In Convention Center’s Chorus Line, Every Employee Is a Star

Employees at the new San Diego Convention Center don’t just show up for work, they come to be “on stage.” And, when they do get there, the women had better be wearing stockings and bras, and the men must have their hair and sideburns short, have no more than one ring on each hand and never have beards or--sorry Jim McMahon--earrings.

Those are just some of the policies and guidelines contained in the center’s employee handbook, a 31-page booklet describing the do’s and don’ts for the facility’s up to 1,000 full-time and part-time workers. They range from the “Ten Commandments of the San Diego Spirit” to a Miss Manners-like recital of how to be polite to an emergency manual, imploring workers, for instance, never to say “bomb” or “explosion” when there is an evacuation during a bomb threat.

The idea is to set the center apart, to provide services and standards of service above those offered by other centers in the highly competitive convention industry, said Tom Liegler, executive vice president and general manager of the Convention Center Corp. and the person most responsible for the policies and guidelines.

“Our goal is to make a statement . . . to make it like a cruise ship so that people will want to come back,” he said. “While our facility is beautiful, we’re just a building. We’ve got to excel, and the only way to do that is to outdo the others.”

Page 4: “The most important thing you can wear is a smile! And the smile you give to our guests will be a souvenir of our facility. The convention business is a form of show business, and we must operate efficiently in order to entertain and care for our many guests. And, with hundreds of people performing just about every role imaginable, we must all answer to the same cues. “

Center officials thought they would have three months to break in their work force, but delays in completing the facility squeezed that time to a few days. In order to learn how to react when dealing with people in various situations, new employees have watched videos showing treatment that both turns off and turns on customers. After a two-hour session, they receive certificates.

For the time being, the center’s employees are asked to have the booklet on their person.

Little in the design of the $160-million center has been left to chance, including the blue-and-white color scheme of the uniforms, in keeping with the center’s nautical feel. However, Dennis Conner and other sailors might have trouble here because shoes without socks are strictly forbidden for employees.

Whenever the “Star-Spangled Banner” or the anthem of any foreign country is played, employees will be required to stop what they are doing, stand at attention and face the flag. A male employee must remove and hold his hat in his right hand and then place it over his heart. A female employee must hold her right hand over her heart.

Page 8, the “Ten Commandments”: 1) speak to people; 2) smile at people; 3) call people by name; 4) be friendly and helpful; 5) be cordial; 6) radiate a genuine interest; 7) be generous with praise; 8) be considerate of the feelings of others; 9) be thoughtful; 10) cooperate.

The booklet includes a map of the center’s various levels because, if there’s one thing center officials don’t want their employees saying to conventioneers, it is “I don’t know.” The guidelines describe in detail how workers should be well-informed, both about the center itself and what events are scheduled there. Even if it takes a call to a supervisor to find out, the emphasis is on getting a straight answer to inquiries.

If the clean-cut look of the people working at the center reminds you of Disneyland, it’s not by accident. The uniform grooming standards emanated from the Orange County citadel of fantasy, according to Liegler. “We want them to be sharp, clean-cut, Americana and representative of our county,” Liegler said.

Extreme hair styles are a no-no. Women must wear stockings at all times and “they must be flesh tone or match your shoes and the assigned uniform.” They also must wear “proper undergarments.” Long hair cannot fall forward or over the face, and hair below the shoulders needs to be confined with ribbons or barrettes, the plainer the better.

Men can wear one ring on each hand, a class ring or wedding band, for example, and it must be small. Hair cannot extend more than halfway down the ear and must be above the shirt collar in back. Sideburns must stop at the bottom of the earlobe.

Page 10: “Since the convention business is a form of show business, when you’re in the view of a guest--you’re on stage. Put on your best performance at all times.”

In the area of security, the philosophy at the center will be: less is more.

Security personnel at the center won’t be armed with guns or even night sticks. And the guidelines urge other center workers to ask for security help only as a last resort.

“We feel security is best controlled by a smile and friendliness . . . more public relations” than a display of force, Liegler said.

“The Lord has given us five basic senses,” he added, “touch, taste, (hearing, sight and smell). All we’re asking our workers is to add two other senses, common sense and good horse sense.”

Page 12: “Do not sit, lean, slouch, lie or appear in any other position that demonstrates to our guests anything less than full attention to their needs.”