By Sarah Kirkby
Yes, we all know that things are tough in The Bahamas. We are all anxious for a miracle to befall our little gem of islands and for things to look rosy and for everyone to prosper. And I hate to say it - we are not alone! There are many thousands (maybe even millions) of Greeks, Spaniards, Italians -- and Americans ... all feeling the pinch of the economic gloom.
So, we have a choice, we can sit here and complain about it or we can make the best of it. I say make the best of it and I wish others here would too.
I am, in particular, going to discuss the SERVICE industry, which includes pretty much everyone. You see, I have a choice of where I am going to spend the money I earn each week, and I am not going to go back to places where the service sucks! I want to deal with people who take the time to smile at me, ask me if I need help, or show up to an appointment on time.
We all know what I am talking about, we have to deal with it every day. Stores where the sales girl is too busy texting to ring up your purchase, where your order comes wrong and the waitress looks at you like she's confused, or, my favourite - when they promise to call you 'right back' with the information.
You see, it's those little things that make a huge difference, but take a mere second of a person's time to make a incredible impact. A friendly greeting, a 'please' or a 'thank you' for your patronage or -- wait for it -- a 'SORRY, I got your order wrong'! Or even, 'Give me just a second, I'll get that for you right now'. As I am sure you can too, I could go on and on but I will not. I am instead going to mention some positive experiences I have had recently. Where service has gone above and beyond and where they are making an effort to make the best of it.
Hats off to Jamal at Zorba's downtown location in Grand Bahama; lovely smile and great service!
Way to go Curly Tails in Marsh Harbour; wonderful food, service and smiles!
Thank you Chante at Commonwealth Bank; always so polite and helpful!
Nice one Regional Airlines; on time, nice staff and a really great young porter!
Wow MAXWELL's (Marsh Harbour) -- that's one nice supermarket and super fast check out!
There are others but these are the recent ones I have experienced over the last two weeks. These are the people who hustled, smiled, assisted and made me want to bring my business back. It's time the rest of us stepped up to the plate. Enough of the "slackness" Bahamas -- let's go above and beyond expectations and maybe we'll all appreciate this little archipelago of paradise more.
Footnote We'd ove to hear your experiences of services recieb=ved whilst on Grand Bahama, locals & visitors alike, why reward bad service when you can give credit where credit belongs, emil us at tasteofgb@gmail.com Subject line "GB Service stories"
