LAST week Tourism Minister Ewart Brown issued a rallying cry to hospitality workers ? and a damning indictment on the industry.

Speaking at a Bermuda Industrial Union conference, the Minister urged service staff to stop being complacent and instead "come to the table with more than the traditional demands".

"Trade unionism in Tourism is not a genuine partner when it perpetuates a culture which accepts second best as the norm," Dr. Brown said.

"Our problem is we have become so special that we are doing our tourists a favour just by getting out of bed in the morning.

"Service is not servitude. Our service, just like our hotel product, has become stagnant. It matches the tarnished elements of our hotels."

While Dr. Brown would no doubt agree that there are a number of factors which have resulted in visitor arrival figures slumping in the last two decades ? a lack of competitively-priced flights and top-of-the-range hotels among them ? is poor service a significant reason for some guests not to return to our shores?

Indeed, is it fair to say that our visitors generally get poor service? Here, a number of industry officials share their views on the issue.

R. BROWN might have surprised his audience when he condemned the island's service providers at a BIU conference last week, but his comments were not exactly new.

The Minister made a similar observation in December 2004 after one departing hotel manager described the industry as dead.

"It's like most things, it has its challenges undoubtedly so," said Dr. Brown at the time.

"Do some of our people confuse service with servitude? Absolutely, but we're going to turn this around. We're going to engage Bermudians in the debate."

A trawl through newspaper archives reveals a similar complaint in recent years. Back in 2001 tourism authorities were told by European tour operators that poor service was one of the major stumbling blocks to selling Bermuda holidays.

In January 2002 Chamber of Commerce president Charles Gosling said retailers were also receiving "significant complaints" about employees' service.

"It is consistently one of the issues that is raised," Mr. Gosling said. "It is a more important issue than the question of selection or overpricing."

A month later Home Affairs Minister Randy Horton gave some retailers a dressing down after a customer survey showed poor service was the biggest complaint among shoppers.

And in November 2004 bank chief Phil Butterfield said the island's economy was at risk because of complacency ? and that poor service was one indicator of that.

But is there a genuine lack of service in Bermuda's hotels, restaurants, bars and stores, or is it just a convenient scapegoat for everyone to jump on when the latest figures reveal a business ? or an entire industry ? is underperforming?

It seems that many in the service sector believe the former, and that Dr. Brown was absolutely correct to get the issue in the headlines once again. But if that's the case, why can't we get good service right?

Hotelier and former Tourism Minister David Dodwell believes the problem is the major challenge Bermuda now faces, and one that will be solved only when our attitude to service changes.

"I think it's good that the Minister spoke out," he said.

"We need to think in terms of getting tourism into the hearts and minds of every Bermudian and every resident here.

"Everyone says that we have a two-pillar economy but I would disagree. I think we have tourism as the foundation of the economy out of which has grown two legs ? the leisure tourist and the international business tourist.

"Both come here and stay in our hotels and eat in our restaurants, the only difference is the international business visitor does some business while they're here.

"I think we have lost our way by dividing the economy into two when it's not really ? both are service-related. We don't make anything so we have to provide a service and unfortunately we've been struggling for a number of years.

"Good service is found in locations here ? but is it here to the extent that we can compete with the rest of the world? I would suggest it isn't. We're not providing the service levels of other destinations."

Mr. Dodwell, promoting tourism as a career among Bermuda's young is key to the issue. "One of the things that disturbs me is we don't pay enough attention by placing money at the problem," he said.

"I'm not suggesting that we should just throw money at it, but there's no tourism appreciation programme in Bermuda. The Visitor Industry Partnership, which was partially funded by Government, has virtually gone.

"It was the only thing that got everyone together and focused on tourism appreciation. I would advocate education programmes in primary schools, including the private schools because we need to get everyone on board.

"Hawaii came here 50 years ago to learn from us. They took that knowledge back and now they have one of the best tourism appreciation programmes.

"The Bermuda International Business Association does a terrific job promoting international business to our youth, with various scholarships. Tourism doesn't do that, and I'm not blaming the Government here, it's everyone.

"This whole issue of service being servitude is a longstanding one but if we get it right, people won't look at it like that. But I believe it's our biggest challenge for the tourism industry ? it's not about air service or the standard of our hotels or golf courses, if we can get the service right everything else will fall into place, but it is the toughest one to correct.

"If I had $1 million and someone asked me what I would do with it, I would put it into a tourism appreciation programme."

It's a view shared by Philip Barnett, chairman of the restaurant, bar and nightclub division of the Chamber of Commerce.

Barnett, president of Island Restaurant Group, believes employers face an uphill battle attracting suitable staff into the industry.

"The problem we have, and it's a problem that perhaps the whole world is suffering from, is that people don't see hospitality as a career any more," he said.

"Twenty-five years ago it was considered a great career and it wasn't difficult to bring people into the industry ? now we're struggling.

"Other places like the US have an advantage in that they have students who are prepared to do night jobs. All our students are abroad.

"I don't think we have a bad reputation but we are struggling. I do believe that there are some individuals who give Bermuda a bad name and I think Dr. Brown has hit the nail on the head ? there are people who use their association with the Bermuda Industrial Union as a protection mechanism against discipline for mediocre service.

"There's nothing that annoys me more than going to a bar or a restaurant or a hotel or whatever and being treated indifferently. We need Bermudians who are outgoing and who are interested in being a good host.

"Everybody thinks they can do the job. The fact is, while everyone can carry a plate but it's the personality and attitude that people bring that makes the difference.

"As a country and as a group of Bermudians we need to understand what good service is and to be demanding of good service and appreciate what that means. Unfortunately, not every Bermudian is suited to the job.

"I know many establishments that hire the first person who walks in the door and it then turns out that they are not suited. It's getting harder for us to get quality people and we're having to go further afield ? places like Sri Lanka and the Philippines and that's a costly exercise.

"Everyone wants to hire Bermudians but if that person is going to be a detriment to your business, you have to make a business decision.

"But it's certainly not servitude. Staff take pride in what they do and feel pride for the Bermuda staff who work for me because they exemplify everything that's great about Bermuda. They take pride in their country and want it to be Number One.

"I think Dr. Brown is doing a great job in changing attitudes and I hope the union appreciates what he's doing."

John Harvey, chief executive officer of the Bermuda Hotel Association, doesn't believe that service on the island is necessarily bad, but that it can always be improved.

And while he believes that the industry is working to promote Tourism as a career choice, it really does need to do more.

"Like everything else, there's nothing that can't be improved and service in the hotel industry is no exception," he said.

But I think overall the guest experience is a good one. I'd be one of the first to know if it wasn't because guests have no hesitation in complaining. But in recent years I haven't had too many complaints. We've been in the game a long time and therefore we should be able to provide service and do it well.

"Perhaps we've had some folks not totally committed and their approach needs to be improved.

"I think what the Minister was saying was that we can't be complacent. We can always improve one what we've got if we're going to attract the likes of Ritz Carlton here.

"Those types of properties have a high standard and we need to be getting ourselves in a position where we can get better. We're certainly not resting on our laurels.

"We'll soon be launching a campaign attracting people back into the industry. We can't compete with the ACEs and XLs but we can provide a career that offers opportunities and challenges."

Perhaps the last word belongs to Eugenie Simmons, the Associate Vice President for Technical Education at the Bermuda College.

Speaking to this newspaper last year on the need to provide Bermudians with vocational training, Dr. Simmons said: "I have a daughter who has chosen a career in hospitality. This came as no surprise to me as she has been exposed to the industry from the time she was a baby.

"What did surprise me was her hesitation to share her career decision with me. She had every expectation that I was going to dissuade her from pursuing her dream.

"Initially, I was floored! But, upon reflection, I understood her hesitation to share her decision with me. Young Bermudians are bombarded on a daily basis with 'gloom and doom' about the future of hospitality in Bermuda.

"Is there any wonder why we cannot seem to attract qualified Bermudians to this employment sector? What young (or not so young) person in his or her right mind would choose to work in a failing industry, with long hours and inflexible work schedules and with little to offer in terms of professional advancement or economic security?

"I don't think that anyone here would argue that a career in hospitality is still a worthy calling for Bermudians. However, this message should be promoted just as loudly and as often to balance the constant rhetoric of the 'nay sayers'."