THE EDITOR, Sir:
IN RESPONSE to the letters regarding the ill-treatment of dark-skinned visitors to Jamaican hotels, I would like to say that the complaint from the hotel employees is that dark-skinned people in general don't give gratuity. Service personnel depend upon tips as subsidy to their income and have often been rude in my presence to people who don't comply with the practice. I will not defend rudeness to any degree but it may be the manifestation of a deeper frustration on the part of the workers.
I am aware that there is a generalisation of the whole because of the practice of a few. I know that many of my family and friends along with myself have been as generous as the other colour in giving for services rendered. However that has not stemmed the tendency of some hotel personnel to be officious and discourteous which in turn triggers reluctance on my part to extend any monetary appreciation. I vote on service with my wallet and in the hotels where they know me, there is nothing wanting in my care.
I know what training can do because I have seen it at work at a hotel staffed by Jamaicans in Nantucket, Massachusetts. It has been one of the best experiences that I have had in my travels. It was obvious that it did not matter to them that we were dark-skinned and a few of us were Jamaicans. The whole encounter was so positive that I was led to ask what made the difference there that was often absent in the same setting in Jamaica.
The answer was that customer satisfaction was at the top of their list and that they were trained to see treatment of the customer as critical to the bottom line. They were undoubtedly making sure that if you travelled there again your first choice would be that same hotel.
I would to God that someone would convey this to the hotel staffs in Jamaica and that management would train them to this standard and enforce it.
I am, etc.,
S. PETER CAMPBELL
speterc@aol.com
Havertown, PA.
Via Go-Jamaica
