ENTERTAINERS have done it successfully. So too have countless others, from politicians to institutions.

Now, it's the US Embassy in Kingston -- referred to as 'The Fortress' by staffers because of its tight security and imposing perimeter walls -- that is making a go at an image overall in a country where it is often viewed as cold and indifferent by locals with whom it interfaces by the thousands each years.

Hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans have, over the years, passed through the US Embassy in an effort to secure either an immigrant or non-immigrant visa. Approximately 120,000 applicants were processed last year.The embassy, now occupying a sprawling parcel of land at Old Hope Road has, over the years, developed a reputation in Jamaica of being unfriendly.

The sentiment is that it only cares about "making money off of Jamaica", through visa applications.

The US posture under the George W Bush administration since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 has not helped its image across the globe.

But the embassy in Kingston has, in recent years, undertaken a drive in an effort to remake its image, a push that has been fast-tracked under new Chargé d'Affaires Isiah Parnell.

Parnell was appointed by the Obama administration in August last year following a tour in Mexico City where he served as the minister counsellor of management affairs at the US Embassy there.

"This Chargé realises that it doesn't serve anybody's interest to have (unfriendly) relations with the people of the country we are in," Rebecca C Park, the deputy public affairs officer at the embassy in Kingston, told reporters during a tour of sections of the facility last Friday.

As part of its drive to create a "softer", more "customer-friendly" image, US officials two Friday's ago consulted with influential Jamaicans and opinion shapers to get a honest assessment of how its visa application process and the embassy is viewed on the island. The initiative is being undertaken across the region and in other sections of the world.

To start with, the embassy two weeks ago established a refreshment stand at the spill over waiting area, which was pointed out to reporters during last Friday's tour.

"We are really trying with the customer service," said Fern Whyte, the embassy's acting media co-ordinator in the Office of Public Affairs, as she pointed to the refreshment stand from a first-floor balcony.

Slated for construction this year is the long-asked-for shelter on the outside of the embassy where visa applicants are currently forced to endure the boiling sun in long lines. The embassy will also be installing acoustic dampening material in the waiting area where interviews are done to ensure a higher level of privacy.

The plans -- outlined in part by David L Stone, the embassy's consul general, and Laurence Tobey, chief of the Visa Unit -- also include reducing the average one-hour interview time for visa applicants.

"We see ourselves as service providers," said Stone, while noting that the embassy was doing its best to better serve its customers.