Many Bermudians, black and white, helped in years gone by to make our tourist business outstanding despite the many social obstacles of the day.

They understood that one negative incident involving guests, could snowball and damage the entire industry. They also knew it was unfair to those dedicated workers who performed their duties in a manner that left guests booking their next visit even before they left the island to disrupt Bermuda's lifeblood.

Some would say those were the good old days, but there are still many people in our industry who are willing to go the extra mile to promote our tourist business. These people are regularly highlighted by the Department of Tourism, and that is always encouraging. However there is no denying that negative attitude problems in this important industry has been smoldering for some time beneath the surface.

Some years ago, the Bermuda Hotel Association instituted its own newspaper, to promote how important every worker was, no matter what section of the industry they were employed in. The idea, I believe, was to give each person some pride in being part of a team with one objective keeping our guests happy.

This is a tall order today, with massive behavioural changes in lifestyles and attitudes and a society which seems to have lost its way in basic values. Trying to redirect the ship will not be easy because we have been drifting off course for some time. That is no reason not to try.

Calling for a change in attitudes is a good thing, but much more must be understood about the root causes of such attitudes. It should also be pointed out that poor attitudes in the workplace are not limited to the hospitality industry.

Many construction firms, restaurants, and business establishments, are trying to cope with these problems on a daily basis with no easy solutions. Although there are many causes, they should never be excuses. One need not look far to see how Bermuda has changed in recent years.

Our Island is not the safe haven we have been boasting about for so many years, with gang related gunplay so prevalent, and an underworld of illegal drug activity along with violent criminal activity, not to mention a breakdown of values that once formed the anchor for most families.

Wishful thinking is not going to solve anything. A part of the problem is that many of the negatives sweeping the Island affect how people feel and behave. For instance, for some years, the Police have been appealing for motorists not to create a third lane in heavy traffic. But in reality, the third lane is simply reality.

Poor attitude problems exist throughout our community and the hospitality industry is no exception. Hopefully this situation will get a close examination by the Government and the industry itself.

Many hotels have implemented programmes aimed at trying to improve attitudes which in turn will help improve the business. I have actually been involved some programmes during a spell at the former Southampton Princess now the Fairmont.

The Bermuda Industrial Union, while representing hotel workers, made it clear that having a poor attitude was unacceptable, and threw their weight behind efforts to upgrade in this area. As one shop steward told me: “We will defend our workers to the hilt, but not in cases when they are wrong.”

On more then one occasion I witnessed those words in action. Finding solutions to attitude problems in the work place these days will not be easy.

It will require cooperation throughout our entire community and a rethinking of values for good living. That also is a tall order. Great challenges confront us all ,and trying to get a handle on poor attitudes should never be taken lightly. To much is at stake for us to fail.