Whistler opens the world to Douglas College graduate

February 16, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dust on a bedpost, a dripping faucet, a missing bathrobe - these things don't seem like much, but when you're paying over $200 a night for a hotel room, small problems can add up to big disappointment.

That's the last thing Darren Simpson wants. "There's nothing worse than a disappointed guest who leaves quietly and never comes back," says Simpson, a graduate of Douglas College's Hotel and Restaurant Management Program.

Call him the Callback Champion. As a Management Trainee at Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Simpson has rallied to the cause of exceptional customer service at the front office of one of Canada's premiere resorts.

"All it takes is a simple phone call a couple of hours after they check in to ask how their stay is going and if there are any problems," says Simpson. "A lot of times, it's simple things like, `I don't know how to work this light switch' or `I'm allergic to feather pillows.' It's being proactive. If there are any problems already, you are dealing with small things at the beginning of their stay before it snowballs and makes them angry or even worse, disappointed."

Simpson is setting up a system that encourages front desk staff to follow up with guests by monitoring and rewarding their efforts. It's all part of Fairmont's two-year Management Trainee program - he will spend one year in the rooms division and one year in food and beverage division honing his management skills while learning the inner workings of the grand hotel.

"I've been told my career options are wide and vast after completing the management trainee program," says Simpson. "About six or seven people I know have gone through it, and they've had job offers left, right and centre from Fairmont and other chains."

Working at Fairmont Chateau Whistler means perks - snowboarding at his doorstep, discount rates at other Fairmont hotels and affordable staff accommodation only 15 minutes from work. Simpson pays $350 a month to share a two-bedroom apartment in a Whister, a town where some workers pay $600 a month to sleep three-to-a-room in high-priced condos.

"We consider it the best hotel in Whistler," says Simpson. "There's a sense of pride among the employees. People know you work for the Chateau Whistler. It means better working conditions and betting staff housing - it's a great feeling to work for that company at that resort."

And then there are the celebrities. Simpson has met many of the Vancouver Canucks, Queen Latifah, several CEOs and Jason Alexander, who plays George Costanza on Seinfeld.

Simpson entered the management trainee program after he finished his Bachelor of Commerce with a focus in hospitality at the University of Victoria. But he landed his first job with Fairmont three years earlier, as a student in Douglas College's Hotel and Restaurant Management Program, which counted as his first two years of university.

It took seven interviews for Simpson to get the job as a Host at Griffin's Restaurant in Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. He met the human resources manager and director, the hotel manager, the director of food and beverage and the restaurant managers.

"I met the recruiters at the Hotel and Restaurant Management Program's Job Fair," says Simpson. "My instructors at Douglas College helped me prepare for the interviews - they knew what kind of questions they'd ask and what they were looking for. Their experience in the industry was invaluable to me."

Simpson sometimes still e-mails Douglas College instructor Mark Elliot if he has a question. "Douglas College had such a close-knit atmosphere. Mark Elliot and the other instructors act more like mentors than teachers. And I'm still in touch with all of the friends that I made. One of them transferred to the University of Hawaii. Earlier this year, I spent a week there, accommodation free. It was great."

To learn more about the Hotel and Restaurant Management Program at Douglas College, attend a free information session at the David Lam Campus (1250 Pinetree Way in Coquitlam) on March 2 in room A2280 at 2 p.m. or April 7 in room B2340 at 5 p.m. For more information, please call Mark Elliot, the Program Chair at 604-777-6209.

-30-

For more information, please contact:
Kimberley Fehr, Communications & Marketing Office: 604-527-5325
Mark Elliot, Hotel and Restaurant Management Program Chair: 604-777-6209