Tourism advice for Santa Barbara’s mayor
My mother always told me it costs nothing to be nice. There’s a woman at your Garden Street visitors center who didn’t get the memo.
My bride and I recently spent a week in your community celebrating our anniversary. Seeking wine, sun and relaxation, visiting a previously unexplored destination seemed perfect.
After checking in at our hotel, we sought recommendations regarding dining, shopping and events.
Our experience at the visitors center was completely underwhelming!
It was Monday morning and immediately apparent the woman staffing the desk didn’t want to be there. Wearing a face suggesting she’d sucked a pickled lemon, she threw several brochures at us before turning to face the next victim of her disregard.
We then overheard this conversation:
“Where’s the shopping around here?” “There’s NONE!”
Now granted, there’s probably not as much shopping in Santa Barbara as in Orange County (where these other visitors were from). Still, don’t you want to encourage tourists to buy stuff?
Perhaps this woman doesn’t know her way around town?
As the most obvious stopping point for area guests, your visitors center’s doing a poor job. That awful woman had us wondering if choosing Santa Barbara was a mistake.
Fortunately, two miles down the beach we discovered the Youth Programs office, where two delightful women couldn’t help us enough. They had recommendations, asked questions and made us happy to be visiting.
They did what the visitors center — the city’s happy face — couldn’t do … and arguably saved our vacation.
Admittedly, getting good employees can be challenging. But just hiring someone’s Aunt Martha as a favor or sticking a miscreant employee in the Siberia of the visitors center doesn’t encourage good behavior or provide positive representation.
Furthermore, this sourpuss obviously neither desires her job, nor is she qualified to hold it.
As mayor, you have experience with the committee focused on promoting and enhancing the city’s downtown business district. Knowing this, I’m shocked you’d allow someone so outwardly hostile to speak for your city.
This being a marketing column, I see this as a lesson for every business about the importance of being represented by people who do their jobs enthusiastically.
Regularly training staffers, and providing incentives for encouraging certain positive activities, can only help you in the long run.
With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.
———
Did you know that “5 Minutes to Better Branding” is now in paperback on Amazon?