Rejikandathil Philip. Rejikandathil Philip.

Rejikandathil Philip, The Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Residence & Spa

About Philip
Philip gained his Diploma in AC & Electrical Engineering from the Indian Technical College in his native Kerala before moving to the Middle East where he worked with various contracting companies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia before joining a construction company in Bahrain in 2008. Although he knew little about the Hospitality field he was keen to try a new Industry and joined the Hotel as a Technician in the staff housing complex in the same year. Serving his first three years as a casual employee he was then taking on as permanent staff in 2001.Due to his excellent technical knowledge, innate caring personality and empathetic approach to associates he was promoted to Supervisor of the housing complex in early 2011.

Above and beyond the call of duty…
Philip is creative and resourceful and has volunteered ideas on how he and his team can handle specific jobs at the complex to avoid the use of third part contractors. The physically demanding job of trimming the high branches of several large trees in the complex was handled by Philip and his team at just 25% of the cost of using an outside company. He also enlisted the help of our Hotel carpenter to produce a total of 94 TV tables for the associates rooms which saved BD1,410 against the cost of buying from outside. Philip and his colleague volunteered to take over the job of handling the annual maintenance of the compounds swimming pool which saved a further BD170 by avoiding using contractors to acid wash and re grout. A few months ago one of the water pipelines sprung a leak leaving an accommodation block housing 20 associates without water late at night. With the help of a colleague Philip worked until 3am in the morning to rectify the problem as soon as possible. In such a case others may have left the problem until the next day as it was unexpected and not due to any shortfall on the accommodation teams part – but Philips ever present “Yes I Can!” attitude as usual prevailed. This dedication to his tenants and responsibilities also applies during Public Holidays and his annual leave. Philip mainly takes vacation within Bahrain and, whilst he will deputize responsibility to his college, Philip is always on call. Despite his Manager telling him not to as he needs his personal time to rest, Philip is always there when a tenant needs him as he feels “it’s my job” Philip is always ready to help any colleague who is feeling unwell by using his personal vehicle to take them to the doctors or hospital. Two weeks ago one of the Engineers fell and hurt himself at 3am in the morning so Philip immediately rushed him to A&E and stayed with him so as to bring him home after treatment. An extremely unfortunate situation occurred in the past whereby an associated passed away from heart failure during the middle of the night. Philip handled this distressing event in a calm and composed manner, handling all required procedures with local authorities. Whilst this sad happening could not have been avoided Philip is fully focused on getting colleagues medical assistance as soon as possible to prevent possible further situations. To help the Hotel celebrate Earth Hour 2012 Philip and one colleague worked more than 6 hours additional duty to prepare 1,200 candle bags for use in the Hotel. Philip is always ready to take on extra special tasks such as this and is available 24/7 with never a thought or request for any kind of compensation. He also supports our environmental goals as he has arranged Recycling Bins in the common areas of the housing complex to collect plastic bottles and tins which he then delivers to the local recycling centre once a week.

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Testimonials for Philip
“Once when the weather was extremely hot I returned to my apartment after a long days work to find the AC wasn’t cooling at all. I informed Philip about it and, even though it was outside his duty hours, he came to fix it immediately and ensured it was cooling once again. This only shows how Philip is concerned about us the residents of the compound. I admire his efficient service and the care he shows to us.” Wilma Daba, assistant financial controller.

“I am a member of the Hotel Cricket team and recently participated in the Inter Hotel Cricket League for a charity cause. On the day of the final match, I felt like something from my back got pulled and was causing me disturbing pain. After coming back to the compound, the pain has escalated and was unbearable. My roommate immediately called Philip to inform and he did assist to take me to the hospital in his own car. I am feeling much better now and Philip’s immediate response meant immediate medical attention.” Abdul Rahim Chougule, AV technician.

“The security and safety of our staff accommodation is so important – especially in the difficult times we now have in Bahrain. Sometimes we cannot provide security coverage at the compound due to sickness of our staff. I really appreciate Philips help at times like this as he will step into cover until we can manage to send a replacement and he does this at any time during the evening or night too. He also reports any concerns or incidents to us immediately with full details which makes it easy for us to follow up and investigate further if needed.” Salman Hubail, senior security supervisor.

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