During the MD Expo in Nashville, my wife, Ruth, and I were having breakfast at the Omni Hotel with some friends. Our discussion turned to our previous experience with this very restaurant at the first MD Expo held there about 18 months before. The hotel was fairly new and the restaurant staff was not as efficient and well-trained as they should have been.
During our initial visit, the service at the restaurant was, in a word, terrible. We sat for a very long time with no one even acknowledging our presence. When we finally did get someone to initiate the service process, it was a rude and long process.
There were two managers on duty at the restaurant and the first came over to me and essentially told me that he could do nothing. You see the staff was new and had not been trained and it was what it was and we should have patience. This, of course, ruffled my feathers a bit. The implication was that we, the customers, contributed to their inadequacies by being there and expecting what we paid for. There was no offer of even a cup of coffee.
The second manager must have seen that we were very unhappy. He came over and apologized for the other manager as he was new and unprepared for the situation. He offered to send a bottle of wine to our room. I told him that was unnecessary. All we wanted was to get our meal and move on. He insisted. The wine never arrived.
The next morning, we found that our options for a coffee and breakfast were limited to the same restaurant. We hesitatingly took our seats and were served in a comfortable fashion. The “wine” manager saw us and asked about the wine. We said it was not in the room and not to worry about it. He said we would have it “tonight.”
The next morning, back in the restaurant, he asked about the wine. We told him no wine received, don’t worry about it, we are leaving the next day. He left and came back a couple of minutes later and said the wine had been delivered to the wrong room and we would have it “tonight.” The wine never arrived.
As we sat with our friends enjoying the company, and my embellishment of that previous experience, Kim, our waitress, went about her business of providing a great customer experience. We laughed at how bad the service had been and how I should have offered to conduct my Successful Customer Relations Skills presentation for the entire hotel staff.
That evening, after enjoying a great Nashville experience and the great camaraderie that only MD Expo provides, Ruth and I went back to our room. We each mentioned that the evening’s events had left us a little hungry.
Surprise! On the table in the room was a fruit and cheese tray and, you guessed it, a bottle of very nice wine, glasses and corkscrew. We thought it must be a mistake and how do we now get this to the correct room. Then, we saw the card.
“The Roman Family,
It was a pleasure to serve you breakfast this morning. I’m making sure you ‘get that wine’ you were promised. ☺ Enjoy your stay. ‘See you at breakfast.’
Kim Turner … ”
We were amazed and speechless! Kim took a giant extra step to make sure that we were taken care of a whole 18 months after the incident. How many of us can say that we have ever done anything like that, or would even consider it?
The next morning we decided that this incredible customer relations event should be escalated to hotel management level. I approached the front desk and asked to see the manager on duty. This freaked out the front desk staff. No one ever asks to see the manager for a good thing. After calming the desk staff they brought the manager out and I told him the wine story and handed him the card. He immediately said, “Oh, Kim. This doesn’t surprise me.” How many of us can say that about any of our people?
I know this a long-winded story. As I tell it I am still in awe of Kim’s dedication to her customers and her organization. What a wonderful attitude she has! I am confident that she worked at it until it became second nature. It is just what she does. As we go through our daily routines in our businesses, have we made the decision to provide the very best customer relations to the point that it is a habit? Do we empower our people to be in the position to go that great extra step?
The card that accompanied the wine is on my office wall. I decided to save the bottle of wine as a reminder of this wonderful event, but I am weak. I drank it last night.