53 years and counting - Herbert Tucker hails Jamaica Inn as his home away from home
Published:Sunday | October 6, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Garfene Grandison and Krysta Anderson, Gleaner Writers
"Repeat guests make me feel so good. I enjoy it here and I enjoy the business of tourism." These words, uttered by an earnest bartender, speak volumes in depicting the hard work, dedication and passion he has given to the thriving hotel industry in Jamaica.
Jamaica Inn, located in the garden parish of St Ann, welcomes its guests to indulge in the warmth and majestic feel of the property, and a part of this package is Herbert Tucker, more affectionately known as Teddy, a mixologist who has devoted over 50 years to enhancing the cosy, home-away-from-home experience at Jamaica Inn.
Teddy told Outlook in a recent interview that he began working at the Inn when he was a young teenager.
" A maitre d' (hotel headwaiter) was here at the time and knew my family pretty well, so he came up to the house, which was only five minutes away from here, and said they needed somebody to work. I was about 16 or 17 at the time and had just left school. He spoke to my parents and I came down, did the interview, and got a job," Teddy explained.
AN EAGER LEARNER
Born in St Ann to hard-working parents, he showed true promise as a young student growing up when he became one of the best readers and spellers in his class. This promise bore fruit with his progression to his current post, as he took great pleasure in carrying out his respective duties thoroughly, while eagerly learning along the way.
According to him, "I started by bringing in the goods from the stores. I would watch the bartenders, how they went about making their drinks, and started working my way up from there." He moved on to serving drinks to guests outside before they put him down to running the beach bar in 1970. It is at this beach bar that he continues to engage and entertain visitors to this very day.
Teddy divulged to us his most favourite aspect of working with Jamaica Inn - meeting all the famous people. Among the well-known visitors were Joan Collins; the great poet T.S. Eliot; Sir John Mills; former prime minister of England, John Major; and former prime minister of Canada, John Turner, among many others. He revealed, however, that his favourite visitor by far would have to be Princess Margaret, expressing joy in having made her favourite drink for her.
What has kept him working in the same industry and for the same hotel all these years is the genuine love he has for his work. The repeat guests have also been an added bonus.
"In the past 20-40 years, we have had a 95 per cent repeat rate, especially in February, and sometimes most of the guests come back and ask if I'm still here." Every year, Teddy noted, the many guests would make their way back to the resort and stay there for about four weeks, with the most requested drink being a bloody bull or a bull shot, his specialty.
The reason behind these repeats, Teddy confessed, was the staff that provides that home-away-from-home atmosphere for each and every guest.
"I usually walk, but now I ride my bicycle and come in at about 10 a.m. My house is just across the road, but Jamaica Inn has really been my home away from home. We try to make our guests share in that experience, too," he ended.
For Teddy, consistency has also been significant in the success of the hotel, "The staff have a lot to do with guests coming back. We are always nice to them and we try to make them feel relaxed and at home. They see the same warm people greeting them and sharing in their experience for 30-40 years; so that has them coming back for more."
Teddy parted ways to go back to his duties with a resonating remark: "If you enjoy what you are doing, work will always feel good."