Grow Your Key Talent

Cambodian uber-service star

Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC — Thu, 17 May 2012 07:00:03 +0000

When you’re in a foreign country, it’s comforting to know someone will look out for you, right? You want to have the peace of mind that someone you can trust will help you make plans and take care of your needs.

Meet Dany Noun Rath of the wonderful Borei Angkor Resort in Siem Reap. Dany is one of the rare individuals who not only responds to your requests, she pro-actively suggests activities that she believes you’d enjoy.

You may think that Dany is the concierge for this 5-star resort. Although she thinks and behaves like a super concierge, she’s the Assistant Manager Resident Host.

Her broad smile greeted us at checked in. Throughout our group of seven’s week-long stay, she went out of her way to make sure we had a good English-speaking guide for a tour of Angkor Wat, liaised with our tut-tut driver, Mr. Go, and arranged for our errands to be done.

We got so connected with her and her winning ways, she arranged a dinner at a local restaurant for us to meet her family. And she picked up the tab for the group of 20!

But the sign that she goes way above and beyond was when she knew were interested in exploring as much Cambodian culture as we could. She invited us to her nephew’s wedding! While we felt a bit odd to be interloping at such an intimate event, she’d received his permission and they welcomed us. Not wanting to be a burden on their budget, we made sure they knew we wouldn’t be staying for meals — as Cambodian weddings start at 7 a.m. and go all day!

The wedding day we arose early and donned the finest clothing we’d brought. Mr. Go picked fetched us at 6:30 so we could see the processional of guests bearing gifts of food on gilded trays. The women had on sparkling evening gowns and hair and shoes to match. Once they had entered the venue, we followed and respectfully took our seats in the last row. We watched as unfamiliar customs unfolded before us, marveling at the difference from Western weddings.

Afterwards, we thanked the bride, groom and Dany’s parents for allowing us to witness such a unique experience.

Now that’s the way to make a guest’s stay memorable! Thanks, Dany! If you’re going to Siem Reap, look her up at the Borei Angkor Resort.

Are you delighted by simple things?

Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:00:49 +0000

On my recent tour of SE Asian orphanages for Together We Can Change the World, I got to hang with the kids, singing songs, and playing games I haven’t played since I was a child. The broad smiles and belly laughs were infectious. It was hard to remember that an orphanage was the only option for them. Some had no family. Others had parents who were in jail, abusive, or had abandoned them.

I don’t regularly hang out with kids, since I don’t have kids or grandkids, and my nieces and nephew are grown. So at first I felt out of my element as we entered one Malaysian home and my colleagues started playing with a few kids. I watched and then plunked myself next to a small girl and boy.

We passed out toys we’d brought, including Groucho Marx glasses. Two little ones delightedly donned them for my camera.

At another orphanage, the children sang for us and we did the Hokey Pokey with them. Even though there was a language barrier, smiles and laughter were all we needed.

Teenagers often feel left out of the little-kid activities, so our team took special care to provide games for them. They were thrilled when offered guitar or juggling lessons.

One Cambodian home’s visit required us to navigate a deeply potholed dirt road for nearly two hours. Because of this, the 70 children there rarely had outside visitors. Shy at first, they warmed when we sang and played games with them. They giggled and laughed as Scott Friedman, our TWCCTW leader, seemingly pulled a string through his head. He also had the magical talent of making anything he touched squeak! At the end, they seemed appreciative as we passed out goodie bags of toys and supplies we’d brought.

One 12-year-old girl asked if I’d be her mother. I could read into this that she missed having a mother or I could cynically interpret her request. I chose to see it positively and responded, “I’d be happy to be your friend.”

While kids are kids no matter where in the world they are, these young people seemed particularly appreciative that we had taken the time and effort to brighten their day through attention, smiles and gifts. It was the simple, inexpensive things that they seemed to appreciate the most.

(If you’d like to contribute to the orphanages TWCCTW supports, please click on the link – and please let me know of your donation!)

Are you joyful at work?

Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:39:12 +0000

What do dancers at a Sikh celebration in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and happy employees have in common?

They show their happiness.

Granted, not all employees are as exuberant as these dancers, whose sincere grin decorated their faces throughout their performance. Some people are happy but don’t let their face know.

However, the glee of the men performing at the celebration I attended was infectious. I marveled at how truly delighted they seemed to be at showing us their moves. Unlike a previous dance group at the same event, whose smiles seemed to painted on, these men’s faces matched their enthusiastic steps.

Are you gleeful at work? Some might think it’s inappropriate to show anything but a somber business-like face. But if you exude your pleasure of the work you’re doing and the people you’re with, it’s bound to spread.

Yes, there will be the nay sayers, those who are unhappy in their own lives, and will look askance at any display of cheerful enthusiasm, labeling their chipper coworkers as brown nosers, cheerleaders, or Polyannas. If you are the subject of such backlash know that you’ve elicited jealousy from those who aren’t as free with their positiveness.

Watching the dancers ebullient dancing made me smile broadly. It was a delight to watch people who were sincerely enjoying what they do. It reminded me to show more joyousness in my work.

Customer service lessons from a Cambodian tuk-tuk driver

Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:24:23 +0000

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of tuk-tuk drivers in the city of Siem Reap, Cambodia near the Angkor Wat temple. The ability to feed their families is determined by whether or not they can attract new customers.

“Madam, want a ride?” “I take you to temples.” “Want to go to shops?” they entreat, like barkers on a carnival midway. Perched atop their motorcycle with a buggy attachment for 4 passengers, they beckon riders outside tourist haunts.

Not, however, Mr. Go, a 27-year-old tuk-tuk driver with a winning smile. Mr. Go is in the enviable position of having a loyal following.

When Mr. Go wasn’t at his familiar parking spot, my travel companion, Jana Stanfield, offered a reward to other tuk-tuk drivers to help her locate him.

On our first night in Siem Reap, Jana went looking for Mr. Go. When she asked his competition, of course none of them knew his whereabouts, but they’d be glad to take us anywhere we wanted. Right.

She had the bright idea to offer a $10 reward to whomever could produce Mr. Go. That’s about two-day’s wages for a tuk-tuk driver. Sure enough, within an hour, Mr. Go was awaiting us outside our dinner restaurant and his pal collected the reward.

Why did Jana go out of her way — and pocket — to find Mr. Go? What made him special and worth paying a bounty to find? After all, aren’t all tuk-tuk drivers pretty much the same?

She explained that she was initially impressed when after riding with him the first time, he didn’t look for other customers the next day. Instead, “he waited outside my hotel all day until I came out. After that, I took his cell number and called him each day so that he would not have to wait in the hot sun.”

“Also, he was honest. I gave him money to get batteries for me. He brought back the receipt and the money, stapled the bag to keep it closed, left it at the front desk, and then called me to let me know the amount that would be waiting for me. He did not keep the change.”

I asked her what else stood out for her, and coupled it with my own observations of driving with Mr. Go during our week-long visit. Some of these are simple, common sense items — but few of his competition melded them into a winning customer-retention combination.

Mr. Go:

Smiled each time he greeted us and spoke to us. Other drivers were friendly, but Mr. Go seemed genuinely happy to see us.
Was prompt. If we asked him to be at our hotel at a specific time, he was there early.
Learned our names. THe took the time to learn the names of all 7 of our group members.
Became our personal concierge. He willingly took and fetched our laundry, was our videographer, negotiator, and activity consultant.
Was fair. When he told us our fare was $5 and we gave him $10, he protested it was too much. (How many of us would refuse a 100% tip? Would you say no to a tip that was worth the equivalent of a day’s wages?)
Drove carefully. The Cambodian roads aren’t always smooth, and Mr. Go carefully traversed speed bumps and pot holes so his passengers had a smooth ride.
Was our communication liaison. He called the hotel front desk manager when he needed to talk to one of us at the hotel or to get key information for us. He also translated for us with shop keepers, massage practitioners, and restaurant servers.
Arranged for all our transportation needs. When all 7 of us were going to dinner, he asked a trusted colleague to transport half our group.
Accepted our suggestions graciously. We offered him ideas on how to increase his business and he never said “that won’t work for me.” He smiled, listened attentively, asked questions and even took notes. He seemed appreciative that we were interested in helping him grow.

Mr. Go went above and beyond in so many ways, I wouldn’t be surprised if he soon started his own chain of tuk-tuks, teaching his drivers how to ensure repeat business. If you’re going to Siem Reap to see the Angkor Wat temple, please let him know and he’ll pick you up from the airport and take you around. His number is +855 0177 60974.

Join me for free webinar

Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 23:19:32 +0000

Join me for free Making Money In Your Jammies webinar. April 12, noon-1:00 PT. Register: http://bit.ly/InYRLC