RAYMOND JOHN Rodriguez, a well spoken, pleasant young man was once a hotel concierge with the Hotel St. Ellis in Legazpi City (www.hotelstellis.com.ph). Sometime in 2008, he and his co-employees from the hotel were herded to Manila with their manager, Josie Mateo, to attend a two-day ‘values formation workshop’ which I conducted for them. That was the first and the last time I saw Raymond, until…
I recently received a personal message on my Facebook account reminding me of those two days 7 years ago and sending me a class photo where Raymond and I were happily posing for posterity. He sent me the message to simply thank me for the wonderful values discussion we had those 2 days. He also proudly exclaimed that I chose his narrative on ‘my best value at work’ assignment as the best among those submitted. He wrote about his deeply rooted value of honesty.
In 2015, Raymond had a unique opportunity to join the Philippine National Police as Police Officer 1 (PO1). He is currently assigned in the Masbate Police Regional Office 5 (Pro5).
I asked Raymond what made him change careers from hospitality to public service: “From being a former hotelier I decided to change careers to becoming a police officer because i want to extend the best of myself to my community, my country and especially to my God. I also believe that as a public servant, I will have greater fulfilment in my life.”
I also asked Raymond what experience in the hospitality industry he finds most useful in his current job: “As a former concierge in Hotel St. Ellis, what I find most useful is the facility of interacting with different kind of people from all walks in life.”
I finally asked Raymond what he misses most in our industry: “I miss most my former colleagues and the people who inspired me to attain the dream that I am now living. I am very grateful for their guidance which has made me the person I have become.”
(Vic Alcuaz is a Hospitality Headhunter, Trainer & Consultant: www.vicalcuaz.com)
Raymond John Rodriguez