by
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe 

During the “zumer” (summer) of 1959, my
husband and I worked at Camp Leonard
Leonore in Kent, Connecticut. Today this
camp is known as “Club Getaway.”
Camp staff member learned “tsutroy” (trust) and responsibility,
teamwork and
problem-solving skills. They witnessed
camp Directors working in a frenzied
climate – 24/7.

As a first-year business teacher in ’59, I
learned my lessons well:

1. To succeed in business, one must learn
the language. In camp-talk, “Skunks in
the Bunks” means “cabin inspection”;
“three-alarmer” means “bonfire”; and
“store the gore” means “cleanup–mom
and dad are coming for Visiting Day.
The camp cook is the grouchiest person
on the planet and the last one you want
to “baleydikn” (offend). In some [Jewish]
camps, a serious relationship means
knitting a kippah, and a “yentavent”
means to spread gossip.

In business, “face time” means “time
spent interacting with someone in
person, rather than via email or some
other electronic link.” A “mancession”
is a recession that affects men more
than women. And “False Authority
Syndrome” is a noun meaning “the
tendency to assume that a person who is
an expert in one field is also an expert in
a related field.” In business lexicon,
“intexicated” means preoccupied by
reading or sending text messages,
particularly while driving a car on the
campgrounds.

2. Hire the most competent people: camp
directors, group leaders, counselors,
specialists, and nurses. Find the mavens
and you’ll remain in business. Surprise
Lake Camp, for example, has been in
operation since 1902.

Businesses must also hire the best. Jack
Welch (“Winning”) wrote, “…put the
right person in the right job to drive a
big aha forward.” Oh, NEVER hire
anyone young enough to think that Guy
Lombardo is a back ailment! :-)

3. Camp directors have discovered that the
most expensive gifts on earth is the gift
of gab.
Jeffrey J. Fox (“How To Become a
Rainmaker”), wrote, “Returning phone
calls is a basic courtesy. When you
return a person’s phone call, that person
feels respected, important, listened to.
When you don’t return the call, the
caller feels you don’t care.

4. The most successful camps have
retention rates of more than 50% among
campers and staff members.
In business, a “gliklech” (happy)
customer is a returning customer. The
customer coming back is how you
continue doing the business you do.

5. Camp directors must prepare for the
summer recruitment season. There’s no
such thing as a routine sales call. They
must listen to the concerns of potential
customers.
“How are you handling cases of Swine
flu?” “Have you installed hand sanitizers
outside the dining room?” “Do you offer
rock climbing?” “Do you offer an
American Red Cross Lifeguard
Certification Training program?” (Camp
Hadar in Andover, MA, does!)
Businesses must also find appropriate
ways to reach new customers/clients.

6. “People tend to eat almost everything
you put in front of them,” says John
DeCastro. In many camps, there’s no
“mystery meat” or “bug juice.” Most
days it’s salad bar, or stir-fry, or toasted
tofu dogs around the fire. (By cutting
back on sugar and caffeine, the kids are
more manageable.)
Retailers have discovered that if you feed
shoppers, they will buy more. And so we
see more shopping malls with “food
courts.”

7. Camps are innovative and make use of
marketing gimmicks. Some offer
discounts for siblings attending camp.
Others offer FREE canteen, or NO
TIPPING policies.

Businesses use gimmicks. Starbucks will
now offer FREE Wi-Fi. And one year,
Domino’s pizza kicked off a promotion
which offered a buck off a pizza for
college students who bring in a job
rejection letter. Or, if you lost your job,
a pink slip will do. Bed Bath & Beyond
mails 20% off coupons practically every
other day. They even accept expired
coupons!

—————————————-

Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe is a retired business educator who
lives in
Syosset,
New York.