32 Indian Gaming May 2008

The first thing most visitors notice when they enter acasino that may be new to them is whether or not it has

“sparkle.” Has the property been properly maintained no matter how long the doors have been open and does it inviteyou to enter and enjoy your stay? At first glance are the glass,equipment, and floors clean? Hopefully there aren't fullashtrays and empty glasses crowding every gap betweenmachines and hopefully the floors and chairs are as clean asthey can be.

Black Oak Casino wants guests to enter the property witha smile on their face. The effort by team members to makesure the casino has that “sparkle” is led by a great staff ofcasino porters who are on the front lines providing outstand-ing guest service to casino players. They keep the floors vacuumed, the glass clean, and the slate shiny. They also provide machine side service and interact with players almostas much as any of the slot personnel.

Black Oak is fortunate to have a motivated group ofporters who take pride in keeping the empty slot chairslined up, ashtrays clean, empty glasses picked up, and manytimes make slot service team members and beverage serversaware of individual guest needs. They seem to accomplishall this important work while being almost invisible on thefloor. A ready smile and a hello to regular players is some-thing they automatically do as part of the casino’s guest service standards that the entire staff has adopted to makethe property an inviting place to visit.

In this competitive marketplace a quality guest service culture sets Black Oak apart from some of its regional competition. One of the most important elements of this program is their responsibility to guests to provide clean gaming devices, bathrooms, kitchens, and restaurants as wellas service on the floor. In many cases the porter staff takes on the task of providing “above and beyond” service to

Black Oak Casino Porter Staff: Above and Beyond the Call of Duty!

OUSTANDING SERVICE

May 2008 Indian Gaming 33

disabled guests without complaint. There have been instancesinstances of Black Oak's porters providing physical help towheelchair-bound guests for their personal needs.

The team of porters at Black Oak will handle emergen-cies quickly and without complaint. The casino has an“Above and Beyond Team Member” reward program and the preponderance of these awards have been made to the porterstaff for going outside of their job description to help others. Visitors comment on a regular basis about how cleanthe casino is.

Sometimes people don't treat the property as guests intheir own home would, but the porter staff approaches thisnegative attitude with a positive approach to cleaning thatcan change people's outlook on their responsibilities as visitors to the property. This results in dropping plasticglasses in the trash receptacles instead of leaving them sitting on a machine or on the floor, and fewer flicks of asheson the carpet.

Having an attentive porter staff keeps Black Oak onestep ahead of the clutter and debris that are a detriment tothe visual impact a clean, bright casino. The porter crew also

keeps the back of house areas, including offices, hallways, andstorage areas, clean and free of clutter and helps provide anOccupational Safety and Health Administration-deemedsafe workplace compliant to their standards.

The porters at Black Oak Casino are also on the front lineof the property's “green” responsibility to the community andmanage the extensive recycling program in place as part ofthe daily business operation. Black Oak recycles thousandsof water bottles, cardboard, and other materials with house-keeping leading the way.

The porter staff at Black Oak Casino performs theirduties on a daily basis without fanfare. They are an invalu-able spoke in the wheel that keeps Black Oak Casino theleader in its region for guest satisfaction. Attention to detailfrom their leadership has ensured that the property is maintained to the highest standards. As a group the porterstaff has stepped up with personal pride in their duties to makesure Black Oak Casino remains the place to play. ¨

For more information about Black Oak Casino, visitwww.blackoakcasino.com