I love trying to tie together seemingly unrelated concepts in my blog posts. Sometimes succeeding, oftentimes failing.

Last week, I went on a week-long vacation to Akumal, Mexico, because I needed to sit on a beach, put my feet in some sand and feel ocean breezes in my hair. In my vast amounts of "down time" on that beach, it got me thinking… of immigration reform and customer retention.

The issue of immigration reform is complex and heated. FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting) has a great piece that addresses the confusion in the media and tension between immigration reform and "free trade". In the ocean of issues that is immigration reform, there is a debate over English. Do we require immigrants to speak English or are we more accommodating? President Bush has made it clear: he wants immigrants to speak English. In the recent past, I've listened to at least one radio talk host and at least one relative drone on and on, about how they are so inconvenienced because they need to "push 1″ to hear prompts in English when calling their credit card company or a governmental office.

This language issue is no easy debate. Should we post multiple languages on our governmental forms, street signs and public announcements? Do we provide subsidized education for English? What is the threshold in percent of population, before adapting everything for a new language? What's the most economical versus morally responsible approach? These aren't easy questions to answer.

But, my travels to Akumal taught me something: the Mexicans are very accommodating. Many of their people speak English fluently, and those that don't are very patient with my hilarious attempts at speaking Spanish (Mi español es muy malo). Most of their restaurants have English versions of the menu (even off the beaten path). Many street signs (and even the airport) post English subtitles. They know their water creates problems for tourists, and therefore bottled water is available everywhere. Most merchants will readily accept dollars (although it's good to have a handy stock of Pesos), and will help you understand the conversion of pesos-to-dollars.

My experience in this part of Mexico is: the Mexicans treat tourists (especially Americans) with respect and flexibility. Why? To make us comfortable and feel at ease. Why? So we go back to the States and tell everyone how great of an experience we had. Why? So we'll return, and possibly convince others to make the trip (we also tend to tip better when treated with respect… ) This is how they, as a society, maximize customer retention. In business, this is lesson "numero uno:" Maximize customer retention by making your clients happy.

We rented a car and stayed at a condo. Right on the beach, second floor. During one of the nights, a rather sever storm passed through, shaking the whole structure and causing rather violent surf (such that it can be, because the beach is protected by reefs further out on the bay). It got me thinking, for just a moment: What if there was truly an emergency? Would there be an announcement? Would the announcement be in English? Would we know where to go to safety? Would we know what to do, when we got there? Where's the hospital, if my wife gets sick?

It makes me wonder what immigrants (and tourists) go through, when they come to America. Do they fear for the lives of their children in an emergency? Do they know where to go for help, in an emergency? Do they know where our hospitals are, and how to get treatment? Are they fearful and anxious just being here?

In business, this is lesson "numero dos:" Remove any stresses and fears to doing business with you. Once a client agrees to do business with you, anything left unanswered or awkward creates anxiety with the client. Anxious or uncomfortable clients won't come back. In the spa business, the average retention is 30% and a good retention is 50%. If you're less than either of those numbers, could this perhaps be a factor?

As for America, call me old-fashion, but I believe it's the land of opportunity and freedom. Whether citizens, immigrants or tourists, everyone must be treated with respect. Forcing people to learn English in a 6 month course (for those who can afford to take the time off of work), just to get by in this country, doesn't help those who encounter emergencies today. Tourists and visitors aren't here long enough to take a course in English.

2 Responses...

1. Christy says:

   April 22, 2008 at 9:40 pm

   Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos. Now, I want to go to the beach! Interesting stats on average retention rates. It's something I've been curious about.
2. Carina Pantoja says:

   May 1, 2008 at 8:00 pm

   I completely agree with you 100%. I have been to other countries, for example, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. They have English everywhere, even though that's not their language. If America is supposed to be the "melting pot" of the world, why are we forcing "English only" on people? What if they are tourists? How would you feel if you went to another country and they didn't speak your language at all? Wouldn't that be a little scary? Now imagine how they feel. I don't know about you, but I want to make everyone feel welcomed always. I guess it goes back to the way you were raised and how much manners do you have?