Service with a Smile

by Nancy Turnage, VRPS Central Office

Last week, right in the middle of the week - on hump day, to be exact - I took my daughter to Busch Gardens.  So, after selling theme park tickets to what feels like most of America for the past five months, I finally went myself.  I could bore you with tales of my stealthy coaster plan-of-attack (maximum rides, minimum wait), or how I can outlast everybody (everybody) in my family when it comes to back-to-back vertigo-inducing thrills, but instead I would like to focus on something that has stayed with me since Wednesday.  As we rounded the corner of the Tweedside Station on the train (there's that coaster plan), a maintenance worker was weed-whacking.  He cut his engine, faced the train - sweat rolling down his face and arms - and he waved.  He waved and waved and waved, until the end of the train was past, at which point he reconvened his task at hand.

The fact is that everybody waves at the train.  It must be in the Busch Gardens Employee Policy Manual that all employees must wave at the train.  And the tram to the parking lot.  And the Rhine River Cruise.  So, what do we visitors do?  We wave back.

How in any way is this remotely related to VRPS you might ask?  Be patient - I'm getting there.  In a recent conversation at Central Office, we discussed how the phone rings all day.  And when it does, we are all reaching to answer it.  Very rare is it that a call is not answered on the first or second ring.  Likewise, visitors at the office are greeted warmly and rarely make an escape without a water bottle or at the very least candy - even the UPS man.

I think this is what makes us special - the extra effort to extend the VRPS version of the theme park wave.  It's a little gesture that we come to expect, enjoy, and reciprocate.  We want you to enjoy your experience, and we are here to serve you.