Growing up in the amusement park industry has given me a somewhat colored opinion about parks and leisure time in general. I definitely adore theme parks and the whole industry even more.

As a child, my sister and I would hear our parents talk during holidays, restaurant visits and other fun moments, about service, eye for detail and being proud of the job you do. Getting older we would tell them to stop discussing these things, we were supposed to have fun together. According to us they needed to stop working at those moments. Back then I never realized I would become the same,...
Guest service, eye for details and being proud and passionate in your jobs have become my own ground rules to be successful and satisfied of what I do in my daily life. It goes beyond work, it's a way of life. The leisure industry is part of the life I lead and I can't imagine working in any other industry.

As an intern I worked at a large amusement park. I worked for guest services and at the front desk of the hotel of the park. While working there I experienced several situations that truly gave a clear insight on the importance of service. Having the ability to say 'yes' to a guest/customer is of great impact on how they experience their visit to the park. Unfortunately you're not always able to say yes every time. Learning how to deal with disappointment of the guest will take some time. Especially because you have the duty to turn the disappointment, into a willingness of the guest to choose to continue to enjoy his visit. On the other hand the moments that you can do something extra, don't only create lifetime memories for the guests, as an employee it will stay with you as well. The possibility of making someones dream come true is an honor. You'll become (a small) part of this persons happiness.

We all enjoy good service, or great service for that matter. And when it comes at unexpected moments like in a supermarket it is even of a greater value, I believe. Saying this doesn't mean that I rather have good service in a supermarket than in a restaurant or park.
It means that even in a theme park or any type of leisure facility the service should be visible in all the layers of the facility (eye for detail).

Last week we visited some amusement parks with our children and some friends. It's amazing to see the differences between the parks and their staff.

The first park we visited on a warm sunny day and was filled with great moments. Everything went smoothly, the waiting lines were not too long, the park is beautifully located and it's a pleasure to walk around. Funny thing was that – even though we had no encounters with staff, except for buying the tickets, we had a great day because things just worked by themselves.

In the second park we visited with the same friends, we had many encounters with the staff of the park. They absolutely added value to our day out. Besides that the children were happy to see the staff members, as they were giving them small gifts and played with them, we as adults were pleased too. We never had to look far to find information. It all gave us a welcome feeling. They seemed to be happy with us as their guests. It turned out into a wonderful experience filled with memories that will last a lifetime.

By putting these two experiences next to each other I actually want to highlight what we all already know. It's all about the details both tangible (the second park) and not tangible (the first park). Using staff and personal attention; guest services, as an instrument to create great experiences can be fundamental to turn – not only leisure business – but any business into a success.

Working for Tejix is a joy. Tejix' values perfectly blend with the observations mentioned above. By being proud of the work I do, I'm looking forward to help Tejix continuously improve, invent and recreate technical design solutions for the theme park industry.
With this passion we will help to make a great guest experience, memories that will last a lifetime.

Floortje Bertus recently started supporting Tejix' business development in Asia. With a profound background in the leisure industry (both her parents have been and still are active in the industry for almost 4 decades and she herself has been involved professionally since the 90s) she shares her view on guest services and hospitality.