What you have become is the result of what you have thought"

Once you accept this concept, you can understand why some companies attract different staff, and customers, than other, similar, companies.

Hotel executives should be like coaches, teaching values, politeness, friendliness and respect to the staff and if that happens, it will attract staff (and eventually guests) with the same values.

Evil Erik is rude, moody, and unfriendly to the guests and often behaves inappropriate in relation to some of the perks of the job, and this, accordingly to the law of attraction attracts employees like him.

That's why Atrocious Angela, back from holiday, is secretly hoping that he stays away from her hotel and concentrates more on the other hotels of the group.

Guests don't get paid to be nice, but hospitality employees do. It would be easier if all guests were nice, but as service providers we are getting paid for being friendly. Still many supervisors and managers forget that it is nice to be important, but that it is more important to be nice!

The litmus test for any hospitality organization: Observe the behavior of the senior management, do they show compassion, kindness, dignity, courtesy when in contact with both their associates and their guests?

Or do they walk through the lobby and the restaurant, checking ashtrays and shafing dishes, but not seeing, let alone greeting, any guests? Evil Erik says he is "too busy" to be nice, to be kind!

In both cases, be assured that those executives will attract staff with a similar attitude and thus create the culture that will carry over to their customers.

To quote Mahatma Gandhi once more:

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others"

I hope this thinking attracts you to take a hard look at your present level of customer service, in too many hotels, the service policy presently seems to be: "If you want good service, serve yourself ......."

And, if Evil Erik ever applies at your organization, be aware, despite his great skills, of the fatal attraction!

Bert van Walbeek
Bert “Bow-Thai” van Walbeek has been an Hotelier for 40 years and Marketer of Tourism for 30 years, a Motivator for 20 years and a lecturer for 15 years.

In 1993 he became the Founder and still is Managing Director of The Winning Edge, () a boutique consulting company, offering marketing audit, sales and service training and consultancy services mainly to the Hospitality & Tourism industries

He is also lecturing the “next generation” at Universities in Asia and Europe and speaks on leadership, crisis management and marketing subjects during industrial and academic conferences.

The company is presently handling projects in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand.

He can be reached at [email protected]

Bert van Walbeek
+ 66 2321 0522 - 3
The Winning Edge