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Acting Prime Minister, Freundel Stuart??
Barbados needs the highest possible quality of service now, more than ever, for the development of its economy and society and the use of the collective imagination of its people.
This was emphasised last evening by Acting Prime Minister, Freundel Stuart, while delivering remarks at a cocktail reception to mark the 10th anniversary of Premier Event Services Inc. at George Washington House, the Garrison.
Mr. Stuart said: "…I know that sometimes, here in Barbados we dispute the lines between service and what I hear some people calling servitude become blurred. But, since we live in what we consider a service economy, the accent is on the quality of service we provide for people. I do not think that we should allow ourselves to be enslaved to any idea that the rendering of high quality service at any time approximates servitude."??
He cautioned persons to make excellence a hallmark of their work ethic and to abhor any spectre of mediocrity. "…Nobody can control either the standards that we set for ourselves. And, there is always, lurking in the background, and ready to pounce on us, as it were, a standard called mediocrity, if we are not astute enough to keep it at bay.
"Now as far as I am concerned, that is not a standard we can accept in Barbados in the year 2010 – the only standard to which we should feel committed and the only standard to which we should aspire is a standard called excellence."
In addition, Mr. Stuart also reminded his audience that because Barbados was a small developing state with an open economy, whose accent was on the provision of services, that if it wanted to remain competitive, and achieve its full economic potential, then it had to diversify its product offerings.
He added: "There are not many things in a small country that we can control, or that we can determine. We cannot determine, for example, the price of oil. We cannot determine whether or not there’s going to be peace in the Middle East, or whether there’s going to be a war in Afghanistan or not. We cannot determine whether terrorists will or will not strike in any part of the world. There are certain things beyond our control as a small developing country. So what we have to focus on are those things that we can control; those things that allow us to make our mark and to let people know who we are."
Mr. Stuart advised Barbadians to use their intellect for the good of the country. He contended: "Nobody can control for us the quality of our imagination. That is a possession of ours which it is open to us to use for good or ill… And I want to express the hope that more of our people will turn to their imaginations and try to carve out niches for themselves in the economy and the society of Barbados, so that they too, can make their mark on the life and the times in which we live."
The Acting Prime Minister commended Premier Event Services Inc. for setting and maintaining the highest possible standards of service excellence during their decade of operations. clashley@barbados.gov.bb