James Tapscott, Hilton San Francisco Union Square
Going Beyond the Call of Duty is all in a day’s work for James Tapscott, the Hilton San Francisco Union Square’s Journey Ambassador. James speaks Japanese and Chinese and always astounds our guests from Asia with his language skills. But that’s just one aspect of his many talents and remarkable loyalty to his hotel and guests.
In late 2008, a Japanese family were sightseeing around town in a rented car. They stopped at the top of Lombard Street to take pictures and fell victim to thieves who prey on tourists. Everything was stolen: money, passports, tickets, souvenirs…and dignity. James learned what happened and for two full days he escorted the family to the Japanese Consulate, the passport agency, the airlines and every other official agency who had to be informed. He finally escorted them to the airport and saw them off. His heroic efforts on their behalf turned the nightmare back into a dream holiday.
In yet another example of going that extra mile, a young couple from Minnesota were guests of the hotel for a business conference. The wife was confined to a wheelchair but was actively engaged in her company’s business meeting, as was the young man. James befriended them in the lobby while they were checking in, and took it upon himself to become the young woman’s personal aide. One day, he wheeled her to the Financial District to her meeting at the company’s headquarters and escorted her back to the hotel in a taxi. He even assisted her with obtaining needed medications by wheeling her to a drugstore to obtain her prescription. As a parting gesture, he helped arrange reservations at a romantic dining spot on their last evening in town.
From distributing umbrellas on a rainy day to quoting chapter and verse on baseball stats to other sports fanatics he runs into in the hotel, to mentoring new employees on the art of service, James Tapscott has already earned Hero status at the Hilton.
.jpg)
