I’m spending most of my nights in hotels again as my fall speaking season hits its stride. I’m back in a property I’ve praised in the past about its incredible service. Sadly, today things weren’t quite the same.
No, this isn’t a rant blog–seriously, keep reading (I’ve purposefully left the hotel’s name out of it).
Rather I think we can all learn from one minor shift in service.
This morning, I ordered an omelet with no cheese. The waitress asked me again if I would like cheese.
“No cheese.”
I ended up saying it about 3 times.
As I waited for my omelet to emerge from the kitchen she popped by several times. She asked me, “would you like more coffee, sir?”
But there was no cup in front of me.
A few minutes later she came by and asked how I was enjoying everything.
But there was no food in front of me.
A few minutes later she came by again with my omelet that had cheese on it, which she quickly returned to the kitchen to fix.
A few minutes later she came by and asked if I wanted more coffee.
But I still had no cup in front of me and I had already told her I would not be drinking any coffee.
A few minutes later she came by and asked how I was enjoying everything.
I informed her I would be doing a little bit better if I had food.
In other words, she forgot about me every time she came by and treated me the exact way she treated every other customer.
When I last praised this property I wrote about the individual attention the waitress provided. She greeted me each day by name and by the end of my 4 days at the property she already knew my order. She did this with each customer, truly treating them as a GUEST.
I’ve had restaurants make mistakes with food orders in the past, but some are still able to provide an incredible experience to the care and attention they give to each person. They remember minor things about each customer, already knowing the coffee order–especially when it is decaf.
As we get busy with our organizations again, let’s not forget the minor details about the people with whom we work.
Let’s still provide some individual attention.
It’s the most important ingredient to show we really care.