Wake-up Curacao! Good service means more tourism means more money
As I was going to pick up my wife from work today, I noticed that there were no less than 3 cruise ships docked in our harbor. It was a pretty cool sight to see and besides reminding me of the cruise that we went on last month, it made me feel oddly patriotic. It was as if I had something to do with this budding tourism.
It made me wonder however what these tourists think of Curacao once they actually get here. I mean, they obviously want to come to Curacao or else they wouldn’t book the trip and spend the money. Secondly, and I have mentioned this before, I know a lot of people abroad that see our island as an amazing paradise (which it is).
But, when these tourists come here with such high expectations, do they leave satisfied? Do they go back to their cold, grey, blue-collar cities and rave to their friends about the gratuitous amounts of sun and sea that we have here?
Maybe. I guess most will come away very happy because when your visit revolves around lounging, swimming and getting an unhealthy amount of sunburn, then Curacao will definitely fit the bill.
One thing that worries me however when I think about the tourists that come here, is the service that our local people like to give. I live here so I am used to receiving horrible service just about anywhere but for a tourist it must be very jarring to see. When we go abroad, we marvel at the great treatment that we get in any random store and the reason that we are amazed by it is because we are not used to it.
That’s how it’s supposed to be. That should be the norm. So imagine then if it happens the other way around. Imagine if you make the trip down here and you experience the horse diarrhea that we like to call “customer service” from the locals. Wouldn’t that be scary? Yes, scarier than a midget that tries to punch you in the kidneys.
If you don’t believe me, here are a few things that are more pleasant then dealing with the average store clerk in Punda…
- Chewing glass.
- Playing dodge ball with a live grenade
- Combusting spontaneously into flames
- Flossing a lion.
- Staring at the sun for 6 straight hours.
- Reading Perez Hilton’s blog
- Playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun
- Calling UTS’ tech support
- Trying to find a parking spot at Bon Bini Supermarket
- Combing a porcupine
I really wonder why our people lack the simple instinct that tells them that these clients are actually important and that you should actually want them to come back to your store. I know that it’s a preposterous notion to some, but yes, you need these people and more importantly, you need their money. And to get them to spend this money, you have to you know, TREAT THEM GOOD! CRAZY, RIGHT???
Don’t get me wrong though. There are plenty of places on the island that employ workers who give excellent service. People that treat you with a smile, people that genuinely care about your needs and that go the extra length to make sure that you are happy and taken care off. And you know what, it’s FREAKING AWESOME WHEN THIS HAPPENS.
Here’s a recent example. I went to dinner with my wife on Saturday. The waitress and bartender gave us great service and it caught me totally off guard.
Wife: Wow, they actually got our order right…and we got extra sauce!
Dave: THERE MUST BE SOME SORT OF CATCH! LET’S GET OUT OF HERE!!
Wife: Why are you suddenly naked?
Dave: BECAUSE MY MIND CAN’T HANDLE SO MUCH AWESOMENESS.
I just wish that this was the standard and not the exception. I really do. Our little island might become an even bigger paradise if this is the case.
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Maybe it’s because tourism is relatively young on Curacao. I can imagine Aruba hitting a few bumps also when they started?
But you are right, the service is so bad at some places. I spoke to someone yesterday about this who just arrived and checked a lot of places for his work. He said: most of the places in the city have good service, and the places at the beach have really crappy service. I looks a lot like a ‘local’ focus instead of a ‘tourist’ focus. Which is a shame. More tourism also means better infrastructure. They are redoing the road to Fuik. There are busier roads on Curacao worse off. But it probably has a lot to do with the new Hyatt. I think that’s a good thing. Long term thinking.
I agree with less building of projects right now because the island needs a better look first and better service.
Nou, ik had verwacht dat het juist omgekeerd zou zijn. Goeie service bij de beach en slechter in de stad.
Maar ja, daar was ik nou bang voor. Dat de touristen ergens aankomen en dat ze meemaken wat ik vaak meemaak. It paints a horrible picture…
Epic:
//Wife: Why are you suddenly naked?
Dave: BECAUSE MY MIND CAN’T HANDLE SO MUCH AWESOMENESS.//
That could be scene straight out of Family Guy.
“That could be scene straight out of Family Guy”
Good times…
Maybe if the cruise ships stopped coming here for 1 year then maybe the (locals) and the Dutch who are here to PLAY for awhile can take classes on how to give just normal service to the money holding customers. The locals have such a bad attitude on the politics here and their status that I really can’t blame them for serving up shitty service. Then there is the pakistanis and the Indians selling their high end brand wares which we all know are sum sucking copies. It makes me ill to venture to Punda to shop and to listen to the lies of (orignal product) or lifetime guarantee. then last but not least the bottom of the barrel here in Curacao…the drug dealers who approach almost every light skinned person on the street and embarrassing them almost everytime…where are the cops? I know…not where they should be…….And I cannt forget the motorcyclist here………..who let these idiots have them? When one of these careless neanderthals kill a family then maybe we should take a little looky lou. Enough for now…got plenty more! aufweidersehan
Ik ben het volledig met hem eens! Curacao is een ware paradijs (als je een beetje hebt rondgekeken in de Cariben). Toerisme is en (blijft) een van de belangrijkste economische pijlers van Curacao. Het eiland opzich is gezegend en supermooi, en toch blijft het product Curacao een ‘ervaring’. Als mensen heel enthousiast besluiten om op Curacao hun vakantie door te brengen, moeten ze niet met een onbevredigd gevoel naar huis gaan. Curacao moet het concept van ‘overdelivering’ eens onder de knieen krijgen. Het enkel feit dat Curacao een prachtig en uniek Caribisch eiland van sun, sea and fun volstaat niet langer. Zorg voor je toeristen en ze zullen returned visitors worden!
@Jeff: As shameful as it is… cops don’t ever correct relatives, period. We need zero tolerance law enforcement.
@All: As soon as the restaurant owners offer DECENT pay and sufficiant coaching, maybe things will change for the better. Always pennywise and pound foolish just doesn’t cut it. If I sit down in a fancy restaurant I want to be treated accordingly. Places with awesome food but shit4brains waiters lose my business forever… believe me, there were some big named places there. Some places charge up to 16% service charge… with NO SERVICE at all. Sue me, I’m not paying for crap.
My New Year’s Resolution is to -from now on- immediately leave my/our table before the next embarrassing course is due. I’d rather leave than have people unfit for their jobs annoy me and my party for no reason. It at least saves part of my night and I can still find a decent place to eat before their kitchens close
Oh… and please be smart just one time in your life… remove those discriminating stickers that say “Stop Dutch Apartheid”. We’re brothers, not enemies. Imagine people visiting Curaçao for the first time… they end up thinking we’re in some sort of civil war or something; never to return to our gorgeous island again. Ultimately that backfires on you for they still pay for your bills. So do me, my friends and my business relations…
I love Curaçao. A great suggestion to some of our beloved locals working in the bars and restaurants… LOVE YOUR ISLAND AND DON’T BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS…
Well.. you know how they are, when they spot a tourist they’ll put on a different face than they were treating you. It’s not like they are hard to spot (barely speak any papiamentu, white hair, really white legs, awkward palm tree shirts)
Just be happy they are not having their emotional breakdown in front of you, THAT’LL be bad.