Photo from left to right: Bob Effisimo, UCCR Reservations Supervisor, and his wife Nancy.

I haven’t met any of the people I work for and likely never will. In fact, I don’t even know most of their names. The people I work for live all across the country, and I couldn’t pick most out of a crowd.

This would be a pretty unique situation if I were talking about my managers at United Camps, Conferences and Retreats (UCCR). But, as the supervisor of the Reservations Department at UCCR, what motivates me is treating my customers as if they are my managers and I work for them.

You see, there’s a bigger picture that matters to me. The people I work for are the thousands of guests who gather each year at one of the camps and retreat centers that UCCR manages. The people I work for are guests that stay with us to be inspired, rejuvenated, informed, lodged and fed.  

In the Reservations Department, we often to talk with a group leader who is booking their stay. Yet there are many other guests we don’t communicate with who participate in the programs their groups run at our camps and retreat centers.

None of us in the Reservations Department actually clean our retreat centers. We don’t renovate lodging to ensure guests have a happy night’s sleep. We don’t pave the parking lots, fix the plumbing, or lifeguard at swimming pools. We don’t whip the mashed potatoes, roast the chicken or prepare fresh vegetables for the salad bars.

We trust our other extremely able and equally inspired UCCR employees who work at our facilities to do all of that.

In the Reservations Department we recognize that each customer call is the first link in a long chain of great customer service. I’m proud to work with the entire UCCR team.

As stated on our website:
“Our approach is two-fold:  to fully support your program while you and UCCR’s expertise in managing and operating camp and retreat property gives the owner organizations confidence that their facility has a steward who cares about their mission, as well as the missions of the groups we serve. Our goal is to meet and exceed your group's expectations.”

And that starts with a phone call.
–Bob Effisimo
Reservations Supervisor