In 2008 I visited North Face Lodge as a guest. Long on my list of “must-do’s”, the visit finally appeared on the calendar, and I climbed onto the blue and white Camp Denali bus. After wildlife sitings, an incredible picnic of elegant foods, and an unparalleled view of Mt. McKinley, I asked myself, “How do they DO it?” After arrival at North Face Lodge, the question popped up again. Planters overflowed with blossoms, windows sparkled, no little bug bodies in the windowsills, linen napkins, no plastic utensils or plates, crisp bed linens, and consistently smiling cheerful staff…and this was the END of the season! What an amazing place! What was their secret?
This year I came back to Camp Denali/North Face Lodge as a staff member. I figured out how they do it! Standards. High standards of hospitality, cleanliness, expertise. And training for all staff--even the ones who’ve been on staff before, not just the rookies.
It’s now about week nine here at Camp Denali. New staff know their jobs, returning staff bargain to trade days off for extended hiking trips, and Spritzer (one of the three dogs with us this summer) has perfected the look and posture guaranteed to garner attention from all passersby. The hill is not quite so steep as it was in June, and the mosquito population has declined. In short, it’s that long slog in the middle of the summer when staff drag a little, sleep a lot, and work to focus on new tasks assigned in the wake of early-departing workers.
About a week ago, one of those new tasks fell to me. Each Monday evening I now set up the reception for incoming guests. Working in the empty kitchen, I cut and arrange fruit, make sure the cakes are dusted with confectioner’s sugar. Then I move to the large dining room and set up beverages, set out cups and glasses, and set aside concerns about what time the evening’s work will end. I double-check the napkins, tea water, spoons and forks, clear the deck at the dishwasher, prep the busing cart, take a deep breath, and wait for the bus driver to call in with arrival time.
When the call comes, an amazing thing happens. Tired staff rally. The procedures set out to make the process of welcome uniform and easy, procedures that have become familiar over the weeks, guide staff through the welcome process. While staff unloads luggage, guests climb off the bus, stretch out kinks developed on the ride into the park, cross the porch and enter Potlach.
And then the magic happens for me. I get to say, “Welcome!” Smiles and responses from guests make me smile even more and makes me realize I’m as glad to be here as the arrivees. My “aha” in this interaction is the awareness that this is how they DO it!
Welcome.
What a simple word, and what a basic idea. When you are proud of your home--even a temporary summer home--you are eager for your visitors to be as pleased with it as you are. And that is how I’ve come to feel about housekeeping tasks, dishwashing duties, and serving food to diners. I’m welcoming them into both the National Park and Camp Denali. We‘re all part of a family: owners, cooks, dishwashers guides, operations crew along with authors, artists, producers and scientists, parents and children from far-flung places. We‘re all here together, all happy simply to be here in this amazing place.