Cover Story
Lessons From The Pacific
An Islander Teaches Japanese The Art Of Hospitality
TOKYO – Japan has a well-deserved reputation for hospitality and graciousness. In the hospitality business, the staff at even modest hotels in Japan is known for getting it right the first time.
So what can the Pacific Islands teach the Japanese about hospitality and service? A lot, it turns out.
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Ah Yuk has been with The Four Seasons Hotel at Chinzan-so for eight years. Late last year she was promoted to Lear ing Manager. In that role, she oversees the training of all new hires at 259-room The Four Seasons, most of whom are Japanese.
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| Ruby Ah Yuk, Learning Manager, The Four Seasons Hotel at Chinzan-so PHOTO: PACIFIC MAGAZINE |
Ah Yuk leads a 90-day training program for all new hires, and runs the program in Japanese and English. The training includes both theory and practice.
Her task is to teach new employees, all university graduates, the core values of The Four Seasons, its philosophy, principles and ethics so that the staff provides the level of exceptional service that its demanding guests expect. Three quarters of the hotel’s guests are well-to-do Japanese.
Ah Yuk, 35, is fluent in Japanese, having graduated from a Japanese university. She attended a language course and then received her degree while on a Sasakawa Peace Foundation scholarship.
The lass from Suva completed her high school education at St Joseph’s High School and received the Sasakawa Peace Foundation scholarship in 1993. Ah Yuk took up the challenge of studying business administration in Japan.
It was a challenge she wanted to try, Ah Yuk recalled. A hurdle for her upon arrival was language, food and culture. But she accepted the challenge, and has become adept at living in Tokyo while maintaining her Fiji sensibility.
“I never regretted coming to Japan,” she said.
Her first job at The Four Seasons Hotel at Chinzan-so was as an administrative assistant in the Food and Beverage division. Her fluency in Japanese and English was a big plus. She’s worked her way up the corporate ladder.
Despite her obvious success in the hospitality industry in Japan, Ah Yuk remains a Pacific Islander at heart. “The Pacific still have an easy going life with the warm weather, white sandy beaches and blue ocean where you just relax and kick back with the natural surroundings,” she said. “This is unique with the natural friendliness.”
However, when it comes to providing a level of quality and consistency that international guests expect, Ah Yuk says there needs to be more training of island hospitality staff.
“People need to be trained to have the courtesy to provide the perfect quality of service, which can give a lasting impression to any visitor,” she said.
And Ah Yuk believes that Pacific Islands tourism should focus on what is unique to the region. “We don’t need to modernize things, what we have is more than enough,” she said. “We should be selling our arts and craft to the tourists, which are unique.”
While her future in fast-paced Tokyo seems secure, Ah Yuk says she hopes she can one day return home to make a contribution to tourism in the Pacific.
And she has not lost contact with Fijian friends. In fact, she’s a central player in the surprisingly active Fijian community in Tokyo. They get together on a regular basis for the occasional bilo of yaqona, or bike rides around the city.
Ah Yuk manages to get home at least once a year. She was looking forward to joining her family in Suva this past Christmas.
