FRED Friday...Meet Marcos

FRED Friday…Meet Marcos

This week has been a busy one.  Several deadlines approaching, multiple projects for which I’m responsible gaining visibility by the minute, and I’m beginning to feel the pressure…mostly because I just want to make sure I do a great job.

Yesterday I had a conversation with Marcos from our Public Areas Department.  His job is to ensure our public areas – bathrooms, breezeways, lobby areas, corridors, etc are kept up, tidy, clean, and sparkling for all our Guests in the hotel. 

I walked into the men’s room just off the casino floor for a quick pit stop early in the morning.  My day was about to take off shortly thereafter with meetings, initiatives, and ‘the race to deadlines’.  It was one of those moments when a million things were running through my mind, and I was making mental lists, planning out my attack for the day, and battling my nerves…all at once.

Then…I ran into Marcos…

He was mopping the bathroom floor.  I walked in, said ‘good morning’ to him, and as if he entered from stage left in a Broadway show or in a Disney parade, Marcos said with his usual smile from ear to ear, “Hello, sir…how are you today?!?!?” 

I replied with the normal, ‘just fine…how are you?’

He said, with conviction in his voice, “I…am…great!”

I always notice Marcos, working diligently, every single day keeping our hotel looking brand new and clean.  I was taken aback with his ever-positive attitude.  It never fails…every time I see him, he’s smiling, and almost bounding from pillar to post, working, cleaning, and being of service to anyone in his presence.

I said to him, “Man…you’re always happy…”

He said, with a smile, “…I know…”

When I asked him why, he simply looked up at me, stopped mopping the floor, smiled, and said, “It’s just my way…to be HAPPY…God is good…I have a great family – 5 kids and one grandchild…I’m from the Dominican Republic…and we’re laid back, happy people.”

I stuck around, in the hallway leading into the men’s room off the casino floor just chatting with Marcos.  I asked him about his story.  He moved to NYC from the Dominican Republic when he was young.  He was the top sales person for a clothing company, a role in which he travelled all over the country selling…ultimately becoming the number one salesperson in the company with over $1 Million in sales. 

Through conversation we discovered common ground in that a few years ago he worked at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Spa in Aventura, Florida.  A couple of years ago, I lived about two miles from that property and drove by it every single day, going to and from my office in Aventura, FL.  It's a small world, after all.

For the rest of the day, after my conversation with Marcos, I was a little less stressed…I felt a little less pressure…and all of a sudden my nerves settled a bit.  Everybody matters…Everybody makes a difference….and in this case, Marcos makes a true difference that matters for me. 

If he can have such a positive attitude toward doing his job everyday, then why can’t you and I?

Thanks, Marcos, for showing others and me “your way”…to just BE HAPPY.

“It’s harder to be miserable, negative, and insincere than it is to be happy, positive, and genuine.” – Mark Sanborn, The Fred Factor…page 30.

Have a great day.

Taylor

What is FRED Friday?

In my favorite book, The Fred Factor, Mark Sanborn tells an inspiring story of how a man named Fred goes OneMoreStep after OneMoreStep in his role as a Postman for the United States Postal Service.  I love this book.  Since my mom sent it to me in 2004, I've purchased the book for friends, coworkers, and girlfriends...I've even purchased and hand delivered copies of the book to several executives at both Wynn Las Vegas and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. 

Fred Friday is a series in which the OneMoreStepRevolution blog will showcase a real life "Fred" on select Fridays.   Reading The Fred Factor definitely leaves us with a desire to to be more Fred-like ourselves, but I also love looking for Freds.  Freds are everywhere. I love it when I experience a real life Fred.  I'm inspired just as I am every time I re-read the book.  I thought it would be fun to spread the magic of Fred to our OneMoreStepRevolution community.