Biweekly Reflective Journal Entries

Throughout the past two weeks, I have done a variety of tasks including cutting, fixing or replacing pipes. This would be anything from propane lines, sewer lines, water lines, or replacing hot water elements.

I’ve had to dig new trenches for lines running out of the cabins and digging new drainage ditches for water pooling up in unwanted locations. Also, I have been preparing a cabin to be repainted and this will be a multiple week project that I’ll be responsible for, and have started.

The resort’s gift shop opened today, May 26th and a ton of preparation has gone into this and I’ve really noticed how this contributes to the overall “esthetics” of the resort. Through this, I’ve assisted in moving and hanging new clothes racks or stock the small food and beverage area.

I am often requested to help carry large packages from UPS or Speede delivery. These types of jobs have been extremely labor intensive, however I’ve noticed that these jobs are extremely critical to keeping the resort up and running. If these jobs don’t get done, the gift shop would be not up to par and in that time the resort could loose money and important sales.

Also, the resorts overall “look” will keep a resort a step up from the competition. So through making sure water doesn’t pool up or something very simple like arranging the flowers in the store front window, this all contributes to keep guests coming back or hooking new ones.

I have also been fortunate enough to earn the trust and respect of the manger in order to be in charge of the resort when management has other responsibilities. When I undertake this duty, I’m in charge of answering the phones, helping guests with any troubles, assisting in fueling vehicles or boats, or any other needs the resort has.

I’ve only been able to have this responsibility a couple times but in that short time, multiple situations have been tied back to things I have learned in my travel & tourism classes.

One example would be that the electricity went out in one of our cabins. When the guest approached me, I had only a couple weeks experience at the resort and thankfully they had been life long customers. I informed them that I would do a simple check of all the “could be” problems, but when I couldn’t pin point the problem, I informed them I’d be moving them to a new cabin.

This was very easy as I helped them load their luggage and guided them to their new location.

(Even though they could have found it themselves) The cabins that are not in use, always have the heat set on low so the space was cold so I quickly retrieved a space heater to help them feel more comfortable.

Now because they have and will still be lifelong guests, they were extremely calm and understanding about the situation, however at the time I had no idea they had close ties to the owners of the resort. With that being said, I’m happy I treated them just as I would treat any other guest.

Also on that note, that’s something that really ties into the classes I have taken. Keeping guests happy and coming back is truly everything! If someone staying at your resort has a request that you are able to accomplish, you better get it done. The 80-20 rule is so true and I’ve already noticed in the first couple of weeks. Multiple other guests have stayed and a large amount are repeat customers that get hooked on the resort.

Also, to add to that when I was answering phones and taking down reservation requests, I’ve noticed that people are sometimes skeptical of coming to such a secluded location or worried about the wildlife. (Wildlife is rarely a problem but extremely prevalent).

However, insuring someone that has never booked with your resort and insuring them your area is safe, could be lead to someone for booking stays at your resort for many years. Repeat customers are the backbone of resorts and booking a guest for the first time is a big step in convincing them that your resort is ideal for their vacation.

So when answering phones, being the voice and image of the resort can be a giant factor when working at a smaller resort.

Side note:

We had an individual stop by the resort and request air for his vehicles tires. We do have an air compressor up the hill in our private shop, however I realized that helping someone morally is right and that through helping them, it will give Norwesters a good image. No, the resort didn’t make any money on this simple task, however this one person will hopefully now have good things to say about Norwester resort.