The Timeshare Beat: Jerry Sikes; With Regard to Games

"Therapy should be like a poker game. In other words, the result is what counts. A lot of the game depends on getting to know the other guys and what they are doing. So maybe what I am saying is that big words are hiding the reality of what's going on between people."
- Dr. Eric Berne -

Years ago, at the Holiday Inn University, I had the privilege of attending an all day session titled Transactional Analysis or TA. Transactional Analysis is a human behavior model originated by Dr. Eric Berne. It was based on the conclusions drawn by Dr. Berne during his years of observing the interactions between people and the resulting patterns of productive or unproductive behavior. Simply stated, TA is a method of analyzing the transactions that occur between people. The Basic Handbook of Transactional Analysis was written by Dr. Berne titled Games People Play and was a sequel to Dr. Berne's book Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy.

Game playing begins at an early age and remains a pastime for as long as we live. One of my earliest memories is of playing the game Goochie-Goo with my Mom and how it made me giggle. Many of you will be thinking of games such as Tennis, Golf, Chest, Poker, Basketball, Gestures, Jeopardy, and/or the Goodwill Games. These are not the kind of games that Dr. Berne was dealing with. Those are Life Games such as "Kick Me', "See What You Made Me Do", or "Now I've Got You, You SOB". Some will say they never heard of those games much less played them. Ok, let's take a quick look at SWYMD. Your spouse is in the kitchen doing whatever and is unaware that you have just walked in. You say something like "What's for dinner?" and he/she jumps, drops the milk carton on the floor and turns to you in a fury. The aim of game is vindication, the gain is avoidance of responsibility and the existential position is, "I am blameless." Not into life games? How about Marital Games such as "Court Room, "Look How Hard I've Tried", or "Frigid Woman/Man"? Party Games such as "Ain't It Awful", "Blemish", ""Why Don't You - Yes But." or Sexual Games such as "Let's You and Him Fight", "Uproar", "Perversion", and that all time favorite "Rapo" which may be better known as "Kiss Off" or "Indignation". That one goes something like this: First degree Kiss Off is popular at social gatherings and consists essentially of mild flirtation. First person signals than he/she is available and gets his/her pleasure from the other's pursuit. As soon as the other has committed himself/herself, the game is over. If polite, he/she may say quite frankly "I appreciate your compliments and thank you very much," and move on to the next conquest. There are several other categories of games titled; Good Games, Consulting Room Games, and Underworld Games.

There are other types of games that are extremely beneficial. I have several books, which provide games to be played during training. Some of these games are called Ice Breakers, others are knows as Evaluations, Perceptions, Learning and Team building. During training we often create situations using a game we know as Role Playing. We have games on our computers to break up the flow of more productive work or boredom. Until recently, I had not considered games as a method to motivate staff performance. There is an old saying that goes something like: "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Well let me tell you, two great young chicks recently enlightened this old dog.

Let me introduce you to Sarah Karlson and Jodi Ligon. At Scottsdale Camelback Resort the Front Office operation is directed by Robin Freese who holds the title of Guest Services Manager and Robin has designated these two as "leads" which is short for Shift Leader and lead they do.

You see them standing in front of a Game Board titled SCR Monopoly which is a knockoff of the better known Parker Brothers great family game. They created this version in order to both reward and motivate the staff in the Guest Service Department, which incorporates Front Office, Reservations, Night Audit, Activities, and Concierge. While the concept originated with the Parker Brothers version, Jodi and Sarah customized their version to fit the SCR situation. Game pieces were purchased (with funny money made using pictures of several different staff members) at a Scrapbook Store and then personalized. Obviously each of the staff was provided with a standard amount of money at the beginning of the Game and a set of the special rules. Included in those rules are those things which will provide dividends for the staff such as, a positive mention from a guest on a comment card, completing an extra task, a perfect time card punch, or 90%+ on the weekly quiz. There are also team incentives and if that goal is achieved each team member receives a roll of the dice. The dividends, in the case of SCR Monopoly, are rolls of the dice and the subsequent moves of their game piece around the board.

Each of the squares on the board were modified to have special meaning to SCR staff members and to provide incentive to acquire more rolls of the dice. Both the Community Chest and Chance squares provided cards, which provided benefits. The Chance cards usually related to timesharing in general, however, sometimes they were required to pay up for something such as an exchange fee. The Community Chest square always brought instant reward such as collecting money for various things, an ice cream bar from the gift shop, another roll of the dice or special privileges.

Kelli Zimmerman was declared the overall winner because of her combined totals. At the end she owned six properties, two of which were completely revamped, and $1,551 in money. Kelli will be going on a mini-vacation to one of SCR's sister resorts. Brian Cohrt came in second and received a gift certificate to Julio G's.

Final Thought

Our training at SCR teaches us that when we set a goal we should also establish a Unit of Measure by which we could judge if the goal was achieved or not. In a lot of instances, the RCI Comment Card Report is referenced, as the place to look for such measures. I am sure that there were many factors which affected the scores for both Check In /Check Out and Resort Hospitality, however I am just as sure that the increases from 4.5 to 4.7 in both these categories were somehow affected by SCR Monopoly and the zeal with which it was played by our staff.

In order to insure that the gains which have been achieved in the Guest Services Division, Sarah and Jodi are at it again. Yes, to the right you will see the Scottsdale Camelback Resort Dog Track and several dogs have already left the gate. The new game is underway and my bet is that more than one of the staff will catch the Rabbit.