WOW Word-Of-the-Week #455: Chemistry
April 24, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #455: Chemistry
Chemistry – mutual attraction; rapport.
Have you ever felt a mutual attraction with a complete stranger? Have you ever felt instant rapport with someone you do business with? Do you think there is chemistry between you and your favorite customers, guests, members or clients?
Evan & Me @ Talent Show
This week’s WOW is a follow up to last week’s on competence. To recap I think “great service” has lots of components. Not only do you need to be competent, have confidence and be comfortable in your own skin, you also need to be able to “read” people.
By that I mean, you need to know how they want to be treated. We all have different behavioral styles. Some people are extroverted, some people are introverted. I believe you create a connection with people when you “read” them correctly. That then leads to developing “rapport.”
That made me think of the rules I’ve talked about at many of my presentations:
The Golden Rule: Do Unto Others as Though You Are the Others.
The Platinum Rule: Do Unto Others the Way They Want to Be Done Unto.
When I asked Evan (my favorite waiter on our last cruise) what he thinks makes for great service, he used the word chemistry. I think charisma is part of that too.
Looking up the definition for chemistry triggered my interest in looking up the definition of
- rapport – relationship of emotional affinity.
And that triggered my interest in looking up the definition of
- affinity – a natural attraction, liking, or feeling of kinship.
I know I really like being served by someone who I like and feel a natural attraction to. How about you?
This week’s focus is on chemistry. Are you able to create instant rapport with your customers, guests, members or clients? Have you talked to your staff about the importance of creating connections? Are they able to read people and treat them accordingly? Do you remember the last time you felt “chemistry?”
FUN-travel: Holy Land – Jerusalem to Sea of Galilee, Israel – Day 13
April 23, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Jerusalem to Sea of Galilee, Israel – Day 13
The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Trip Day 67 – Saturday, April 6 – Jerusalem to Sea of Galilee, Israel – sunny, much warmer – high, 70’s
Annunciation Church Mosaic
- BB – no cappuccino or hot milk (the Sabbath)
- 8:30 – packed & ready to go
- BB – no golf cart to take bags to van (the Sabbath) we have to schlep them 2 blocks (on pedestrian only street)
- 9:00 – depart for Nazareth
- 1st stop –10:30 – cappuccino break
- 2nd stop – 11:30 – Annunciation church – where according to tradition Jesus grew up
- 3rd stop – 12:30 – Cana (where Jesus performed His first miracle by turning water into wine)
- 4th stop – 1:30 – Arbel Mountain – sheer cliff rising from Sea of Galilee includes ancient community w/synagogue remains
- 5th stop – 2:30 – Tiberius – largest city on the shore – lunch – chicken salad comes w/8 sides of dips & vegetables – got enough left over for lunch tomorrow!
- 3:30 – nice walk along waterfront promenade
- 4:15 – check in to Nof Ginnosar Kibbutz Hotel
- A – 4:30 – go to museum next door – have 2000 yr old boat found submerged in mud 10 yrs ago – took that long to restore – pretty amazing!
2000 Year Old Boat
- 5:00 – nap
- 7:30 – dinner @ hotel – buffet just so-so – fortunately bought nice bottle of wine in Jerusalem – no corkage fee!
FF – (FUN-fact) – It is so nice to be here with grass and trees; hearing the sounds of frogs, crickets and birds.
More FF – I have never been so kosher!
Cana
FUN-travel: Holy Land – Jerusalem, Israel – Day 12
April 20, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Jerusalem, Israel – Day 12
The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Trip Day 66 – Friday, April 5 – Jerusalem, Israel – cloudy, windy, rainy, cold – high 50’s
Drive to Bethlehem in West Bank
- A – get really big, hot cappuccino!
- B – temp dropped 30 degrees
- 8:45 – pick up for
- 1st stop – 9:30 – Yad Vashem – Holocaust Memorial Museum – one long corridor carved into mountain w/10 exhibit halls each dedicated to different chapter of Holocaust – contains 2500 personal items donated by survivors – Hall of Remembrance is stark tomb like chamber – at center is casket of ashes from cremations ovens – very, very emotional
- 11:00 – drive to
- 2nd stop – 11:15 – Israel Museum – huge outside scale model of ancient Jerusalem 2000 yrs ago – Shrine of the Book built to house Dead Sea Scrolls – dramatic display case contains copy of Great Isaiah Scroll – made of sheepskin dating to between 3rd century BC to AD 68
- 4th stop –12:00 – Friday Market – teeming w/locals & vendors selling everything from food to groceries to clothing to toys to you name it
- 12:30 – cappuccino @ Aroma – sidewalk table
- A – sights & sounds galore – great people watching!
- 2:00 – walk back to Arthur – window shopping – stores close @ 3:00 for Sabbath
Model of Ancient Jerusalem
- 3:00 – yummy lentil soup to go from convenience store
- 5:00 – happy hour!
- 7:00 – dinner – short walk to Sea Dolphin – 11 salads & sauces included – order white fish waiter recommends & mussels – way too much food! – nice Yarden wine again
FF – (FUN-fact) – The Shrine of the Book dramatic display case has a distinctive dome intended to imitate the lids of the jars in which the scrolls were founds. The Great Isaiah Scroll is the only biblical book that survived in its entirety. Its 66 chapters were written on several strips of parchment and were then sewn together, making it more than 23 feet long.
Friday Market
FUN-photos: 3 Continents – 1 Vacation – Movie Trailer
April 19, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-photos: 3 Continents – 1 Vacation – Movie Trailer
The editing of the video that we shot has begun! Here’s a little snippet. Enjoy!
FUN-photos: Cape Town, South Africa to Tel Aviv, Israel – The Holy Land – 2013
April 19, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Cape Town, South Africa to Tel Aviv, Israel – The Holy Land – 2013
Since we were just in Africa two years ago we decided that now was the time to go to Jordan and Israel. We departed the night of March 24th and arrived in Amman, Jordan late afternoon on the 25th. (plane delay – missed our connection in Dubai) We stayed here two nights before heading south to Petra, where we stayed two nights and then continued south to Wadi Rum where we slept at a tented camp in the desert. FUN-fact: Lawrence of Arabia was filmed here.
On the afternoon of March 30th we crossed the border into Israel where we spent the next twelve days. Starting with two days at the Red Sea in Eilat we headed north with stops at Mitzpe Ramon, the Dead Sea, Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, Haifa and Tel Aviv. We were very ready to go home after 72 days! God Bless America! It is the best place in the whole world in our opinion.
If you click on the first picture it will allow you to create a slide show. And it turns out they are in ascending order (in other words, the first is actually the last) Enjoy!