Giovinella Gonthier wasn’t always an expert in civility. Gonthier graduated with a bachelor’s from Wheaton College in Massachusetts and a master’s from Harvard University. She served as the ambassador for the Seychelles Islands to the United Nations and several countries. Throughout her career, she has lived in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Paris, among others and was raised in East Africa and the Seychelles.
Along the way, she met and married Roger Wilson, who worked in Chicago. Once relocated, she found that Chicago was "not your quintessential international city" and could not find a job that matched her set of international job skills.
One of her experiences while looking for a job left a deep impression. After finishing an interview at a Chicago-based dot-com business, Gonthier heard one interviewer say to the other, "Forget her. She’s high maintenance."
"I think it was because I was dressed better than they were," she recalls.
The rude comment may have planted the seed for her to start her company, Civility Associates, which specializes in work-place training, etiquette classes and high-end corporate gifts. She started the company because acquaintances asked her if she could teach etiquette to mostly lower level employees like secretaries, receptionists and the like. The civility training evolved from that.
"I started convincing people that it was much more effective if everyone is on the same page and has the same expectations," Gonthier said. "What is the point of teaching a secretary or administrative assistant if you’ve got an appointment and you keep them waiting for 10 minutes?"
July 5, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
