by Tech Support | Jul 29, 2014 | Education, Guest Services, Leadership, Management, Motivation, Personal
I am lucky that I get to do exactly what I want to do as my job. Great fortune and a ton of hard work has allowed me the opportunity to work with some amazingly talented people. My great team lets me lead them, or at least keeps me on the straight and narrow as we attempt to serve many of the most progressive entertainment facilities in North America.
In conjunction with all of that luck and fortune, I continue to study leadership daily. None of us can know everything. Every day, every person, every opportunity is new. The story that I’m itching to tell this week is one that comes from a super star sales gal that we get to work with from Kalamazoo, MI. It is such a joy to watch people grow.
I hope you’ll enjoy Marcy’s ability to notice opportunity and take advantage of each minute (even when the day has come to an end!).
Here’s a little story in the life of a party planner.
Last week, I was waiting on the company that bought us out to bring their banners to me and explain where they would like them hung. I just so happened to need to leave at 5:30 pm due to childcare and told the representative so, but she arrived at 5:27pm and we went over things. It was 5:55 pm and I was literally running out of my office when two gentlemen wearing baseball jerseys came into my office, “hey, do you have a minute?” It was all I could do from stopping my eyes roll back in my head but I said, “I was about to leave but OF COURSE I have a minute. How can I help you?”
They proceeded to tell me that they were with a youth baseball team staying at a hotel down the street and wanted to see what we had to offer. With my babysitter calling on my cellphone, I said, “let me tell my babysitter I need a few minutes and I’ll show ya around.” After I showed them around, and gave them our catering menu- they were convinced. They sent the Team Dad in the next morning and he told me that they had $50 per kid that the league had given them. I sold them a taco bar and 3 hour wristband with go karts for $50 per kid!! (20 kids) And then I sold them 28 taco bar only for the parents and siblings at $11.25 per person including tax and tip. That extra minute ended up being worth over $1200.00 !!! I got home at 6:30 pm but was dancing on clouds – and lucky my babysitter was my friend and could give me a few extra minutes 🙂
Then, I went to several hotels on Friday to speak with the front desk and make sure they had our rack cards, etc and asked them to refer us to their guests. Jessica told me that a baseball team with 30 people came in right after the Getman party was over, and this was a DIFFERENT group than the scheduled baseball team!! Woo-hoo!
The Courtyard at Marriott asked about sending parties of 10, 15, and 20 over for just dinner reservations as they get lots of groups in that don’t want to wait at Applebee’s or Bennigan’s or can’t get sat all together at other restaurants. So I am working on a referral system with this hotel.
Marcy Killduff
We want to celebrate with you too!
by Tech Support | Jul 17, 2014 | Education, Leadership, Motivation, Performance, Personal, Social Media
Can you think of the last time you did something for another person expecting nothing in return?
That keeps happening to me a lot lately. Heck I’m someone who has a difficult time even asking for help. It is much more comfortable to me to be the helper.
However, I am struck lately with the unselfish goodness of others. John Higgs, a friend of mine who is in my CEO group has a mom that fits beautifully in to this “don’t need to ask her” category.
In April my husband and I bumped into the unpredictable world of lymphoma and all the scary unknown things that come with that. I missed my May CEO meeting and let the group know in a teary scared email why I couldn’t be at at that May meeting.
John reached must have reached out to his mom Mary, who began dealing with this “C” thing a year ago in October. With no prompting Mary reached out to me with a lot of information, care, and support.
Miss Mary must have my husband’s treatment schedule on her calendar. I know this because she kindly contacts every three weeks just before the next chemo treatment. It gives me mucho comfort and confidence to have Mary in the care circle. This small act of checking in is so amazingly powerful.
She doesn’t have to do what she does. I barely know her. Her actions are so big. Heck I’ll go so far as to say that what she does is bold and meaningful.
It makes me think… what did I do today? Is there something I can do each day that no one asks or expects me to do? I wonder what that could mean for someone else?
For the next 21 days I am deciding to do something bold and meaningful for another human. I am sure Mary Higgs doesn’t need or even want credit for the special things she does for others. I suspect it is her habit to live life in this unselfishly kind way. I hope I can be as bold and meaningful as she.
Would you take that 21 day journey with me? Could you consider doing something for others without being asked to do so? Heck if you are like me this might be pretty easy. I hate for anyone to tell me what to do in the first place!
We would love to hear if you are going to join in our challenge,click here and tell us I am making that commitment with you! Have a good rest of the week and thanks for reading.
by Tech Support | Jul 10, 2014 | Leadership, Management, Motivation, Personal, Training
In Zig Ziglar’s book, See You at the Top, he states that “desire is the mother of motivation“. I really can connect to this concept. Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything to get it?
I know you have. We all have. When that kind of drive or desire sets in no one has to tell you what to do. My son is a professional musician. He started playing the saxophone when he was in the sixth grade. He was motivated to do so due to a fifth grade “music” experience. They took all the fifth graders over to the middle school one evening and each student was encouraged to try each instrument to see which one they connected with the best.
Jordan liked them all but the saxophone peaked his interest the most. I can tell you honestly, that he was so motivated to play this instrument that I never remember reminding him to practice. I didn’t have to. His desire to play was the mother of his motivation to pick up that saxophone every day.
That motivation continued through middle school and beyond. Jordan wound up attending the Eastman School of Music on scholarship and today he plays (all the wind instruments) professionally all over the country.
His upcoming tour runs October-May and he is playing for the show “Anything Goes”. Check the schedule he may be coming to your city and if you let me know you are going I’ll be sure you get to meet the band!
This topic of motivation is so relevant today. There are so many distractions or options for things to do or want that I think it’s hard for people to stay focused. When I talk with business owners they all seem to have a common challenge of keeping their staff motivated.
I really believe that finding out what your employees desire can be a real key to understanding how to keep them motivated. I also think that you need to know what motivates you to lead the team or if you desire the leadership role at all?
If desire is the mother of motivation then I think we have to really understand why the people who work on our teams work with us. What do they want? If the answer is, “just a paycheck”…then ask the next question. Why? What do you want to spend that paycheck on? It’s not the paycheck…it’s what the paycheck gets them. That’s where their desire lies.
Get connected to what they are connected to and you’ll know how to motivate and inspire them. Listen, if Zig Ziglar says it’s so then I believe it is!
by Tech Support | Jul 3, 2014 | Education, Guest Services, Leadership, Motivation, Performance, Personal
You have to BE nice…
…in order to be treated nicely. Don’t get me wrong– that philosophy doesn’t always work. I am, however, just naive enough to believe that somehow I get better treatment than most because I really do model my own behavior based on this theory.
Case in point: I flew to Orlando recently, and much to my surprise, they had a rookie serving in the first class cabin. That proves wrong my theory that flight attendants have to earn the right to be up front.
She had a lot of support. There was a lady who seemed to be a trainer and she had a veteran flight attendant helping as well.
The young woman’s service was at about 60% of some of the best first class service I have received. It was obvious that it was the first time for her with everything from announcements to remembering to refill water glasses.
The thing that struck me was that she was so pleasant. I think she was confident about what she needed to do. She knew the systems and understood the job but she did not have the experience to operate at a high level yet.
I had the opportunity to tell her how much I appreciated her attitude. I am sure she did not need feedback from me but I am on a mission to create a culture where we behave as though we are truly in service to one another.
This young woman will get faster. She will memorize scripts. The operational part of the job will get easier; and if she keeps that great smile and that attitude of genuine service, I know she will be operating at the level of a seasoned veteran in no time.
Then I told her that I thought she did just fine for what looked to be her first time, and that I really appreciated her kind attitude, she beamed. I noticed that she immediately told the veteran flight attendants about my comment. They then gave me an unsolicited and knowing thank you look of gratitude. See how that works? It’s awesome!
Go be nice to someone today. It’s easy and fun.
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