The re-training at Caesars Palace

Caesars Palace is quietly and deliberately re-training every worker involved in customer service including floor people on the casino floor, and desk clerks and check in.

The re-training might not be immediately apparent to you unless you know what to look for or unless you yourself were made aware of certain cultural habits and signs of respect.

My first job as a producer at CBS News in New York involved working with foreign broadcasters including the Japanese broadcasting companies and other Asian broadcasters. So I learned at a very young age (I was 23 when I was an Associate Producer at CBS) how to be polite in Asian cultures.

One thing I learned very early was that you treat the business card as you would treat the person. You respect the business card as you respect the person.

That meant you didn't just grab it and stick it in a pocket. You carefully received it, looked at and read it (as if you were looking someone in the eye) and then carefully place it in an important place for safe keeping -- in my case I put it in my wallet.

You will now find similar conduct at Caesars. Check in at the front desk and your credit card and driver's license will be handed back to you with respect. Your ID from a slot floor person will be handed to you with respect and carefully "presented" to you. People will look at you right in the eye, and always ask "is there something else I can help you with?"

When the desk clerk at 2 in the morning when I checked in showed this respect with my credit card and license and then the room key and handing me a pen to sign in, I couldn't help but ask if he had been trained to do this?

Yes, he told me.

And I later confirmed the re-training with others at Caesars.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Caesars will soon be opening a new hotel within a hotel that will cater to Asian visitors. And after all, Asian visitors tend to be better gamblers.