The Importance of a Genuine Smile
lessons from the general manager of the Opus Hotel
an article from 2006 but it still stands today
Last week was a busy one at Opus, with 4 perfect fills in 7 days. We’re currently hiring for positions in reservations, guest services and housekeeping. So if you know anyone who is experienced, has a great attitude, is well mannered and exceptionally competent, we’d like to hear from them. I have friends who might want to marry them, too.
Note, candidates must love smiling. Together with eye contact and guest name usage, smiles form the basics of great guest service. Of course, I’m talking about genuine smiles. Fake smiles, plastic smiles, vacant smiles and smiles that come across as obsequious, condescending or creepy don’t quite cut it in this business. It also helps to know when to turn a smile off, like when a guest is yelling at you. But one must never turn off the “can do” attitude. Just ask Corina, our ever-smiling Room Service & Banquets Captain, pictured above.
I once worked with a woman named Nancy who got frazzled frequently, but you never knew it because she hid behind her great smile. She was famous for malapropisms. Once, during a particularly hectic day on the front desk, she picked up the phone and said, “Thank you for helping, how may I hold you?” Another time, craving a cigarette, she picked up the phone and said, “Front desk, Nancy smoking.” She always had a smile on her face, so who could fault her?
Another time I overheard a front desk agent, Lina, also infamous for malapropisms, on the phone with a guest. “Not to worry,” she was saying, “I’ll send an abductor up to your room immediately.” Alarmed, I imagined the terrified guest barricading herself in her room. I asked Lina what was going on. She smiled sweetly. “The guest is from Europe and her hairdryer won’t work in the power outlet.” Her eyes grew wide. “Did I say abductor? Oops. I meant adaptor!”
About 10 years ago I took a break from the hotel business and went to work for Vancouver Film School in marketing. It was a completely new environment for me: casual and creative, more concerned about ideas and stories than, say, appearances and feelings. The instructors had a profound distrust for my fancy clothes and sunny disposition. They labeled me “the suit”, which I discovered was akin to “the scab”. I soon found my kindred spirits in the Acting department, where everyone was always super upbeat and happy. Then I discovered they were only acting.
In the hotel business, a great smile tells guests that you’re here to help and you’re having a good time doing it. It’s a cliché, but smiles are contagious. After a while they become second nature, part of your uniform. Years ago, walking home after long shifts on the front desk, I’d find myself grinning like a halfwit at everyone I passed. But they smiled back, and it made me feel good. Much more effective than scowling. Or flipping the bird.
Smiley, experienced candidates are encouraged to send resumes to careers@opushotel.com.
Note, candidates must love smiling. Together with eye contact and guest name usage, smiles form the basics of great guest service. Of course, I’m talking about genuine smiles. Fake smiles, plastic smiles, vacant smiles and smiles that come across as obsequious, condescending or creepy don’t quite cut it in this business. It also helps to know when to turn a smile off, like when a guest is yelling at you. But one must never turn off the “can do” attitude. Just ask Corina, our ever-smiling Room Service & Banquets Captain, pictured above.
I once worked with a woman named Nancy who got frazzled frequently, but you never knew it because she hid behind her great smile. She was famous for malapropisms. Once, during a particularly hectic day on the front desk, she picked up the phone and said, “Thank you for helping, how may I hold you?” Another time, craving a cigarette, she picked up the phone and said, “Front desk, Nancy smoking.” She always had a smile on her face, so who could fault her?
Another time I overheard a front desk agent, Lina, also infamous for malapropisms, on the phone with a guest. “Not to worry,” she was saying, “I’ll send an abductor up to your room immediately.” Alarmed, I imagined the terrified guest barricading herself in her room. I asked Lina what was going on. She smiled sweetly. “The guest is from Europe and her hairdryer won’t work in the power outlet.” Her eyes grew wide. “Did I say abductor? Oops. I meant adaptor!”
About 10 years ago I took a break from the hotel business and went to work for Vancouver Film School in marketing. It was a completely new environment for me: casual and creative, more concerned about ideas and stories than, say, appearances and feelings. The instructors had a profound distrust for my fancy clothes and sunny disposition. They labeled me “the suit”, which I discovered was akin to “the scab”. I soon found my kindred spirits in the Acting department, where everyone was always super upbeat and happy. Then I discovered they were only acting.
In the hotel business, a great smile tells guests that you’re here to help and you’re having a good time doing it. It’s a cliché, but smiles are contagious. After a while they become second nature, part of your uniform. Years ago, walking home after long shifts on the front desk, I’d find myself grinning like a halfwit at everyone I passed. But they smiled back, and it made me feel good. Much more effective than scowling. Or flipping the bird.
Smiley, experienced candidates are encouraged to send resumes to careers@opushotel.com.
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