February 7, 2012

The impact of a smile or two!

We finished up at a tea room in a small country town over the weekend. Found it as a result of a sign on the side of the road. As it was almost lunch time we decided to give it a go!

The menu was simple, the food was good and the range of different types of tea was fantastic. In fact we agreed that we would go back one day.

The experience was made in listening to two couples – visitors to Tasmania who sat at different tables across an aisle and spoke fairly loudly. One couple were from the US. We knew that from the accent and the talk about the Super bowl game they would be missing. The other couple were from Queensland and they talked about the rain and the floods back home.

They made some interesting observations about their stay in Tasmania. They talked about how Tasmania is small, slow and easy going and how we are inviting and welcoming – in fact the US couple talked about people actually smiling at them. They mentioned that they did not have to line up and that the traffic on the roads was light and not intimidating.

They were still talking when we left.

It reminded me of the power of ‘word of mouth’. By their very nature I think they will be great influencers when they get home and as a result will influence many of their friends and relatives to come to Tasmania.

We have a job to do. We need to make sure all visitors to our state go back with positive experiences about our great state. Let’s get on with it!