It doesn't matter how beautiful our island is, how magnificent the beaches are or what terrific bargains shoppers get here. If we are rude to tourists, they won't come back, and they will tell their friends to stay away!
Last week this fact really hit me in the face . . . not once, but several times.
I was working with buyers from an international retail operation with stores on St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and throughout the world. They told the story of arriving at the airport late the night before and trying to get a taxi directly to an East End hotel.
They were stuffed into a van with several other people and waited a very long time. Tired from having flown several hours, they asked again whether they could get a taxi directly to the hotel. They were rudely told to get out of the taxi. All the luggage that was in the cab had to taken out because theirs had been the first to be put in. They were then shoved into another taxi and finally taken to the hotel for $45 by a taxi driver who they said was not very nice. A great way to begin their time on St. Thomas!
These are people who buy products for resorts all over the U.S. mainland, Hawaii and the Caribbean. They travel and work in the islands that are our competition. They said this was typical of their experiences on St. Thomas and that they are reluctant to recommend our island to their friends for vacation.
The next day I was flying to St. Croix. The day started with the gate agent announcing that the flight would be 1½ hours late. Then she acted as if it were our fault when several of us asked why the flight was late and whether there was chance for further delay.
We were the customers. We were being inconvenienced. But the American employees we spoke to were rude to us for even asking such questions.
Coming home was not any better. When I got back to St. Thomas, I needed a taxi to my office. Like my friends the night before, I was put into a van with several other people despite the fact that I had asked for a taxi directly to my office.
I could not wait 15 or 20 minutes until the van filled up to leave the airport. There were several taxi drivers standing around with nothing to do because it was a slow night. I made my request again and the driver of the first taxi made racist comments about me to other drivers. The dispatcher rudely told me to get into another taxi. That driver was also extremely rude and discourteous.
Pay attention, Tourism Commissioner Michael Bornn! These are not one-time occurrences. They are typical daily happenings. No matter how much money you get to advertise St. Thomas, these types of experiences will turn people away.
The old adage is that if you have a good experience, you will tell one person, but if you have a bad experience, you will tell 10 people.
What can we do? Let's try requiring training for taxi drivers and others who have direct contact with tourists and then make sure the training works. We could have a "mystery visitors" program that recognizes and rewards taxi drivers and others who are helpful to visitors and gives penalty points to those who are rude. Chalk up enough penalty points and you are suspended from your job or lose your permit for a few days.
If you are in a service position, then give good service! That means acting like you are pleased to be helping your customers and giving them the services they request. That is your job, and you are getting paid to do it.
Our islands are competing with all the other islands in the Caribbean as a tourist destination. If we can't spend money to advertise, the least we can do is be ambassadors of goodwill to the tourists who do come here. It doesn't cost a penny, but it will bring visitors back to our island, along with their friends. That's money in the bank!
Teri Golden
St. Thomas
