customer service - not!

Arriving at the Sunshine Coast airport I approached the 'tourist information' desk. "Hello. I'm visiting for the weekend. Is there anything you recommend?"
"Not really. All the brochures here are for events in June or July"
"We're staying at Alexandra Headland. What are the points of interest near there?"
"Oh nothing really. They have 'Underwater World' (I begin to think to myself that sounds interesting) but really they have that sort of thing in every city nowadays so there's probably nothing special about this one. Down by the wharf there are soem seafood restaurants but only if you're into that sort of thing if you like seafood I gues it could be alright. Only here for two days. That's not very long. Most people come for longer than that" (Think to self - long enough given that there's nothing to do here).

This interaction stood out because of the generally extremely helpful people at Aussie tourist information desks, full of local knowledge and suggestions for an hour/day/week in their community. It got me thinking about first points of contact. With medical school enrolment for 2011 approaching, the images of the different universities is apparrent in the chat rooms and internet fora frequented by hopeful applicants. I am aware that I feel more engaged with a church congregation I attend maybe four times a year and from whom I receive a weekly email (which is informative and engaging) than with my 'local' where the key communication strategy seems to be ' word of mouth' and even a week or two away can be very isolating. When people ask how I am - responses of 'very busy' or 'pushed to the limit' serve to shut down coimmunication rather like the tourist desk attendant.

So what did we do with two days on the Sunshine Coast? Between attendances at the Uniting Church in Australia Queensland Synod meeting I walked along what must arguably be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, swam in ocean at the end of autumn, drove inland and visited amazingly quaint towns, enjoyed a superb wedge of lemon meringue pie, stocked up on handmade soap and dukkah at local markets, looked out to an endless horizon while consuming a (supoer fresh) fishburger for lunch and fitted in dinner for two at the surf club before flying home.

At a personal level I wonder how often my interactions with people leave them feeling like I did as I left the airport. I can be very negative, and thsi is a problem particularly if it limits the blessings others receive. Like critical appraisal of a sermon or worship has limited usefulness especially if it is poorly directed (to all and sundry rather than to the key operational personnel). Even if I am not personally excited, Ican encourage independent exploration and if all alse fails, at least be ready to offer generic information with a smile.