WAVES of Guest Service

Welcome to WAVES

W.A.V.E.S is an anagram that stands for the expectations we have in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they also stand for a new perspective on customer interaction that we must embrace during this time. It stands for the following:

W – Welcome and Weigh the Situation
A – Advise
V – Visitor Perspective/Expectation
E – Engage
S – Safety First

By remembering these letters, we can ensure that each guest interaction will resolve with the most positive outcome for both the guest and you.

W – Welcome and Weigh the Situation
Welcoming every guest is the most important, first step to helping a guest. When you give them a genuine, friendly welcome and a smile, it can work towards defusing any frustration that may be bothering a guest before you extended your help. Kindness is contagious. When a warm, caring greeting is given, it can flip an entire situation on its head for the better


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True or False: The only way to provide customer service is to smile


Weighing the situation during any interaction is also an important step to any guest experience. By getting a full understanding of the situation at hand, we will have the best chance to resolve it with a satisfied customer at the end of the day. We must be sure to ask the important questions that will get to the root of any issue a guest may have. “How may I help you?” and “What can I can help you with?” are good starting questions that will help you understand exactly what a guest is looking for. Guest cues such as body language, facial expressions and gestures are also very important to pick up on, as they can give you some insight into what might be troubling or confusing a guest before you even speak to them.


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What are some cues alerting you to a guest needing your help?


A – Advise
During a guest interaction, the difference between a good experience and a bad one can sometimes boil down to something very simple like tone of voice. When we speak to a guest, we have to be sure we are doing so in such a way that does not make them feel demeaned, dismissed or less intelligent for asking for our help. Every guest will be different and have a different interpretation of a situation, which is why making sure we advise them on how to solve their predicament in as professional and empathetic way as possible is so important. Make sure to answer any questions the guest may have directly, and direct them as necessary. If you are unsure of an answer, make sure to let the guest know you will try to get them an answer as soon as you can and either direct them to or call whoever might have the answer they are looking for in a timely manner. 


In any cases where a guest may be inadvertently doing the wrong thing, make sure to advise them back to doing the right thing, rather than enforce or order them. There is a world of difference between “Put your mask back on!” and “Would you mind please putting your mask back on?” Using cushioning and empathetic language like “Would you mind?” or “I know it’s not the most comfortable, but could you please?” will at least show our guests that we do care and understand that the masks aren’t the most convenient or comfortable, but also a necessary part of their visit for everyone’s safety. We need to be sure to be firm on our rules, but we must also be sure that we aren’t coming across too aggressively. Tone of voice is very important, and can make all the difference to our guests. 

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True or False: When advising a guest on our rules you should have a positive tone and show empathy for the situation. 

V – Visitor Perspective and Expectations
As mentioned above, the guest’s perspective and expectations will vary wildly between one and another. It’s important to understand that just because you see a situation one way, does not mean that the guests will see it the same way. During any guest interaction, the most important thing is to remember that we have to put ourselves in the guests’ shoes and try to see things the way they do. Be it about an issue with a particular exhibit, rule at the aquarium or even just understanding the general layout, we have to remember to put our personal feelings and judgements aside and help the guest to the best of our abilities. 

Listening to what our guests have to say will be paramount to our success in helping them resolve whatever question they might have or resolving whatever grievance they may have at that time. As a guest, which I’m sure we have all experienced, a feeling of not being heard or understood adds more frustration to a situation that may have already been frustrating to begin with. At the root of it all, our guests just want to know that we are hearing their issues and have a solution at hand to give them the best possible resolution to what they are having an issue with. 







1 point
What is the most important thing you can do when a guest is asking for your help with an issue?


E – Engage

We can ensure that every guest has an extra special experience with us by simply making sure that our staff and volunteer engage with them throughout their visit.  Taking the initiative to start up a conversation or asking a guest preemptively if they need any help are two examples of ways that engaging can make all the difference. By putting in that extra effort to reach out and not wait for a guest to come to you, it can make the guest feel special and cared about. We want a feeling of hospitality to linger with the guests during their visit, a feeling of being welcome and that they want to come back in the future. Something as easy as sharing a little fact about some exhibits that may be in front of them can be all it takes to spark up that caring, genuine interaction that will inspire those feelings in our guests and will help build a loyal, strong relationship with them in the future. This is where something like the FISH! Philosophy comes into play. The FISH! Philosophy stands for the following beliefs:

• Play
• Make Their Day
• Be there
• Choose Your Attitude

These beliefs, when combined, are the roadwork for that outstanding and memorable environment that will keep guests coming back for more. 

Play has to exist in the workplace, it keeps both guests and staff excited and ready to put their best foot forward when they know work isn’t just a boring position to fill for a few hours. By choosing to engage and have fun, you could be Making a Guests’ Day. That little extra that you put in could be all a guest needed to turn what might have been a sour day, completely around. 

By “Being there” and putting your energy into your position, you are elevating the already existing standard of being a fun place to visit. This energy will help to make the aquarium a popular destination and drive attendance. Through positive word of mouth advertising more families will hear of our wonderful aquarium and choose to visit.

Lastly, Choose your Attitude. Everyone is living their own lives, but it’s a choice to continue letting that affect your attitude at work. By choosing to have a positive, bright, outgoing attitude, you are making a bigger and better impression on our guests. Remember, you are a representative of our brand.  A single interaction can make or break an entire experience.  

Showcased below, the best example of the FISH! Philosophy would be The Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, Washington. The fish mongers there create an atmosphere of fun and play that keep guests engaged and excited during their visit, which translates to positive memories that will keep them coming back for “some of the best fish they’ve ever had” even though it’s no different than any other fish market. This is the power of the FISH! Philosophy, as explained above, put into clear action.


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True or False: By letting play exist in the work environment you are making it worse for everyone. 

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True or False: You can make a guest's day and engage them (even with a mask on)

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True or False: When you Choose Your Attitude to be positive before each day, you are making the environment better for guests, volunteers, and staff alike.


S – Safety First

Safety is our number one priority at the aquarium. It is important that we keep things clean and sterile for our guests, staff and volunteers. While we do want to make sure that we provide that A+ customer service described above, we must also be sure that we keep everyone healthy and safety in mind while doing so. Monitoring your own personal health and making sure you take any time off, as necessary, if you feel ill are two very simple things you can do to keep yourself and everyone else safe. 
During the guest experience, it is also very important to know your surroundings for things like restrooms, hand washing stations, and sanitizer dispensaries so if you are asked, you can provide accurate directions. Maintaining work station cleanliness, be it on the floor or behind the scenes in offices or break areas, is also key in keeping the workplace safe by decreasing the spread of germs.

A note of explanation on why we are requiring proof of vaccination for staff and volunteers: while we will employ an honor system for guests’ adherence to our policy, staff and volunteers have a higher obligation to our guests and to each other to ensure adherence to our policy, and presenting proof of vaccination is an easy way to meet this obligation.


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True or False: It is not important to know where hand washing stations and hand sanitizer dispensers are located within the building

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Catch of the Day Program

When we as a staff come together and put the W.A.V.E.S initiative into practice, the result is an amazing guest experience and work environment for all. Recognizing your fellow staff members for their amazing work is also just as important. Though we should always be giving our very best, even when no one is looking, the feeling of being seen and acknowledged will incentivize further amazing service with positive reinforcement. At the aquarium, that comes in the form of our Catch of the Day program. Each department has a stash of certificates that you can give to others to recognize any great behaviors you may have caught them doing! Ask your manager or supervisor for one if you’d like to reward someone, make sure you get the person’s name, fill it out, and then you can deliver it yourself. Each department should also have a designated place to display any Catches of the Day that have been awarded, which includes yours as well! Something like a Catch of the Day is simple, but can be a welcome feeling of acknowledgement that helps an individual continue delivering that genuine, enthusiastic experience with guests. Each month a random certificate is pulled to be the Aquarium's Catch of the Month and receive Aquarium-wide recognition. 

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True or False: You can recognize your fellow colleagues for creating an amazing guest experience by presenting them with Catch of the Day certificates