Reflecting on her journey in the tourism and hospitality industry, her passion for guest service and a constant desire to achieve excellence is always at the forefront of Nerissa Martin’s endeavours. Now, 15 years later, with a world of experience under her belt, the proud Sandals Grande Antigua team member still has her eyes set on the prize.
Nerissa joined the Sandals family in 2007 as a restaurant server and has shown dedication and commitment to meeting and exceeding customer service expectations.
“Growing up, it was always a part of me to care for people. Joining the Sandals family not only allowed me to do that but it has proven to be a satisfying and rewarding experience,” she shared.
Excelling as a server, Nerissa challenged herself to be more involved in guest services, zealously jumping at the opportunities for training and development offered by the company, one of which was with the Club Sandals department. Shortly after her training, she was transferred to the department where she worked as a Club Sandals concierge from 2013 until her promotion to Club Sandals supervisor in 2017.
“During my time as supervisor, I gained so much experience, knowledge, and skills which combined well with my previous experience in food & beverage. I had my eyes set on any cross-training opportunity for restaurant management exposure. So, when this opportunity presented itself I jumped at it,” she shared.
As destiny would have it, Nerissa was successful at securing a promotion to restaurant manager and is assigned to the OK Corral restaurant which is a Tex-Mex dining experience for guests.
Since her promotion Nerissa has been a trailblazer, exemplifying her natural skills in leadership, human resources and customer service by facilitating team member trainings, implementing recognition programmes, and always encouraging growth and development among the team members she leads.
With her outstanding track record thus far, Nerissa has her eyes set on continuing her self-improvement and development journey as she aspires to one day become a food and beverage director within the company.
With the support of the resort’s learning and development team, she feels confident that she can continue to attain what she dubs her “Big Dreams.” “Where I am right now is a testament to the company’s promise to both train and provide opportunities to every member of the team, and if you are willing to go the extra mile, to harness and advance your skills, the sky is the limit.”
