Philipp Roeder represents a new kind of Xiamen ren. He is young, professional, highly educated... and German. One of the series of management trainees that the Crowne Plaza Holiday Inn has brought from Germany to gain working experience, he was so impressed with Xiamen that he is already thinking about applying to work here long term after he graduates.

“When you’re in Shanghai, you could be in any country in the world,” he says, explaining why he prefers the slightly slower tempo of small city life. And Xiamen has warmed to him just as much: he enjoys the distinction of being the first foreigner to receive the special service award from the Xiamen Municipal Government in recognition of his work as Service Ambassador during this year’s CIFIT.

“That was a lot of fun, because I got to do a lot of problem solving outside of the everyday routine.” Roeder was assigned to look after many of the foreigners who were staying at the Crowne Plaza, which allowed him to use his several foreign languages and his problem solving skills.
In any large scale event it is inevitable that some things will not go smoothly. One Dutch visitor lost his luggage on the flight, and enlisted Roeder’s help in finding it. “It turned out it was in London, and it finally arrived the day before he left. I was proud of having sorted it out for him... Of course he wasn’t happy about the delay, but we’d done what we could to make it easier.”
Twenty individuals were singled out by the authorities for their outstanding contributions, but Roeder was surprised when he heard that they were going to reward him. “I felt honored. The ceremony was on Gulangyu, and it was nice to be there with the other people receiving the awards.”

With a smattering of Chinese under his belt, Roeder has also been teaching some of the Crowne Plaza staff some useful German and English to ease communication with their foreign guests. “I was surprised at how many people were interested. There’s a class of 25 students, who I’m teaching some very basic German. They’re really enthusiastic.”
Roeder has worked as a tourguide in Europe as well as a Service Ambassador for the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Hamburg, but he is increasingly interested in China. “I took courses in Asian management at university. Levels of service here are much better than you’d find in Germany. I have visited other Asian countries in the past and really enjoyed it, and if it’s possible I'd love to come back to the Crowne Plaza Xiamen to work.”