An act of kindness that went a long, long way

An American woman’s act of kindness sent off ripples in the pond of human dignity, and those ripples have spread, their tiny waves reaching the Philippines.

Over four decades ago, Derrick Tan, the amiable general manager of St Giles Hotel Makati, burned the midnight oil as a security guard in a Singapore hotel.

Tan admits he had no choice. After completing the mandatory two years of military training in Singapore, he wanted to work to help his parents out, but where? Because of his military training, the then 20-year-old Tan was hired as a security guard in a top Singapore hotel. Hardworking and conscientious, Tan eventually took on double shifts. From being a security guard, he became a lifeguard, then a waiter. Tan admits that while the extra income was an incentive, he was actually very happy to be spending more time at work.

He explains that he genuinely enjoys being around people, being around the guests of the hotels that he worked in. He saw his long working hours as an opportunity to meet more people in the hotel, and in the process, hone his interpersonal skills.

Then one day, he met an American couple at one of the hotels he was working in. The man was the president of a prominent oil firm in the US,  and he and his wife were long-staying guests at the hotel. The wife asked the then scrawny Tan how old he was and why was he working instead of studying.

“I come from a poor family, Ma’am,” he replied with candor. “I am one of 10 children and my parents simply cannot afford to send me to university.”

The couple offered to send him to hospitality school in the US, all expenses paid.

* * *

That was the turning point of his life. The pebble of kindness that set off ripples that still radiate to this day.

Tan was very excited to grab the opportunity to study in Hawaii where he was able to take up hospitality courses. After two years, Tan went back to Singapore, where he was offered the position of sales representative.

“After three years of being a sales representative, I was offered the position of banquet manager at Mandarin Orchard,” he recalls. Tan stayed with the hotel for 15 years, during which  the hotel sent him to study in Cornell University in New York. In Cornell, Tan took up personality development, F&B, sales marketing, hospitality and management.

He had gone a long way indeed — from a humble home in Singapore, to Hawaii, to New York.

Moving up

Tan complemented his lucky breaks with hard work. “I’m a very hands-on person and that’s how my career grew.”

Eventually Tan had the opportunity to work in a restaurant near the harbor where he stayed for four years, then he was offered a job to manage a resort owned by the Singaporean government before embarking on his first overseas assignment as a general manager of a hotel in China.

“So that’s where my career started to grow, and up to this day, I have never gone back to Singapore to work, only for a holiday. I also managed a resort in Langkawi but I’m more of a city boy, so I took on a job in another hotel in Penang. I stayed there for 16 years, then in 2010, they offered me a job here, in Makati, to start a hotel from scratch.”

While in Penang, Tan came up with the tagline, “Where guests become friends” for the hotel that he was managing. It’s a reflection of Tan’s management style and the kind of attitude that he likes to impart to his staff.

Talking to Tan is like talking to your favorite uncle, he is animated and engaging, and has a lot of stories to tell about his soap opera of a life. He is warm and is genuinely interested in people, asking them how they are, what kind of food they like, not just to break the ice but more to establish a common ground to make them feel more at ease.

This shows why he has been in the industry for so long. Originating from an international chain of city hotels from the UK, St Giles Hotel Makati caters to busy business travelers who prefer no-frills accommodations, value for money, and most importantly, “stellar service.”

The 35-storey St Giles Hotel Makati has been a welcome addition to its Makati location. “There are a lot of challenges when you are managing a hotel because you are dealing with people. You just have to know how to manage operations. I always operate on the standard that when the first guest comes in, you have to make sure that you keep him or her forever. You make sure that you deliver the goods and that you exceed your customers’ expectations and they will be the one to promote your hotel via word of mouth.”

He adds, “You must go beyond in service. A hotel is a hotel, a room is a room, what makes the difference? The service. I’m very people oriented, and here in the hospitality industry we are dealing with people.” He laughs, “It’s a highly competitive area here in Makati, you can just look out the window and you can already see your competitor over there. We have very fierce competition here but what makes one stay? It’s the service.”

Living in the Philippines for the past five years has been enjoyable and fulfilling for Tan. He says that he is actually very vocal about promoting the beauty of the Philippines to other people. Tan has already travelled to Davao, Baguio, Boracay and is looking forward to visiting Batanes where he’s excited to see the stone houses as well as the “honesty store.”

“You have a beautiful country. You are a happy people, very resilient, very warmhearted and always smiling even when you have problems,” says Tan.

For now, Tan continues to enjoy greeting his guests at St Giles where his staff has already become part of his extended family. He is proud to be in an environment wherein there’s a sense of belonging, wherein the management looks after the staff and the staff gives great service in return. “It’s a two-way thing,” Tan shares.

And all this started with one lady whose act of kindness has bettered the lives of a multitude. It enabled a former security guard to walk with kings and prime ministers.

(St Giles Makati is located at Makati Avenue corner Kalayaan Avenue, Makati City, Philippines. St Giles also has branches in the UK, New York and Malaysia. For inquiries, call (632) 988-9888 or e-mail [email protected]. You may also visit www.StGiles.com.) (You may e-mail me at [email protected].)