A few months ago the docents held an end-of-the-school-year-celebration-luncheon as a way to mark the end of the busy tour season. I racked my brain for a way to thank them for all of their hard work. I wanted to give them something, but of course had no budget for gifts. Ultimately, I spent my own money to design a docent calendar filled with images from the collection and marked with the dates of upcoming programs. I figured they could use the calendars to record when they were doing tours -- at the very least, it was an utilitarian and aesthetically pleasing gift!
As I handed them out, I made a personal statement about each docent. "Mary, I appreciate you because..." and said something different about each person: how they interacted with children, how they were a sponge for information, how they were always available to help out. The docents raved about the event and especially about the personal, public thank-yous.
Earlier this week one of the docents stopped my office after a tour. She said "This group I just took through the museum was really the best group ever." I was surprised, because she had just worked with a very young group from a inner-city day camp. In a split second, I realized my "docent appreciation" for her had been, "You always say your tour groups are the best groups ever." It was really her ability to see the good in people and not lose her cool if the tour didn't go as smoothly as planned - that was what I appreciated. Right after she said her famous line she laughed and said "I know I say that about everyone!" I was so happy that my "docent appreciation" had stayed with her.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment