I am about culture and customer service. To me they are the lifeblood of an organization. You can have a warehouse full of product, but without the customer, your business doesn’t exist yet. And your culture will scream at me how your customer service will be. For me, culture comes down to two things, actions and attitudes.

While I’m on vacation, I’ve had the opportunity to partake in a few excursions. Which, for me, is usually a frustrating thing. Why? Because quite often I experience really bad culture and customer service. There’s almost always someone being rude to the people who paying considerably more money than the excursion is actually worth. To me it’s just bad business.

You have to start out by realizing something – you’re being paid a lot of money, most likely in a beautiful setting, to take people who are on….wait for it…..VACATION, to experience something that most likely they’ve never experienced before. You can’t expect them to be anything but…..checked out. That’s right. We have to spend all of our time during the focused on work when we’re there. When we come to your backyard playground, we really don’t want to have to think.

Therefore, understand and treat us the way you would want to be treated when you go brain dead on your next vacation. Don’t yell. Don’t be rude. Use this opportunity, which you’re getting paid for, to help relax and experience happiness on the short time that we have off. And while some of us love what we do for a living, some don’t. Know that and be extra sensitive just in case that’s the person you’re talking to.

I say all of that to say, I experienced GREAT culture and customer service on the Dancing Dolphin yesterday in Saint Thomas. Yes, they are aware that the name doesn’t exactly scare off pirates. But the crew was incredible. They had fun. They weren’t rude. They made our experience worth more than what we paid. Being me, I had to tell them what I’m telling you now. In hopes that they never lose what appears to be a love for their job. And if it’s not, keep making me believe that it is. You’ve renewed my desire for excursions, if only for one more attempt at tourist bliss.

Question: How does experiencing the culture and customer service of other companies, affect the way you do business?